ABSTRACT
Claude was born in 1942, and the history of his illness began in 1987: he was taken to hospital because of a heart attack, in a provincial town where he was spending his holidays. Claude had consultations in February and June 1988, and some progress was recorded. He was seen again in consultation two years later, and the functional progress appeared to be reasonable without any signs of angina or cardiac deficiency. Claude mentions a scene in the novella in which the snake is carrying the little prince in his arms through the desert and finally finds a well. The therapeutic process evolves gradually, and we move from a factual account to a more mentalised discourse; the patient’s memory is returning. Claude expresses his recurrent difficulty in making choices, for example in improving his bathroom, and making decisions as if he were waiting for some authorisation or permission.
