I just got done reading “Lacanian Pussy” and I’ll be honest, my brain is fried! I had a difficult time trying to keep up with Peter Mahon and Jacques Lacan’s theories about ‘the unconscious is the discourse of the Other.’ In order to assist my comprehension I looked up several vocabulary definitions. I learned that Phallocentric means, centered on men or on a male viewpoint, especially one held to entail the domination of women by men. According to Mahon, Breakfast on Pluto, re-inscribes Lacanian thought ‘beyond’ itself. And that Breakfast on Pluto also encompasses a non-phallic strategy for intervening in the rhetoric of sameness as neither apolitical or non-violent. I also did a little bit of web research on Lacanian psychoanalysis and this is what I found;
Lacan rejected attempts to link psychoanalysis with social theory, saying 'the unconscious is the discourse of the Other' -- that human passion is structured by the desire of others and that we express deep feelings through the 'relay' of others. He thus saw desire as a social phenomenon and psychoanalysis as a theory of how the human subject is created through social interaction. Desire appears through a combination of language, culture and the spaces between people.
Lacan focused largely on Freud's work on deep structures and infant sexuality, and how the human subject becomes an 'other' through unconscious repression and stemming from the Mirror phase. The conscious ego and unconscious desire are thus radically divided. Lacan considered this perpetual and unconscious fragmentation of the self as Freud's core discovery.
I don’t know why, but I imagine the “Other” as the evil shoulder conscience that whispers impure temptations into the character’s ear.
So basically the author believes that the novel claims to be apolitical and remaining outside of politics when in fact many features, events, and comments from the novel are very political statements and this is due to the discourse or fantasies of the Other. So I ask you Mahon (and blogger friends), huh? I’m still trying to decipher what point Mahon is trying to say. To try to understand, I took Colleen’s suggestion and visited the following website; http://www.cla.purdue.edu/academic/engl/theory/psychoanalysis/lacandevelop.html
Desire is a main theme within the novel because Pussy is completing driven and deranged by desire. Constantly longing for that feeling of belonging. The website suggests that we have no control over desire.
Desire, in other words, has little to do with material sexuality for Lacan; it is caught up, rather, in social structures and strictures, in the fantasy version of reality that forever dominated our lives after our entrance into language. For this reason, Lacan writes that "the unconscious is the discourse of the Other." Even our unconscious desires are, in other words, organized by the linguistic system that Lacan terms the symbolic order or "the big Other." In a sense, then, our desire is never properly our own, but is created through fantasies that are caught up in cultural ideologies rather than material sexuality. For this reason, according to Lacan, the command that the superego directs to the subject is, of all things, "Enjoy!" That which we may believe to be most private and rebellious (our desire) is, in fact, regulated, even commanded, by the superego.
Throughout the novel we see that Pussy has a strong desire to feel love. He/she desperately seeks the love of his/her parents. I agree that desire is something that we can’t control. And sometimes are actions are led by this unconscious or conscious desire. Therefore, maybe that is why Pussy wanted to be a woman. By being maternal and nurturing to her lovers, perhaps Pussy was trying to create the mother she never had. So the other, is designed around cultural ideologies. Pussy also claims to be apolitical when clearly she is not. The nationalism and gender boundaries that Pussy medals with are construed from her desires.
Hi, I really liked your post this week. I thought you did a great job breaking down the article and raising some interesting ideas. I was really drawn towards what you said at the end," By being maternal and nurturing to her lovers, perhaps Pussy was trying to create the mother she never had. So the other, is designed around cultural ideologies. Pussy also claims to be apolitical when clearly she is not. The nationalism and gender boundaries that Pussy medals with are construed from her desires."
ReplyDelete..."trying to create the mother she never had"...this statement makes me think of Ireland as a whole and specifically the conflict between unionists and loyalists in N. Ireland. Underneath it all seems to be this longing or desire to belong to an identity. Mixing the past into the present makes it very difficult to say what or who Ireland should be. Ireland's independence was such a long time coming that many feel Ireland is entitled to owning the whole island as a united republic. While at the same time, there are many Anglo-Irish that exist now in Ireland and they have just as much claim to the land as anyone. That is why some are loyalists and feel an allegiance to England and the UK. A huge reason why they're was finally a ceasefire and end to The Troubles is because people who are born in N. Ireland can claim dual citizenship or one or the other. This all coming back to the issue of identity.
Your brain isn’t the only brain that is fried from reading this week’s piece! I also had a tough time keeping up with the Lacan theories. And I’m in psychology this semester! Anyway, I also had to look up a few definitions (which was pretty much every other word) but I also looked up a bit of Irish history to help me understand what exactly was going on at the time in which Breakfast on Pluto is set at. I understand what you say about how “human passion is structured by the desire of others and that we express deep feelings through the relay of others.” I thought that this was a good point to mention in your blog. Also when you said, “He thus saw desire as a social phenomenon and psychoanalysis as a theory of how the human subject is created through social interatction. Desire appears through a combination of language, culture, and the spaces between people.” I think we can see this in Breakfast on Pluto. Also, if I remember correctly, Lacan said something about desires and needs and how needs can be satisfied while desires can’t. This is also seen on Breakfast through Pussy’s character. It seems as though s/he is always searching for something, seeking desire in others through sexual acts but never quite finding it. Of course, the desire she is looking for is the feeling of belonging, and finding her true family and finally a feeling of home. I also liked your last line, and I think that Pussy may have used what she had seen in other mothers and used it on people, creating a mother s/he never had, like you said.
ReplyDeleteHey Nicole,
ReplyDeleteI’m gathering from everyone’s lovely reviews of the essay that it was not a light read. This piece of information makes me even more thrilled about the fact that I chose this week to post my online artifact, although it makes commenting on your blog a whole lot harder.
One thing that I am not surprised to find is that “Lacanian Pussy” centered most of its essay on psychology. After reading Breakfast on Pluto and getting to be inside Pussy’s head, it is no wonder the authors decided to base their analysis on the insane transvestite prostitute! If you really think about it they probably could have written a whole novel trying to explain what was going on in Pussy’s head when he did all the things that he did throughout the book, not to mention the things that he fantasized about.
Now I am going to attempt to answer the question you asked in your blog based on your statement “So basically the author believes that the novel claims to be apolitical and remaining outside of politics when in fact many features, events, and comments from the novel are very political statements and this is due to the discourse or fantasies of the Other. So I ask you Mahon (and blogger friends), huh?” Keeping in mind the fact that I did not read the essay I am going to try to explain what I believe they meant based off of what I understood of the novel. When the authors claim the novel is apolitical I believe they are referring to Pussy and not the novel in general. Throughout the novel Pussy jokes about the political violence that surrounds him and is completely uninterested in the whole matter. In writing a comedy, Patrick McCabe is trying to bring humor to very dark and ominous issue that has been present throughout Ireland for the better half of a century. In a way I can see how the authors view Breakfast on Pluto as apolitical in that it does not present any of the political issues that are present throughout Ireland, only the violence, and even some of that is portrayed in such a way as to makes it appear barbaric and without a purpose. As is the reasoning behind the violence is ridiculous and unimportant and the violence committed is committed for violence sake. (That may be completely wrong but it makes sense in my head☺).
Nicole,
ReplyDeleteWelcome back to the world of Freud, then again I can't imagine a critical analysis that involves a book so deeply entrenched in sexuality not tracing its psychological references back to Freud. However I'd like to commend you for doing your best to break down the more difficult aspects of this criticism for yourself and for all of us.
"...our desire is never properly our own, but is created through fantasies that are caught up in cultural ideologies rather than material sexuality." I love this comment, honestly this is probably one of the more accurate comments on desire that I've ever heard. So much of what is attractive is based on what other people think. How often do people want something or become enthralled with someone simply because there is some kind of hype being put out about it. We want things because they're popular, because other people want. Its almost like desire is a communicable disease that people spread just by existing or consuming. The cultural basis is also a pretty big influence on the male dominance as well, which plays into the early part of you blog. I guess I'm just rambling now.... I notice that happening a lot lately.
Still nice blog this week, just think we're almost done!
WS
To me “Lacanian Pussy” was a lot like Joyce I found myself starting and reastarting the article and have found that only until now (reading other’s blogs) have I come to any type of comprehension.
ReplyDeleteIt made total sense that you would relate the “other” as kind of the bad half of the conscience this is the passionate side but the one that is deep rooted and that maybe doesn’t show itself so often because like you said it is almost repressed.
I don’t know why but I seem to be disagreeing with what people have said that Pussy is desiring or searching for. I don’t believe that she is searching for a belonging but more so a reassurance just knowing that her mother is out there (and she looked like Mitzi Gaynor).
My overall question when reading these psychoanalytical literary criticisms is; do you think the author (McCabe) had any Lacanian intentions when writing his novel. Or do you think that this is just a result of some serious analyzing on the critics part?
Nicole,
ReplyDeleteLove the picture...big Simpson fan here!
Anyway, I think in a round about way it fits too. Not that I really think either "side" of Pussy was "good" or "bad", but I think there was a constant conflict between them. There was the male vs female part of her/him. Then there was also the hate my father, love my mother side. And even the not political but really very political side. I too really liked the comments on desire. You stated,
"In a sense, then, our desire is never properly our own, but is created through fantasies that are caught up in cultural ideologies rather than material sexuality."
Not only do I think this is definitely true for Pussy as she is constantly longing for a "traditional family" be it for her as a child or her as a mother. I think this is partly due to what she believes is considered the social norm. Additionally this comment once again goes back to the idea of ownership that has consistently been a theme in so many of our novels this semester. Even your desires aren't truly owned by you but by your fantasies and societal norms...Interesting thoughts! I also agreed with your comment on Pussy possibly acting maternally towards the people in her life because of her eternal search for her mother. And Ann,...I can't agree with you more about wondering if the authors ever really had the intent that is applied to their books from a psychological analysis.
Yes, yes, yes...this reading was difficult this past week! But you all have done an excellent job working through it, I must say.
ReplyDeleteI think Ann's comment above is just in that Mahon does commit the fallacy of intentionality in his reading of Breakfast. As literary critics we have to be very careful about the language we use to read texts. On page 444, Mahon states, "Ino ther words, Breakfast on Pluto does not simply reject Lacanian psychoanalysis; rather, it utilizes the Lacanian notion of the signifier, the imaginary, and desire to critique the phallocentric structure they inhabit." It's important to note that texts don't "utilize" anything and that Patrick McCabe probably most likely just wanted to write a funny novel about a transgendered person coming of age during the Troubles. It is WE, as readers, who read Lacan into a novel such as Breakfast. Theory is useful because it helps explains certain phenomena. In Biology, for example, we talk about the "theory" of evolution. Evolution helps explain things like the duck-billed platypus, for instance. While someone like myself may see a duck-billed platypus and consider all the biological factors and variables that helped create such a strange creature, someone else might just say, "God has a sense of humor!" In studying the novel, we do see certain kinds of stories being told over and over again (see CD's comment above about the narrative of "ownership." Why do so many novels start with orphans? Why are so many novels about the transference of inheritance and wealth? Perhaps because this is the fundamental backbone of our capitalist culture???). The repetition of certain kinds of stories reveal something about the way in which we communicate, what is fundamentally important to us, and how we shape and construct the world around us. "Lacan" does not live in this text, but his theories about language and identity can help us to examine and better understand the complex desires of a character such as Pussy.
What's interesting to me about the discussion above is that a lot of you pointed out Pussy's deep-seated desire to "belong." I absolutely agree with this reading, and I do think that this is a quintessential theme in the novel. However, given the violent nature of identity politics embedded in the Northern Irish conflict, "belonging" to a group (Republican or Loyalist) can mean serious trouble! The Northern Ireland novel often deals with this theme: the desire to "belong," but not wanting to "belong" to the two options out there. From people I've talked to from Northern Ireland, it is so difficult to not get caught up in one sectarian group or another. For instance, if you are Catholic but speak out against an IRA bombing, you're automatically deemed a traitor. Take, for instance, the song "Zombie" by the Cranberries.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6Ejga4kJUts
O'Riordan's lyric, "And the violence caused such silence/who are we mistaken?" speaks to the way in which many people were afraid to speak out against the IRA for fear of being labeled a traitor to the cause, or worse. What I also like about this song, as a side note, is the way in which it emphasizes how this conflict is "in your head," meaning it's something that the society, including both Protestants and Catholics, have "constructed" in their minds and is keeping them from achieving real peace.
I think the song excerpted at the beginning of the novel reveals a great deal about finding "home" in "not belonging":
ReplyDelete"Go anywhere,
Go anywhere without leaving your chair
and let your thoughts run free
Living within all the dreams you can spin
There is so much to see
We'll visit the stars and journey to Mars
Finding our Breakfast on Pluto!"
I think the idea of "breakfast," which to me denotes home and belonging, is interestingly juxtaposed here with "Pluto," which denotes an "outside" space on the margins. Perhaps Pussy may be able to find a sense of belonging only at the far boundaries of the "universe," aka her violent society. Being neither Catholic or Protestant (as those identities are constructed in Northern Ireland) or man or woman, perhaps she could, someday, find peace with that liminality.