ABSTRACT
Edon, a bright young man, most tidy in appearance, presented with the most characteristic of obsessional symptoms: he was plagued with doubts and indecision. His inability to decide whether “to break up, or not to break up” with his girlfriend brought him into therapy, but it also revealed a more general stance towards sexuality and libidinal relations—particularly a splitting of love and desire—which is both common in those with obsessional neurotic structure and clinically important to comprehend. Furthermore, this stance, as we shall see, is hallmarked by guilt and shame. In Edon we encounter the labyrinth of the obsessional’s romantic and sexual relationships, and we will see how they relate to the question of the nature and transmission 78of the paternal function, and the consequences these have at the level of the phallus.
