Difference between revisions of "Castration complex"

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==Sigmund Freud==
 
==Sigmund Freud==
 
===Sexual Difference===
 
===Sexual Difference===
[[Freud]] first described the [[castration complex]] in 1908, arguing that the [[child]] -- on discovering the [[biology|anatomical]] [[sexual difference|difference between the sexes]] -- the [[presence]] or [[absence]] of the [[penis]] -- makes the assumption that this [[sexual difference|difference]] is due to the [[female]]'s [[penis]] having been cut off.<ref>{{F}} "[[Works of Sigmund Freud|On the Sexual Theories of Children]]". 1908. [[SE]] IX. p. 207</ref>  
+
[[Freud]] first described the [[castration complex]] in 1908, arguing that the [[child]] - on discovering the [[biology|anatomical]] [[sexual difference|difference between the sexes]] -- the [[presence]] or [[absence]] of the [[penis]] - makes the assumption that this [[sexual difference|difference]] is due to the [[female]]'s [[penis]] having been cut off.<ref>{{F}} "[[Works of Sigmund Freud|On the Sexual Theories of Children]]". 1908. [[SE]] IX. p. 207</ref> In his view, the [[castration complex]] is the moment when one "[[castration complex|infantile theory]]" -- that every [[human]] [[being]] has a [[penis]] -- is replaced by a new one -- that [[female]]s have been [[castrated]]. The consequences of this new [[castration complex|infantile theory]] are different in the [[boy]] and in the [[girl]]. The [[boy]] fears that his own [[penis]] will be cut off by the [[father]] ([[castration]] [[anxiety]]), while the [[girl]] sees herself as already castrated (by the [[mother]]) and attempts to deny this or to compensate for it by seeking a [[child]] as a [[substitute]] for the [[penis]] ([[penis envy]]).
 
 
===Castration Anxiety / Penis Envy===
 
In his view, the [[castration complex]] is the moment when one "[[castration complex|infantile theory]]" -- that every [[human]] [[being]] has a [[penis]] -- is replaced by a new one -- that [[female]]s have been [[castrated]]. The consequences of this new [[castration complex|infantile theory]] are different in the [[boy]] and in the [[girl]]. The [[boy]] fears that his own [[penis]] will be cut off by the [[father]] ([[castration]] [[anxiety]]), while the [[girl]] sees herself as already castrated (by the [[mother]]) and attempts to deny this or to compensate for it by seeking a [[child]] as a substitute for the [[penis]] ([[penis envy]]).
 
  
 
===Phallic Phase===
 
===Phallic Phase===
The [[castration complex]] affects both [[sex]]es because its appearance is closely linked with the [[castration complex|phallic phase]], a moment of [[development|psychosexual development]] when the [[child]], whether [[boy]] or [[girl]], knows only one [[penis|genital organ]] - the [[male]] one.  This phase is also known as the [[castration complex|infantile genital organisation]] because it is the first moment when the [[drive|partial drive]]s are unified under the primacy of the genital organs.  It thus anticipates the [[genital|genital organisation]] proper which arises at [[development|puberty]], when the [[subject]] is aware of both the [[male]] and the [[female]] [[biology|sexual organ]]s.<ref>{{F}} "[[Works of Sigmund Freud|The Infantile Genital Organization]]." 1923. [[SE]] XIX. p. 141</ref>
+
The [[castration complex]] affects both [[sex]]es because its appearance is closely linked with the [[castration complex|phallic phase]], a moment of [[development|psychosexual development]] when the [[child]], whether [[boy]] or [[girl]], knows only one [[penis|genital organ]] - the [[male]] one.  This [[phase]] is also known as the [[castration complex|infantile genital organisation]] because it is the first moment when the [[drive|partial drive]]s are unified under the primacy of the genital organs.  It thus anticipates the [[genital|genital organisation]] proper which arises at [[development|puberty]], when the [[subject]] is aware of both the [[male]] and the [[female]] [[biology|sexual organ]]s.<ref>{{F}} "[[Works of Sigmund Freud|The Infantile Genital Organization]]." 1923. [[SE]] XIX. p. 141</ref>
  
 
===Oedipus Complex===
 
===Oedipus Complex===
 
[[Freud]] argued that the [[castration complex]] is closely linked to the [[Oedipus complex]], but that its role in the [[Oedipus complex]] is different for the [[boy]] and the [[girl]]. In the case of the [[boy]], the [[castration complex]] is the point of exit from the [[Oedipus complex]], its terminal crisis; because of his [[fear]] of [[castration]] -- often aroused by a [[fear|threat]] -- the [[boy]] renounces his [[desire]] for the [[mother]] and thus enters the [[development|latency period]]. In the case of the [[girl]], the [[castration complex]] is the point of entry into the [[Oedipus complex]]; it is her resentment of the [[mother]], whom she blames for depriving her of the [[penis]], that causes her to redirect her [[libido|libidinal]] [[desire]]s away from the [[mother]] and onto the [[father]]. Because of this [[sexual difference|difference]], in the case of the [[girl]] the [[Oedipus complex]] has no definitive terminal crisis comparable to the [[boy]]'s.<ref>{{F}} "[[Works of Sigmund Freud|The Dissolution of the Oedipus Complex]]," 1924. [[SE]] XIX p. 173</ref>
 
[[Freud]] argued that the [[castration complex]] is closely linked to the [[Oedipus complex]], but that its role in the [[Oedipus complex]] is different for the [[boy]] and the [[girl]]. In the case of the [[boy]], the [[castration complex]] is the point of exit from the [[Oedipus complex]], its terminal crisis; because of his [[fear]] of [[castration]] -- often aroused by a [[fear|threat]] -- the [[boy]] renounces his [[desire]] for the [[mother]] and thus enters the [[development|latency period]]. In the case of the [[girl]], the [[castration complex]] is the point of entry into the [[Oedipus complex]]; it is her resentment of the [[mother]], whom she blames for depriving her of the [[penis]], that causes her to redirect her [[libido|libidinal]] [[desire]]s away from the [[mother]] and onto the [[father]]. Because of this [[sexual difference|difference]], in the case of the [[girl]] the [[Oedipus complex]] has no definitive terminal crisis comparable to the [[boy]]'s.<ref>{{F}} "[[Works of Sigmund Freud|The Dissolution of the Oedipus Complex]]," 1924. [[SE]] XIX p. 173</ref>
  
===Treatment===
+
<!-- ===Treatment=== -->
[[Freud]] came to see the [[castration complex]] as a universal phenomenon, one which is rooted in a basic "rejection of femininity" (''Ablehnung der Weiblich-keit''). It is encountered in every [[subject]], and represents the ultimate limit beyond which [[psychoanalytic treatment]] cannot go.<ref>{{F}} "[[Works of Sigmund Freud|Analysis Terminable and Interminable]]," 1937. [[SE]] XXIII. p. 211</ref>
+
<!-- [[Freud]] came to see the [[castration complex]] as a universal phenomenon, one which is rooted in a basic "rejection of femininity" (''Ablehnung der Weiblich-keit''). It is encountered in every [[subject]], and represents the ultimate limit beyond which [[psychoanalytic treatment]] cannot go.<ref>{{F}} "[[Works of Sigmund Freud|Analysis Terminable and Interminable]]," 1937. [[SE]] XXIII. p. 211</ref>-->
  
 
==Jacques Lacan==
 
==Jacques Lacan==
===Fantasy of the Mutilation of the Penis===
+
<!-- ===Fantasy of the Mutilation of the Penis=== -->
[[Lacan]] -- who talks more often about "[[castration]]" than the "[[castration complex]]" -- does not discuss the [[castration complex]] very much in his early work.  
+
<!-- [[Lacan]] -- who talks more often about "[[castration]]" than the "[[castration complex]]" -- does not discuss the [[castration complex]] very much in his early work. He dedicates a few paragraphs to it in his article on the [[family]], where he follows [[Freud]] in stating that [[castration]] is first and foremost a [[fantasy]] of the mutilation of the [[penis]]. [[Lacan]] links this [[fantasy]] with a whole series of [[fantasy|fantasies]] of bodily dismemberment which originate in the [[image]] of the [[fragmented body]]; this [[image]] is contemporary with the [[mirror stage]] (six to eighteen months), and it is only much later that these [[fantasy|fantasies]] of dismemberment coalesce around the specific [[fantasy]] of [[castration]].<ref>{{1938}} p. 44</ref> -->
 
 
He dedicates a few paragraphs to it in his article on the [[family]], where he follows [[Freud]] in stating that [[castration]] is first and foremost a [[fantasy]] of the mutilation of the [[penis]].  
 
 
 
[[Lacan]] links this [[fantasy]] with a whole series of [[fantasy|fantasies]] of bodily dismemberment which originate in the [[image]] of the [[fragmented body]]; this [[image]] is contemporary with the [[mirror stage]] (six to eighteen months), and it is only much later that these [[fantasy|fantasies]] of dismemberment coalesce around the specific [[fantasy]] of [[castration]].<ref>{{1938}} p. 44</ref>
 
  
 
===Symbolic Lack of an Imaginary Object===
 
===Symbolic Lack of an Imaginary Object===
It is not until the mid-1950s that the [[castration complex]] comes to play a prominent role in [[Lacan]]'s [[seminars|teaching]], primarily in [[the seminar of 1956-7]].  
+
It is not until the mid-1950s that the [[castration complex]] comes to play a prominent role in [[Lacan]]'s [[seminars|teaching]], primarily in [[the seminar of 1956-7]]. It is in this [[seminar]] that [[Lacan]] identifies [[castration complex|castration]] as one of three forms of "[[lack|lack of object]]", the others being [[frustration]] and [[privation]]. Unlike [[frustration]] -- which is an [[imaginary]] [[lack]] of a [[real]] [[object]] -- and [[privation]] -- which is a [[real]] [[lack]] of a [[symbolic]] [[object]], [[castration complex|castration]] is defined by [[Lacan]] as a [[symbolic]] [[lack]] of an [[imaginary]] [[object]]; [[castration complex|castration]] does not bear on the [[penis]] as a [[real]] [[biology|organ]], but on the [[imaginary]] [[phallus]].<ref>{{S4}} p. 219</ref> [[Lacan]]'s account of the [[castration complex]] is thus raised out of the dimension of simple [[biology]] or [[biology|anatomy]]:  
 
 
It is in this [[seminar]] that [[Lacan]] identifies [[castration complex|castration]] as one of three forms of "[[lack|lack of object]]", the others being [[frustration]] and [[privation]].  
 
 
 
Unlike [[frustration]] -- which is an [[imaginary]] [[lack]] of a [[real]] [[object]] -- and [[privation]] -- which is a [[real]] [[lack]] of a [[symbolic]] [[object]], [[castration complex|castration]] is defined by [[Lacan]] as a [[symbolic]] [[lack]] of an [[imaginary]] [[object]]; [[castration complex|castration]] does not bear on the [[penis]] as a [[real]] [[biology|organ]], but on the [[imaginary]] [[phallus]].<ref>{{S4}} p. 219</ref>
 
 
 
[[Lacan]]'s account of the [[castration complex]] is thus raised out of the dimension of simple [[biology]] or [[biology|anatomy]]:  
 
  
 
<blockquote>"It is insoluble by any reduction to biological givens."<ref>{{E}} p. 282</ref></blockquote>
 
<blockquote>"It is insoluble by any reduction to biological givens."<ref>{{E}} p. 282</ref></blockquote>
  
 
===Oedipus Complex===
 
===Oedipus Complex===
Following [[Freud]], [[Lacan]] argues that the [[castration complex]] is the pivot on which the whole [[Oedipus complex]] turns.<ref>{{S4}} p. 216</ref>
+
Following [[Freud]], [[Lacan]] argues that the [[castration complex]] is the pivot on which the whole [[Oedipus complex]] turns.<ref>{{S4}} p. 216</ref> However, whereas [[Freud]] argues that these two [[complex]]es are articulated differently in [[boy]]s and [[girl]]s, [[Lacan]] argues that the [[castration complex]] always denotes the final moment of the [[Oedipus complex]] in both sexes.
  
However, whereas [[Freud]] argues that these two [[complex]]es are articulated differently in [[boy]]s and [[girl]]s, [[Lacan]] argues that the [[castration complex]] always denotes the final moment of the [[Oedipus complex]] in both sexes.
 
 
===Three Times===
 
 
[[Lacan]] divides the [[Oedipus complex]] into three "[[Oedipus complex|times]]".<ref>{{S5}}; [[Seminar]] of 22 January 1958</ref>
 
[[Lacan]] divides the [[Oedipus complex]] into three "[[Oedipus complex|times]]".<ref>{{S5}}; [[Seminar]] of 22 January 1958</ref>
 
 
# In the first time, the [[child]] perceives that the [[mother]] [[desire]]s something beyond the [[child]] himself - namely, the [[imaginary]] [[phallus]] -- and then tries to be the [[phallus]] for the [[mother]] (see [[preoedipal phase]]).
 
# In the first time, the [[child]] perceives that the [[mother]] [[desire]]s something beyond the [[child]] himself - namely, the [[imaginary]] [[phallus]] -- and then tries to be the [[phallus]] for the [[mother]] (see [[preoedipal phase]]).
 
 
# In the second time, the [[imaginary]] [[father]] intervenes to deprive the [[mother]] of her [[object]] by promulgating the [[incest taboo]]; properly speaking, this is not [[castration complex|castration]] but [[privation]].  
 
# In the second time, the [[imaginary]] [[father]] intervenes to deprive the [[mother]] of her [[object]] by promulgating the [[incest taboo]]; properly speaking, this is not [[castration complex|castration]] but [[privation]].  
 +
# [[castration complex|Castration]] is only realized in the third and final time, which represents the "dissolution" of the [[Oedipus complex]]. It is then that the [[real]] [[father]] intervenes by showing that he really possesses the [[phallus]], in such a way that the [[child]] is forced to abandon his attempts to be the [[phallus]].<ref>{{S4}} p. 208-9, 227</ref>
  
# [[castration complex|Castration]] is only realised in the third and final time, which represents the "dissolution" of the [[Oedipus complex]].
+
<!-- ==Two Operations== -->
 
+
<!-- From this account of the [[Oedipus complex]], it is clear that [[Lacan]] uses the term "[[castration]]" to refer to two different operations. -->
It is then that the [[real]] [[father]] intervenes by showing that he really posesses the [[phallus]], in such a way that the [[child]] is forced to abandon his attempts to be the [[phallus]].<ref>{{S4}} p. 208-9, 227</ref>
+
<!-- ===Castration of the Mother===
 
+
<!-- [[Lacan]] often uses the term "[[castration complex|castration]]" to speak of the [[castration complex|castration]] -- or, more precisely, the "[[privation]]" -- of the [[mother]]. In the [[first time]] of the [[Oedipus complex]], "the mother is considered, by both sexes, as possessing the phallus, as the phallic mother."<ref>{{E}} p.282</ref> By promulgating the [[incest taboo]] in the [[second time]], the [[imaginary]] [[father]] is seen to deprive her of this [[phallus]]. However, [[Lacan]] himself often uses these terms interchangeably, speaking both of the [[privation]] of the [[mother]] and of her [[castration complex|castration]].
==Two Operations==
+
<!-- ===Castration of the Subject=== -->
From this account of the [[Oedipus complex]], it is clear that [[Lacan]] uses the term "[[castration]]" to refer to two different operations.
+
<!-- This is [[castration complex|castration]] proper, in the sense of being a [[symbolic]] [[act]] which bears on an [[imaginary]] [[object]]. Whereas the [[castration complex|castration]]/[[privation]] of the [[mother]] which comes about in the second time of the [[Oedipus complex]] negates the verb "to have" -- the [[mother]] does not have the [[phallus]], the [[castration complex|castration]] of the [[subject]] in the third time of the [[Oedipus complex]] negates the verb "to be" -- the [[subject]] must renounce his attempts to be the [[phallus]] for the [[mother]]. -->
 
 
===Castration of the Mother===
 
[[Lacan]] often uses the term "[[castration complex|castration]]" to speak of the [[castration complex|castration]] -- or, more precisely, the "[[privation]]" -- of the [[mother]].
 
 
 
In the [[first time]] of the [[Oedipus complex]], "the mother is considered, by both sexes, as possessing the phallus, as the phallic mother."<ref>{{E}} p.282</ref>  
 
 
 
By promulgating the [[incest taboo]] in the [[second time]], the [[imaginary]] [[father]] is seen to deprive her of this [[phallus]].  
 
 
 
However, [[Lacan]] himself often uses these terms interchangeably, speaking both of the [[privation]] of the [[mother]] and of her [[castration complex|castration]].
 
 
 
===Castration of the Subject===
 
This is [[castration complex|castration]] proper, in the sense of being a [[symbolic]] [[act]] which bears on an [[imaginary]] [[object]].  
 
 
 
Whereas the [[castration complex|castration]]/[[privation]] of the [[mother]] which comes about in the second time of the [[Oedipus complex]] negates the verb "to have" -- the [[mother]] does not have the [[phallus]], the [[castration complex|castration]] of the [[subject]] in the third time of the [[Oedipus complex]] negates the verb "to be" -- the [[subject]] must renounce his attempts to be the [[phallus]] for the [[mother]].  
 
 
 
In renouncing his attempts to be the [[object]] of the [[mother]]'s [[desire]], the [[subject]] gives up a certain ''[[jouissance]]'' which is never regained despite all attempts to do so:
 
  
 +
The [[subject]] must renounce his attempts to be the [[phallus]] for the [[mother]].  In renouncing his attempts to be the [[object]] of the [[mother]]'s [[desire]], the [[subject]] gives up a certain ''[[jouissance]]'' which is never regained despite all attempts to do so:
 
<blockquote>"Castration means that ''jouissance'' must be refused so that it can be reached on the inverted ladder (''l'èchelle renversè'') of the [[Law]] of [[desire]]."<ref>{{E}} p. 324</ref></blockquote>
 
<blockquote>"Castration means that ''jouissance'' must be refused so that it can be reached on the inverted ladder (''l'èchelle renversè'') of the [[Law]] of [[desire]]."<ref>{{E}} p. 324</ref></blockquote>
  
 
This applies equally to [[boy]]s and [[girl]]s:
 
This applies equally to [[boy]]s and [[girl]]s:
 
 
<blockquote>"[This] relationship to the phallus .  . . is established without regard to the anatomical difference of the sexes."<ref>{{E}} p. 282</ref></blockquote>
 
<blockquote>"[This] relationship to the phallus .  . . is established without regard to the anatomical difference of the sexes."<ref>{{E}} p. 282</ref></blockquote>
  
====Lack of the Mother====
+
====Lack====
On a more fundamental level, the term [[castration complex|castration]] may also refer not to an "operation" -- the result of an intervention by the [[imaginary]] or [[real]] [[father]] -- but to a state of [[lack]] which already exists in the [[mother]] prior to the [[subject]]'s birth.
+
On a more fundamental level, the term [[castration complex|castration]] may also refer not to an "operation" -- the result of an intervention by the [[imaginary]] or [[real]] [[father]] -- but to a state of [[lack]] which already exists in the [[mother]] prior to the [[subject]]'s birth. This [[lack]] is evident in her own [[desire]], which the [[subject]] perceives as a [[desire]] for the [[imaginary]] [[phallus]]. That is, the [[subject]] realises at a very early stage that the [[mother]] is not [[lack|complete]] and [[autonomy|self-sufficient]] in herself, nor fully [[satisfied]] with her [[child]] (the [[subject]] himself), but [[desire]]s something else. This is the [[subject]]'s first perception that the [[Other]] is not [[lack|complete]] but [[lack]]ing.
 
 
This [[lack]] is evident in her own [[desire]], which the [[subject]] perceives as a [[desire]] for the [[imaginary]] [[phallus]].  
 
 
 
That is, the [[subject]] realises at a very early stage that the [[mother]] is not [[lack|complete]] and [[autonomy|self-sufficient]] in herself, nor fully [[satisfied]] with her [[child]] (the [[subject]] himself), but [[desire]]s something else.  
 
 
 
This is the [[subject]]'s first perception that the [[Other]] is not [[lack|complete]] but [[lack]]ing.
 
  
 
==Assumption of Castration==
 
==Assumption of Castration==
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====Perversion====
 
====Perversion====
A more radical [[defence]] against [[castration complex|castration]] than [[repression]] is [[disavowal]], which is at the root of the [[perversion|perverse]] [[structure]].  
+
A more radical [[defense]] against [[castration complex|castration]] than [[repression]] is [[disavowal]], which is at the root of the [[perversion|perverse]] [[structure]].  
  
 
====Psychosis====
 
====Psychosis====

Revision as of 15:00, 3 November 2006

French: complexe de castration


Sigmund Freud

Sexual Difference

Freud first described the castration complex in 1908, arguing that the child - on discovering the anatomical difference between the sexes -- the presence or absence of the penis - makes the assumption that this difference is due to the female's penis having been cut off.[1] In his view, the castration complex is the moment when one "infantile theory" -- that every human being has a penis -- is replaced by a new one -- that females have been castrated. The consequences of this new infantile theory are different in the boy and in the girl. The boy fears that his own penis will be cut off by the father (castration anxiety), while the girl sees herself as already castrated (by the mother) and attempts to deny this or to compensate for it by seeking a child as a substitute for the penis (penis envy).

Phallic Phase

The castration complex affects both sexes because its appearance is closely linked with the phallic phase, a moment of psychosexual development when the child, whether boy or girl, knows only one genital organ - the male one. This phase is also known as the infantile genital organisation because it is the first moment when the partial drives are unified under the primacy of the genital organs. It thus anticipates the genital organisation proper which arises at puberty, when the subject is aware of both the male and the female sexual organs.[2]

Oedipus Complex

Freud argued that the castration complex is closely linked to the Oedipus complex, but that its role in the Oedipus complex is different for the boy and the girl. In the case of the boy, the castration complex is the point of exit from the Oedipus complex, its terminal crisis; because of his fear of castration -- often aroused by a threat -- the boy renounces his desire for the mother and thus enters the latency period. In the case of the girl, the castration complex is the point of entry into the Oedipus complex; it is her resentment of the mother, whom she blames for depriving her of the penis, that causes her to redirect her libidinal desires away from the mother and onto the father. Because of this difference, in the case of the girl the Oedipus complex has no definitive terminal crisis comparable to the boy's.[3]


Jacques Lacan

Symbolic Lack of an Imaginary Object

It is not until the mid-1950s that the castration complex comes to play a prominent role in Lacan's teaching, primarily in the seminar of 1956-7. It is in this seminar that Lacan identifies castration as one of three forms of "lack of object", the others being frustration and privation. Unlike frustration -- which is an imaginary lack of a real object -- and privation -- which is a real lack of a symbolic object, castration is defined by Lacan as a symbolic lack of an imaginary object; castration does not bear on the penis as a real organ, but on the imaginary phallus.[4] Lacan's account of the castration complex is thus raised out of the dimension of simple biology or anatomy:

"It is insoluble by any reduction to biological givens."[5]

Oedipus Complex

Following Freud, Lacan argues that the castration complex is the pivot on which the whole Oedipus complex turns.[6] However, whereas Freud argues that these two complexes are articulated differently in boys and girls, Lacan argues that the castration complex always denotes the final moment of the Oedipus complex in both sexes.

Lacan divides the Oedipus complex into three "times".[7]

  1. In the first time, the child perceives that the mother desires something beyond the child himself - namely, the imaginary phallus -- and then tries to be the phallus for the mother (see preoedipal phase).
  2. In the second time, the imaginary father intervenes to deprive the mother of her object by promulgating the incest taboo; properly speaking, this is not castration but privation.
  3. Castration is only realized in the third and final time, which represents the "dissolution" of the Oedipus complex. It is then that the real father intervenes by showing that he really possesses the phallus, in such a way that the child is forced to abandon his attempts to be the phallus.[8]


The subject must renounce his attempts to be the phallus for the mother. In renouncing his attempts to be the object of the mother's desire, the subject gives up a certain jouissance which is never regained despite all attempts to do so:

"Castration means that jouissance must be refused so that it can be reached on the inverted ladder (l'èchelle renversè) of the Law of desire."[9]

This applies equally to boys and girls:

"[This] relationship to the phallus . . . is established without regard to the anatomical difference of the sexes."[10]

Lack

On a more fundamental level, the term castration may also refer not to an "operation" -- the result of an intervention by the imaginary or real father -- but to a state of lack which already exists in the mother prior to the subject's birth. This lack is evident in her own desire, which the subject perceives as a desire for the imaginary phallus. That is, the subject realises at a very early stage that the mother is not complete and self-sufficient in herself, nor fully satisfied with her child (the subject himself), but desires something else. This is the subject's first perception that the Other is not complete but lacking.

Assumption of Castration

"Normalizing Effect"

The castration complex presents the subject with a choice: to accept castration or to deny it. Lacan argues that it is only by accepting (or "assuming") castration that the subject can reach a degree of psychic normality. In other words, the assumption of castration has a "normalizing effect". This normalising effect is to be understood in terms of both psychopathology (clinical structures and symptoms) and sexual identity.

Clinical Structures

It is the refusal of castration that lies at the root of all psychopathological structures. However, since it is impossible to accept castration entirely, a completely "normal" position is never achieved. The closest to such a position is the neurotic structure, but even here the subject still defends himself against the lack in the Other by repressing awareness of castration. This prevents the neurotic from fully assuming his desire, since "it is the assumption of castration that creates the lack upon which desire is instituted."[11]

Perversion

A more radical defense against castration than repression is disavowal, which is at the root of the perverse structure.

Psychosis

The psychotic takes the most extreme path of all; he completely repudiates castration, as if it had never existed.[12] This repudiation of symbolic castration leads to the return of castration in the real, such as in the form of hallucinations of dismemberment (as in the case of the Wolf Man) or even self-mutilation of the real genital organs.

Castration and Sexual Identity

It is only by assuming castration (in both senses) that the subject can take up a sexual position as a man or a woman. The different modalities of refusing castration find expression in the various forms of perversion.

See Also

References

  1. Freud, Sigmund. "On the Sexual Theories of Children". 1908. SE IX. p. 207
  2. Freud, Sigmund. "The Infantile Genital Organization." 1923. SE XIX. p. 141
  3. Freud, Sigmund. "The Dissolution of the Oedipus Complex," 1924. SE XIX p. 173
  4. Lacan, Jacques. Le Séminaire. Livre IV. La relation d'objet, 19566-57. Ed. Jacques-Alain Miller. Paris: Seuil, 1991. p. 219
  5. Lacan, Jacques. Écrits: A Selection. Trans. Alan Sheridan. London: Tavistock Publications, 1977. p. 282
  6. Lacan, Jacques. Le Séminaire. Livre IV. La relation d'objet, 19566-57. Ed. Jacques-Alain Miller. Paris: Seuil, 1991. p. 216
  7. Lacan, Jacques. Les formations de l'inconscient. ('The Formations of the Unconscious.') 1957-8. Unpublished.; Seminar of 22 January 1958
  8. Lacan, Jacques. Le Séminaire. Livre IV. La relation d'objet, 19566-57. Ed. Jacques-Alain Miller. Paris: Seuil, 1991. p. 208-9, 227
  9. Lacan, Jacques. Écrits: A Selection. Trans. Alan Sheridan. London: Tavistock Publications, 1977. p. 324
  10. Lacan, Jacques. Écrits: A Selection. Trans. Alan Sheridan. London: Tavistock Publications, 1977. p. 282
  11. Lacan, Jacques. Écrits. Paris: Seuil, 1966. p. 852
  12. Lacan, Jacques. The Seminar. Book I. Freud's Papers on Technique, 1953-54. Trans. John Forrester. New York: Nortion; Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1988. p. 53