Fondements du complexe d’Œdipe au travers du Seigneur des anneaux : une illustration à visée pédagogique

Abstract

ContextAs part of a teaching of the foundations of the Oedipus complex according to Lacanian structural psychopathology, an illustration in the form of an analogy was proposed with certain aspects of The Lord of the Rings, the masterpiece by J.R.R. Tolkien. ObjectivesOur article aims to share this illustration for pedagogical purposes. MethodWhile presenting certain key elements of the theory of the Oedipus complex as reviewed by Lacan, we propose term-to-term equivalents by making this general situation incarnate through the destiny of Tolkien's characters, in particular the Oedipal triangulation between the Hobbit Frodo, bearer of a magic ring coveted by the sorcerer Sauron. ResultsWhile the analogy only covers part of the theory from selected pieces of the fantasy work, it provides a playful medium for conveying an abstract theoretical conception through an embodied imaginary conception. InterpretationsInteresting students without clinical experience in complex psychopathological conceptions can be achieved through such pedagogical efforts, which also question our own representations, through my themes having a certain proximity with the culture in which psychoanalysis was born.