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privation (privation) In his seminar of 1956-7, Lacan distinguishes between three types of 'lack of object': privation, frustration and castration (see LACK). Each of these types of lack is located in a different order, each is brought about by a different kind of agent, and each involves a different kind of object. Privation is defined as a lack in the [[Real]] The Future of a [[SymbolicAn Illusion]] object (the [[Symbolic]] phallus). The agent who brings about this lack is the [[Imaginary]] father., he writes:

Privation is Lacan's attempt to theorise more rigorously Freud's concept <blockquote>"For the sake of female castration and penis envy. According to Freud, when children realize a uniform terminology we will describe the fact that some people (women) do not have an instinct cannot be satisfied as a penis'frustration, ' the regulation by which this frustration is established as a traumatic moment 'prohibition' and the condition which produces different effects in is produced by the boy and in the girl (see CASTRATION COMPLEX)prohibition as a 'privation.'"<ref>[[Freud, Sigmund]]. [[The Future of An Illusion]]. p. 10</ref></blockquote>

Whereas Later in the boy develops a fear of having his penis cut offsame essay, he defines more specifically the girl envies the boy his possession of the penis, which she sees as a highly desirable organ. The girl blames the mother for depriving her of a penis, and redirects her affections to the father in the hope that he will provide her with a child as a [[Symbolicdrive]] substitute for the penis she lacks (Freud, 1924d). Privation, then, refers to the female's lack of a penis, which is clearly a lack in the -[[Realwish]]. However, by definition, 'the es that result from [[Realprivation]] is full'; the : [[Realincest]] is never lacking in itself, and thus 'the notion of privation . . . implies the symbolisation of the object in the [[Realpleasure]]' (S4, 218), In other words, when the child perceives the penis (a in and w[[Realish]] organ) as absent, it is only because he has a notion that it somehow should be there, which is to introduce the [[Symbolicmurder]] into the , and [[Realcannibalism]].

Thus what is lacking is not the [[Real]] organ, for, biologically speaking, the vagina is not incomplete without one; what is lacking is a ==Melanie Klein==[[SymbolicMelanie Klein]] object, the [[Symbolic]] phallus. Its [[Symbolic]] nature is confirmed by the fact that it can be substituted by a child in the girl's unconscious; in appeasing her penis envy by desiring a child, Freud argues, the girl 'slips - along the lines of a and [[SymbolicJacques Lacan]] equation, one might say - from are the penis main authors to a baby' (Freud, 1924d: SE XIX, 178-9)have taken up this concept.

Freud argues that the little girl blames her mother for depriving her of a penis. LacanFor [[Klein]], however, argues that it is the [[Imaginaryprivation]] father who is held to be the agent of privation. However, these two accounts are not necessarily incompatible. Even though the girl may at first resent the mother basis for depriving her of a penis and turn to the father in the hope that he will provide her with a [[Symbolicparanoid]] [[position]] substitute, she later turns her resentment against the father when he fails to provide her with the desired child.

Freud argues that penis envy persists into adulthood<blockquote>"Persecutory anxiety, manifesting itself both in the desire to enjoy the penis in sexual intercourse, and in the desire to have a child (since the father has failed to providÈ her with a childtherefore, enters from the beginning into [[Woman]] turns to another man instead). Lacan argues that even when the [[Woman]] has a child, this does not spell the end of her sense of privation. Her desire for the phallus remains unsatisfied, no matter how many children she has. The motherbaby's basic dissatisfaction (S4, 194) ] relation to objects in so far as he is perceived by the child from very early on; he realizes that she has a desire that aims at something beyond her relationship with him - the [[Imaginary]] phallus. The child then seeks exposed to fulfil her desire by identifying with the [[Imaginary]] phallusprivations. In this way"<ref>Klein, the privation of the mother is responsible for introducing the dialectic of desire in the child's life for the first time1932/1952b, p.199</ref></blockquote>

==def==The concept of privation is essential for Freud. In The Future of An Illusion (1927c), he writes: <blockquote>"For the sake Feelings of a uniform terminology we will describe the fact that an instinct cannot be satisfied as a 'frustration,' the regulation by which this frustration is established as a 'prohibition' and grievance lead to phantasying backwards and often focus in retrospect on the condition which is produced by privations suffered in relation to the prohibition as a mother'privations breast."' (p. 10). Later in the same essay<ref>Klein, he defines more specifically the drive-wishes that result from privation: incest1952a, the pleasure in and wish to murder, and cannibalismp.265</ref></blockquote>

Melanie Klein and Jacques Lacan are the main authors to have taken up this concept. For Klein, privation is the basis for the paranoid position. She writes: "Persecutory anxiety, therefore, enters from the beginning into All [[the baby'sfeeling]] relation to objects in so far as he is exposed to privations" (Klein, 1932/1952b, p. 199). And elsewhere: "Feelings of frustration and grievance lead to phantasying backwards and often focus in retrospect on the privations suffered in relation to the mother's breast" (Klein, 1952a, p. 265). All feelings of [[privation ]] or [[frustration ]] originate in the [[subject]]'s relationship with the [[mother]], specifically with the [[maternal ]] [[breast. These feelings are also articulated with persecution and fragmentation anxieties]].

In "L'archaïque et le profond dans la penséedeMelanie Klein" (The Archaic and the Profound in Melanie Klein'These [[feeling]]s Thought; 1982), Jean-Michel Petot discusses the constant slippage between the terms privation, deprivation, are also articulated with [[persecution]] and frustration in Klein's work. He clearly shows Klein's difficulties with these notions, as well as the role played by Ernest Jones's translations of the German term Versagung[[fragmentation anxieties]].

==Jacques Lacan==For [[Jacques Lacan]], archaic persecution or [[fragmentation]] [[anxieties]] are to be deduced from [[castration anxiety]] and are not its precursors.  [[Privation]] is what is inscribed in the [[Real]] and reveals its nature.  [[Privation]] corresponds to the "hole" in the [[Real]]; it is the basis of the [[Symbolic]] [[Order]], and the [[agent]] who deprives is always [[Imaginary]].  [[Lacan]]'s answer to the question concerning what is actually being deprived is that  <blockquote>"It is especially the fact that the Woman does not have a penis, that She is deprived of it. The very notion of privation, so tangible and visible in an experience such as that one, implies the symbolization of the object in the real. For in the real, nothing is deprived of anything. Everything that is real is sufficient unto itself. By definition, the real is full [plein]. If we introduce the notion of privation into the real, it is to the extent that we can already symbolize it adequately, or even completely. Indicating that something is not there means supposing its possible presence—that is, introducing into the real, in order to recover it and hollow it out, the simple symbolic order."<ref>{{S4}} pp.237-270</ref></blockquote> The [[reversal ]] effected by [[Lacan]], as compared to authors inspired by [[Klein]], is striking, and it is the basis for his claim of making a rigorous [[return ]] to [[Freud]].  However, his was a return to a particular [[Freud]]: In Freudian [[Freud]]ian thought, while [[woman ]] is indeed deprived of a [[penis]], the [[male ]] [[child ]] is just as deprived of the [[breast]].  Although [[woman ]] can aspire to replace what she lacks [[lack]]s by bearing a [[child]], [[man ]] must replace that which he has been deprived of with "spiritual nourishment," or thought. ==Three types of lack==In his [[seminar]] of 1956-7, [[Seminar IV|Object Relations]], [[Lacan]] distinguishes between three types of '[[lack]] of [[object]]': # [[privation]], # [[frustration]] and # [[castration]].  Each of these types of [[lack]] is located in a different [[order]], each is brought about by a different kind of [[agent]], and each involves a different kind of [[object]].  ==Definition==[[Privation]] is defined as a [[lack]] in the [[real]] of a [[symbolic]] [[object]] (the [[symbolic]] [[phallus]]).  The [[agent]] who brings about this [[lack]] is the [[imaginary]] [[father]]. ==Castration complex==[[Privation]] is [[Lacan]]'s attempt to theorise more rigorously [[Freud]]'s concept of [[female]] [[castration]] and [[penis envy]].  According to [[Freud]], when [[children]] realize that some people ([[women]]) do not have a [[penis]], this is a [[traumatic]] moment which produces different effects in the [[boy]] and in the [[girl]] (see [[castration complex]]).  Whereas the [[boy]] develops a [[fear]] of having his [[penis]] cut off, the [[girl]] envies the [[boy]] his possession of the [[penis]], which she sees as a highly desirable organ.  The [[girl]] blames the [[mother]] for depriving her of a [[penis]], and redirects her affections to the father in the hope that he will provide her with a [[child]] as a [[symbolic]] [[substitute]] for the [[penis]] she [[lacks]].<ref>Freud, 1924d</ref> [[Privation]], then, refers to the [[female]]'s [[lack]] of a [[penis]], which is clearly a [[lack]] in the [[Real]].  ==The real==However, by definition, "the [[real]] is full". The [[real]] is never [[lacking]] in itself, and thus "the notion of privation ... implies the [[symbolisation]] of the [[object]] in the [[real]]."<ref>{{S4}} p.218</ref> In other words, when the [[child]] perceives the [[penis]] (a rea] organ) as [[absent]], it is only because he has a notion that it somehow should be there, which is to introduce the [[symbolic]] into the [[real]].  Thus what is [[lacking]] is not the [[real]] organ, for, [[biologically]] speaking, the [[vagina]] is not incomplete without one; what is [[lacking]] is a [[Symbolic]] object, the [[symbolic]] [[phallus]].  Its [[symbolic]] nature is confirmed by the fact that it can be [[substituted]] by a [[child]] in the [[girl]]'s [[unconscious]]; in appeasing her [[penis envy]] by [[desiring]] a [[child]], [[Freud]] argues, the [[girl]] "[[slip]]s - along the lines of a [[symbolic]] equation, one might say - from the [[penis]] to a [[baby]]."<ref>Freud, 1924d: SE XIX, 178-9</ref> [[Freud]] argues that the little [[girl]] blames her [[mother]] for depriving her of a [[penis]].  [[Lacan]], however, argues that it is the [[Imaginary]] father who is held to be the [[agent]] of [[privation]].  However, these two accounts are not necessarily incompatible.  ==From Girl to Mother==Even though the [[girl]] may at first resent the [[mother]] for depriving her of a [[penis]] and turn to the [[father]] in the hope that he will provide her with a [[symbolic]] [[substitute]], she later turns her resentment against the [[father]] when he fails to provide her with the [[desired]] [[child]]. [[Freud]] argues that [[penis envy]] persists into [[adulthood]], manifesting itself both in the [[desire]] to [[enjoy]] the [[penis]] in [[sexual intercourse]], and in the [[desire]] to have a [[child]] (since the [[father]] has failed to provide her with a [[child]], the [[woman]] turns to another [[man]] instead).  [[Lacan]] argues that even when the [[woman]] has a [[child]], this does not spell the end of her sense of [[privation]].  Her [[desire]] for the [[phallus]] remains [[unsatisfied]], no matter how many [[children]] she has.  The [[mother]]'s basic [[dissatisfaction]] is perceived by the [[child]] from very early on; he realizes that she has a [[desire]] that aims at something beyond her [[dual relationship]] with him - the [[imaginary]] [[phallus]].<ref>{{S4}} p.194</ref> The [[child]] then seeks to fulfil her [[desire]] by [[identifying]] with the [[Imaginary]] [[phallus]].  In this way, the [[privation]] of the [[mother]] is responsible for introducing the [[dialectic]] of [[desire]] in the [[child]]'s life for the first time. 

* [[Lacan, Jacques]]. (1956-57). Le séminaire: Livre IV, La relation d'objet (pp. 237-270). Paris: Le Seuil.