Scarcely any theoretical discourse has had greater impact on literary
and cultural studies than psychoanalysis, and yet hardly any theoretical
discourse is more widely misunderstood and abused. In Psychoanalyzing,
Serge Leclaire offers a thorough and lucid exposition of the
psychoanalysis that has emerged from the French "return to Freud,"
unfolding and elaborating the often enigmatic pronouncements of Jacques
Lacan and patiently working through the central tenets of the "Ecole
freudienne." As a concise but nuanced introduction to the subject,
Psychoanalyzing will prove indispensable to anyone interested in
psychoanalysis, especially those curious about its Lacanian
reconceptualization and the linguistic theory of the unconscious and its
effects.
Leclaire's study is particularly valuable for the way its author links
theoretical issues to psychoanalytic practice. The opening chapter--on
listening--highlights the necessity, and the impossibility, of the
"floating attention" required from the analyst, while preparing the
reader for the following chapters, which deal with such topics as
unconscious desire, how to speak of the body, and the intrication of the
object and the "letter" (i.e. the signifier, the "material support that
concrete discourse borrows from language"). The final chapter--on
transference--shows how the analytical dialogue differs from other
dialogues.
Despite the intricacy of its subject matter, the book takes very little
for granted. It does not simplify the issues it presents, but does not
assume a reader familiar with the concepts of psychoanalysis, let alone
a reader acquainted with its French inflection. Each basic concept and
term is carefully explained, so that the reader knows the meaning of
"transference" or "primal scene" before proceeding to more advanced
elements of psychoanalysis. Leclaire's text is not intended merely to be
"user friendly"; its purpose is to clarify and advance, rather than to
impress or convert.
