Lacan's The Nucleus of Repression -The Élaboration of the 'Prägung' (original) (raw)
Jacques Lacan, in his seminal work of The Nucleus of Repression, discusses the moment in the élaboration which is always present in an enigmatic way in analysis i.e., wherein the positive effect of interpretation in the transference episode is truly possible. Once this imaginary element becomes "non-integrated", then the "suppressed, repressed" image arises followed by the appearance of anxiety which the subject witnesses. Lacan emphasizes the decisive or mutative value of this "fertile moment" because a right interpretation is required at that precise moment during the analysis. The subject's desires at that particular moment fluctuate between being present and inconceivable and hence, it is the only occasion where the subject can make sense of the interpretation effectively. Lacan illustrates the Wolfman case, wherein the subject has a character or narcissistic neurosis which makes the subject develop resistance to treatment. This theoretical dilemma was initially raised by Freud in Infantile Neurosis which is the title of the Wolfman in German. After-all, Lacan was known for interpreting Freud's textual work in order to convey its inherent meanings and implications. The Wolfman case seems crucial in understanding the theory of trauma which Lacan uses as an example to unfold the theory of repression. He identifies the specter of repression in a traumatic event i.e., the event where the subject as a child accidentally catches the parents in a copulatory position. This issue of locating this "fertile moment" is also famously known as the topographical problem in Freudian terms. Lacan cleverly uses Freud's estimated date of copulation, to reveal the dual symbolism of the subject's birthday which also falls on Christmas Day. He locates the prägung i.e., the striking of repression in the subject's anticipation of the Christmas day and the Birthday to further assert that "this anxiety-dream is the first manifestation of the traumatic
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