ABSTRACT
It is not unusual, during the course of free association, for a patient to enquire of the analyst, “Are you taking notes?” Certainly, in fanciful reproductions of the analytic situation such as cartoons, the analyst is identified by his notebook no less than by his beard and couch. When such a question is referred back to the analysand for his thoughts, almost invariably there is some association to the effect that the patient wants the analyst to take notes so as not to lose sight of a single, precious word.
