ABSTRACT
Taking the first seven lessons of Seminar VI, the author traces the initial sketching out of the structure of fantasy which is also, at this time in Lacan’s teaching, a version of the structure of the subject. This section also provides a first outline of what will become the o-object (object a), at this stage linked to narcissistic passion. Lacan’s style of theorizing and developing new ideas is commented upon as exemplified in his use of the graph of desire which is described as a mesh of simultaneity and anteriority. The “real-life” application of the graph is considered at length in the actual lived experiences of mothers and infants, within the context of Lacan’s “che vuoi” and the origins of the “Che vuoi?” are explored at length. The che vuoi concept is linked to Lacan’s notion of the terror of signifying inchoation and the search for a substitute (object) to defend against this helplessness. Benveniste’s theories on linguistics are examined for their influence upon Lacan’s emphasis on the grammar of the o-object. Lacan’s commentary on the dream of the dead father is explored in great detail with reflections on the lived experiences of this “common” dream including that of the poet Mallarmé. The strong theme of the need for a phantasmatic structure to shield the subject from the unbearable pain of existence is indicated by the author in Lacan’s theorization of how the fantasy as a protective structure operates in these kinds of dreams where the subject is menaced by the real-life disappearance of the vital support of his/her subjective structure.
