The Ambivalence of Julian: The Paradox of Fatherhood in Pier Paolo Pasolini’s Porcile

Abstract

This article focuses on the representation of fatherhood in Pier Paolo Pasolini’s tragedy Porcile. It draws on Lacanian psychoanalysis, specifically on Massimo Recalcati’s interpretation, and on Lacan’s theories about the weakening of fathers and of the reconfiguration of father-son relationships in late-modern society. The article demonstrates how, by refusing to accept or reject paternal authority, the protagonist Julian undermines the two typical approaches to fatherhood consolidated by the patriarchal tradition and thereby alerts us to the impossibility of perpetuating the traditional model of fatherhood in late-modern society.