Scene

From No Subject - Encyclopedia of Psychoanalysis
Revision as of 22:30, 27 April 2006 by Riot Hero (talk | contribs)
(diff) ← Older revision | Latest revision (diff) | Newer revision → (diff)
Jump to: navigation, search


scene (scËne) Freud borrowed the expression 'another scene' (eine andere Schauplatz) from G. T. Fechner, and used it in The Interpretation of Dreams, stating that 'the scene of action of dreams is different from that of waking ideational life' (Freud, 1900a: SE V, 535-6). This led Freud to formulate the idea of 'psychical locality'. However, Freud emphasised that this concept of locality is not to be confused with physical locality or anatomical locality, and Lacan takes this as a justification for his own use of TOPOLOGY (see E, 285). Lacan makes repeated reference to Fechner's expression in his work (e.g. E, 193); the 'other scene' is, in Lacanian terms, the Other. Lacan also uses the term 'scene' to designate the Imaginary and Symbolic theatre in which the subject plays out hiS Fantasy, which is built on the edifice of the Real (the world). The scene of fantasy is a virtual space which is framed, in the same way that the scene of a play is framed by the proscenium arch in a theatre, whereas the world is a Real space which lies beyond the frame (Lacan, 1962-3: seminar of 19 December 1962). The notion of scene is used by Lacan to distinguish between Acting Out and PASSAGE TO THE ACT. The former still remains inside the scene, for it is still inscribed in the Symbolic order. The passage to the act, however, is an exit from the scene, is a crossing over from the Symbolic to the Real; there is a total identification with the object (objet petit a), and hence an abolition of the subject (Lacan, 1962-3: seminar of 16 January 1963). The fantasy scene is also an important aspect in PERVERSION. The pervert typically stages his enjoyment in terms of some highly stylised scene, and according to a stereotypical script.



References