--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: dreams are madness, my dear. It's things…" description: "\"“dreams are madness, my dear. It's things that happen in the waking world, while one is asleep, that one would be glad to know the meaning of.”\" — Jose..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/055/joseph-conrad-336_dreams_dreams-are-madness-my-dear-it-s-things-t_1921608.jpg" --- # dreams are madness, my dear. It's things that happen in… ![“dreams are madness, my dear. It's things that happen in the waking world, while one is asleep, that one would be glad to know the meaning of.” quote by Joseph Conrad](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/055/joseph-conrad-336_dreams_dreams-are-madness-my-dear-it-s-things-t_1921608.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/055/joseph-conrad-336_dreams_dreams-are-madness-my-dear-it-s-things-t_1921608.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/055/joseph-conrad-336_dreams_dreams-are-madness-my-dear-it-s-things-t_1921608.jpg) > ““dreams are madness, my dear. It's things that happen in the waking world, while one is asleep, that one would be glad to know the meaning of.”” [Joseph Conrad](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joseph-conrad/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Dreams are irrational, yet they can reveal deeper truths about our waking life **In simple terms:** Madness in dreams can show hidden meanings Key Takeaway Explore what dreams reveal about waking desires Themes imagination psychology revelation reality interpretation Mood thoughtful introspective Type literary philosophical When to use this quote - personal reflection - creative writing - therapeutic practice - dream analysis Key Concepts subconscious symbolism creative insight philosophical inquiry Questions to Reflect On - What does your dream suggest about your waking concerns? - How can dream insights guide real decisions? A Different Perspective Dreams may be misleading or overly symbolic ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Dream](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/dream/) [Dreams](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/dreams/) ## Related quotes > [When life itself seems lunatic, who knows where madness lies? Perhaps to be too practical may be madness. To surrender dreams, this may be…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/when-life-itself-seems-lunatic-who-knows-where-madness-lies-perhaps-2/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [“Then he dozed off to sleep and to dream dreams that for madness and audacity rivalled those of poppy-eaters”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jack-london/then-he-dozed-off-to-sleep-and-to-dream-dreams-that-for-madness-and/) [Jack London](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jack-london/) > [“If we do not know ourselves in the waking world, what chance in dreams?”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cormac-mccarthy/if-we-do-not-know-ourselves-in-the-waking-world-what-chance-in-dreams/) [Cormac McCarthy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cormac-mccarthy/) > [“The waking have one world in common; sleepers have each a private world of his own.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/heraclitus/the-waking-have-one-world-in-common-sleepers-have-each-a-private/) [Heraclitus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/heraclitus/) > [“Don't you think a dream would feel shy if it were seen walking about in the waking world?”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/c-s-lewis-3/don-t-you-think-a-dream-would-feel-shy-if-it-were-seen-walking-about/) [C S Lewis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/c-s-lewis-3/) > [“Do you know the feeling you get when you are awakened in the middle of a dream? The dream story is still real and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/shannon-hale/do-you-know-the-feeling-you-get-when-you-are-awakened-in-the-middle/) [Shannon Hale](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/shannon-hale/) > [“Bad dreams are rehearsals for the struggle to survive; they exist to prepare us in the waking world.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/a-j-aalto/bad-dreams-are-rehearsals-for-the-struggle-to-survive-they-exist-to/) [A.J. Aalto](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/a-j-aalto/) > [“All the world seemed suddenly dream, for in what waking world would a prince deceive his own people for the benefit of a slave?…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rachel-haimowitz/all-the-world-seemed-suddenly-dream-for-in-what-waking-world-would-a/) [Rachel Haimowitz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rachel-haimowitz/) > [“I'm afraid of waking up to a world where you see and I am not what you saw”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ali-nuri/i-m-afraid-of-waking-up-to-a-world-where-you-see-and-i-am-not-what/) Ali Nuri > [“The Bible’s was an unlikely, movie-set world alongside our world. Light-shot and translucent in the pallid Sunday-school watercolors on the walls, stormy and opaque…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/annie-dillard/the-bible-s-was-an-unlikely-movie-set-world-alongside-our-world-light/) [Annie Dillard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/annie-dillard/) > [“Of the name and abode of this man but little is written, for they were of the waking world only; yet it is said…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/h-p-lovecraft-2/of-the-name-and-abode-of-this-man-but-little-is-written-for-they-were/) [H.P. Lovecraft](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/h-p-lovecraft-2/) > [A dream is the key that unlocks the mysteries of the waking world...](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/juliet-marillier/a-dream-is-the-key-that-unlocks-the-mysteries-of-the-waking-world/) [Juliet Marillier](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/juliet-marillier/) > [My only nightmare is waking up in a world were you're not mine.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frank-ocean/my-only-nightmare-is-waking-up-in-a-world-were-you-re-not-mine/) [Frank Ocean](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frank-ocean/) > [How often do we use other people as screens upon which to project our obsessions? Our discontents, dreams, desires, and fears? Well, I always…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bradford-morrow/how-often-do-we-use-other-people-as-screens-upon-which-to-project-our/) Bradford Morrow > [The song "Sing for the Submarine" presents my dream world, which is way different from my waking world. It's set in the future and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-stipe/the-song-sing-for-the-submarine-presents-my-dream-world-which-is-way/) [Michael Stipe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-stipe/) ## More by Joseph Conrad > [“Hunters for gold or pursuers of fame, they all had gone out on that stream, bearing the sword, and often the torch, messengers of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joseph-conrad/hunters-for-gold-or-pursuers-of-fame-they-all-had-gone-out-on-that/) [Joseph Conrad](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joseph-conrad/) > [The good author is he who contemplates without marked joy or excessive sorrow the adventures of his soul amongst criticisms.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joseph-conrad/the-good-author-is-he-who-contemplates-without-marked-joy-or/) [Joseph Conrad](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joseph-conrad/) > [“Let the earth and the sea each have its own.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joseph-conrad/let-the-earth-and-the-sea-each-have-its-own/) [Joseph Conrad](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joseph-conrad/) > [He hated all this, and somehow he couldn't get away.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joseph-conrad/he-hated-all-this-and-somehow-he-couldn-t-get-away/) [Joseph Conrad](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joseph-conrad/) > [“A fool, what with sheer fright and fine sentiments, is always safe.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joseph-conrad/a-fool-what-with-sheer-fright-and-fine-sentiments-is-always-safe/) [Joseph Conrad](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joseph-conrad/) > [“The mind of man is capable of anything-because everything is in it, all the past as well as all the future. What was there…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joseph-conrad/the-mind-of-man-is-capable-of-anything-because-everything-is-in-it/) [Joseph Conrad](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joseph-conrad/) > [Few men realize that their life, the very essence of their character, their capabilities and their audacities, are only the expression of their belief…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joseph-conrad/few-men-realize-that-their-life-the-very-essence-of-their-character/) [Joseph Conrad](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joseph-conrad/) > [“Perhaps on some quiet night the tremor of far-off drums, sinking, swelling, a tremor vast, faint; a sound weird, appealing, suggestive and wild -…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joseph-conrad/perhaps-on-some-quiet-night-the-tremor-of-far-off-drums-sinking/) [Joseph Conrad](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joseph-conrad/) > [“All that mysterious life of the wilderness that stirs in the forest, in the jungles, in the hearts of wild men.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joseph-conrad/all-that-mysterious-life-of-the-wilderness-that-stirs-in-the-forest/) [Joseph Conrad](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joseph-conrad/) > [“The fascination of the abomination—you know.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joseph-conrad/the-fascination-of-the-abomination-you-know/) [Joseph Conrad](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joseph-conrad/) > [It's only those who do nothing that make no mistakes, I suppose.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joseph-conrad/it-s-only-those-who-do-nothing-that-make-no-mistakes-i-suppose/) [Joseph Conrad](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joseph-conrad/) > [“Thieving was not a sheer absurdity. It was a form of human industry, perverse indeed, but still an industry exercised in an industrious world;…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joseph-conrad/thieving-was-not-a-sheer-absurdity-it-was-a-form-of-human-industry/) [Joseph Conrad](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joseph-conrad/) > [I found myself back in the sepulchral city resenting the sight of people hurrying through the streets to filch a little money from each…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joseph-conrad/i-found-myself-back-in-the-sepulchral-city-resenting-the-sight-of/) [Joseph Conrad](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joseph-conrad/) > [Society was calling to its accomplished child to come, to be taken care of, to be instructed, to be judged, to be condemned; it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joseph-conrad/society-was-calling-to-its-accomplished-child-to-come-to-be-taken/) [Joseph Conrad](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joseph-conrad/) > [I was constantly watching myself, my secret self, as dependent on my actions as my own personality](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joseph-conrad/i-was-constantly-watching-myself-my-secret-self-as-dependent-on-my/) [Joseph Conrad](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joseph-conrad/) [Explore all 645 Joseph Conrad quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joseph-conrad/) ## More Dream quotes > [“Once we become sensitive to dreams, we discover that every dynamic in a dream is manifesting itself in some way in our practical lives”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-a-johnson/once-we-become-sensitive-to-dreams-we-discover-that-every-dynamic-in/) [Robert A. Johnson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-a-johnson/) > [A thing of beauty is a joy for ever;It's loveliness increase;it will never pass into nothingness;but still will keep a bower quiet for us,and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-keats/a-thing-of-beauty-is-a-joy-for-ever-it-s-loveliness-increase-it-will/) [John Keats](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-keats/) > [I understand that it's the music that keeps me alive... That's my lifeblood. And to give that up for, like, the TV, the cars,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bruce-springsteen/i-understand-that-it-s-the-music-that-keeps-me-alive-that-s-my/) [Bruce Springsteen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bruce-springsteen/) > [“Not that it matters, when you dream, there's no outside or in. Your mind is an unimaginable bloom. A willow catkin as big as…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rich-shapero/not-that-it-matters-when-you-dream-there-s-no-outside-or-in-your-mind/) [Rich Shapero](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rich-shapero/) > [Academically, I was never that interested. I skipped classes. My biggest dream was to have a coffee shop, but I had no idea how…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/daniel-espinosa/academically-i-was-never-that-interested-i-skipped-classes-my-biggest/) [Daniel Espinosa](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/daniel-espinosa/) > [“As dreams are the healing songs from the wilderness of our unconscious - So wild animals, wild plants, wild landscapes are the healing dreams…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dale-pendell/as-dreams-are-the-healing-songs-from-the-wilderness-of-our/) [Dale Pendell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dale-pendell/) > [Alone in a world, With millions of souls Walking in circles Trapped in their dreams unhealthy, unclean walking in circles, now do not disturb…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chester-bennington/alone-in-a-world-with-millions-of-souls-walking-in-circles-trapped-in/) [Chester Bennington](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chester-bennington/) > [“Doing the work to transform your dreams into reality is like walking across the earth. It can be that hard, and it can take…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dragos-bratasanu/doing-the-work-to-transform-your-dreams-into-reality-is-like-walking/) [Dragos Bratasanu](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dragos-bratasanu/) > [As far as Im concerned, I didnt dream - ever.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/theodore-sturgeon/as-far-as-im-concerned-i-didnt-dream-ever/) [Theodore Sturgeon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/theodore-sturgeon/) > [I have long felt that the way to keep children out of trouble is to keep them interested in things. Lecturing to children is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/walt-disney/i-have-long-felt-that-the-way-to-keep-children-out-of-trouble-is-to/) [Walt Disney](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/walt-disney/) > [I guess, it's a father's dream for his daughter to be known around the world.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/liza-soberano/i-guess-it-s-a-father-s-dream-for-his-daughter-to-be-known-around-the/) [Liza Soberano](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/liza-soberano/) > [I am just enjoying the dream of being Milan coach at the age of 40.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gennaro-gattuso/i-am-just-enjoying-the-dream-of-being-milan-coach-at-the-age-of-40/) [Gennaro Gattuso](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gennaro-gattuso/) > [Sometimes life seems like a dream, especially when I look down and see that I forgot to put on my pants.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jack-handey/sometimes-life-seems-like-a-dream-especially-when-i-look-down-and-see/) [Jack Handey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jack-handey/) > [“I had a dream. I had an awesome dream.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/i-had-a-dream-i-had-an-awesome-dream/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [“His dream must have seemed so close that he could hardly fail to grasp it.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/f-scott-fitzgerald/his-dream-must-have-seemed-so-close-that-he-could-hardly-fail-to/) [F. Scott Fitzgerald](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/f-scott-fitzgerald/) [Browse all 26,527 Dream quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/dream/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“dreams are madness, my dear. 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