The following painting is titled "The Nightmare," by Henry Fuseli. It was completed in 1781, and is thought to be one of the classic depictions of sleep paralysis. The figure sitting atop the woman depicted in this work is that of a demon, which many people who have interpreted to be the cause of this nightmare.
Personally, I can relate to this painting because I've experienced this sensation and literally could not move, although I felt fully awake. I can recall the experience as being terrifying because I tried screaming out for help but could not physically open my mouth. Add to this that I was crashing on my friend's couch for the night and felt as if I was sinking deeper and deeper into it, as I attempted to call for help. My mind and body simply were not in sync, which is actually typical of this condition.
Some have also seen halluciantions while in this state, although I was not one of them. I suppose that this explains the image of the donkey in the shadowy background of this painting, giving it an interesting place in this work; It's depiction is symbolic with respect to the direct correlation this is implied between the shadowy background in which it is set and the ambiguous state between waking life and the dream realm that is implied.
Comments (6)
This is great. The colors are reminiscient of something gothic. And I love the lady's posture, the dramatic repose so often associated with sleeping or troubled women. It's almost steretypically dream-like and yet I respect it nonetheless for its shameless pretense.
Posted by Mr. Thompson | November 18, 2006 11:18 PM
Posted on November 18, 2006 23:18
Yes! Demons sitting on someones chest is very symbolic of a nightmare. It means chest congestion / fear / anxiety / paralysis / terror / all of these things. Many people, including my parents.. associate bad dreams with a demon sitting on your chest, because that is how you feel during a night mare. Your heartrate increases, you sweat, and feel paralyzed as if you dont have control of your body. There are scientific explanations for these, but a demon is more interesting ;-)
Posted by Mind's Torque Wrench | November 19, 2006 1:28 AM
Posted on November 19, 2006 01:28
Just to add..
Heartburn makes me feel like that. Hah.
Posted by Mind's Torque Wrench | November 19, 2006 1:28 AM
Posted on November 19, 2006 01:28
I read a story like this recently in which the narrator was describing the same paralyzed feeling except the paralyzed feeling was actually caused by a ghost or some type of invisible creature that is just sitting on their all night. Im definitelly familiar with the feeling of sleep paralysis, but I havent had an experience so painful. I like the painting though. Its colors are hauntingly rich and her pose is full of dramatic movement. The placement of the monkey is great too. Because of the way her body is placed in such an angle, it almost appears as though the monkey is coming out of her stomach and she is actually dead. I agree wuth you as well about the donkey's placement. Everything in this image is so dark and intense. The donkey's presence and goofy face helps remind the viewer, that its only a dream.
Posted by maggie the cat | November 19, 2006 10:15 AM
Posted on November 19, 2006 10:15
It might be helpful to your paper for you to know that those periods of going to sleep and coming out of sleep are periods of great imagination. I know that when drifting off to sleep I hallucinate, but I also come up with ideas for poems, or good jokes, or something I need to do.
Posted by John A. Dreams | November 19, 2006 2:29 PM
Posted on November 19, 2006 14:29
What strikes me about this picture is the erotic overtones. The woman's body is spread out seductively, and the demon sits in a very strategic spot. Also, the woman in white looks like an angel in contrast to the devil. By the way,the demon is an incubus.
from wikipedia: "In Western medieval legend, an incubus (plural incubi) is a demon in male form supposed to lie upon sleepers, especially women, in order to have sexual intercourse with them. The Incubus drains energy from the woman it performs sexual intercourse upon in order to sustain itself"
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Incubus_%28demon%29
Posted by Lily Briscoe | December 5, 2006 9:02 PM
Posted on December 5, 2006 21:02