Queequeg: I think I’m beginning to understand those dreams of yours. After all, the symbolism is quite obvious. But don’t get lost in that maze of hallways and doors. There are many hallways and doors in that old house, many rooms and staircases and floors. What are these open doors, leaving me defenseless, leaving me helpless against every intruder? What are these open doors through which the spiritual maladies come, the open doors and windows of my dead soul, the doors I have foolishly opened and can never shut again, for the flood of spiritual waste that is constantly flooding through them? O you say you cannot stand your dreams, that they are too indistinct and confused and indecipherable. But if your dreams were clear, if your dreams were as clear and vivid as waking life—that would be hell.