Oedipus’ anxiety from past to the present: a case study

Abstract

ABSTRACT In his 10th seminar titled ‘L’angoisse,’ Lacan argues that anxiety is due to the possibility of not being castrated. He argues that the reason behind the subject’s anxiety is the question ‘What does the Other want from me?’. This causes anxiety in the subject, who is located as the object of the Other’s desire because, in this position, the subject faces the threat of being devoured by his mother. The subject is protected from anxiety through the function of Name-of-the-Father, which refers to the mother’s lack. As a result of this function, object a has fallen from the subject. Object a exists both as the object of anxiety and the object cause of desire. The subject constantly circles the object to be able to possess it, but the closer he gets to the object, the more anxious he becomes. The concept of uncanny is located at the core of anxiety; it corresponds to the concept of lack of lack. In addition, Lacanian clinical structures differ with regards to their relationship to lack and deal with anxiety in different ways. This study centers on the Lacanian theory of anxiety and aims to explore the relationship between anxiety and obsessional neurosis through a case study.