The pale magic and the speech that insists: weavings of language and remnants of the Real in psychoanalysis

Abstract

The aim of this study is to explore the power of speech through an examination of theoretical concepts in Psychoanalysis, specifically focusing on the role of language and its relationship with speech. The centrality of speech in Psychoanalysis can be traced back to Sigmund Freud’s work with hysterics, where he employed the technique of free association as a means of treatment. Additionally, this research delves into the symbolic nature of language, drawing on the method of structural linguistic analysis and the concept of symbolic efficacy outlined by Claude Lévi-Strauss. Furthermore, this study positions Jacques Lacan’s re-evaluation of Freudian theories as a foundational aspect of this examination. From this theoretical framework, the present work posits that language, in its ability to express the non-sensical, reveals a deeper reality and uncovers a truth about the subject that escapes the boundaries of the symbolic order. Thus, the power of speech can be understood as existing between the diminished magic of language and the failure that persists and leads to an understanding of the Real.