There's an article in The Guardian this morning about how spiders may have REM sleep. Given this is the case, could spiders interpret their dreams in the absence of symbolic language?It felt like I was watching a John Wick movie in today's dream. My character was walking up the stairs of a four-story building. At the top floor my character attacked some people and the odd thing is that one of them appeared to shrink after they'd been killed. Perhaps they were like the witch in the Wizard of Oz who evaporated when she came in contact with water. One interpretation of the dream is that there's an element of an innocent small child in every person which is what fearless action movies can overlook.
To respond to your question, Michael; everyone has a degree of fearfulness otherwise they would perish. However if fearfulness and prudence were too dominant in response to a challenging event then the person would lose valuable opportunities for advancement.
BTW the top floor of a building is traditionally a symbol for mind, so your dream may have expressed your idea that you can overcome a troubling problem. On the other hand your dream may have expressed your idea that you fear you can't overcome the problem. You can decide what it meant for you by paying attention to your mood. In the dream, as the demon shrank, did you feel triumphant and happy, or did you feel hopeless and sad, or did you fear the demon could grow big again?
You say "my character". I understand the accepted wisdom is that all persons in dreams are reflections of the dreamer.