Is a Purloined Letter Just Writing? Burrowing in the Lacan-Derrida Archive
Starting from a recent book on Derrida and psychoanalysis, I return to the controversy between Lacan and Derrida in the 1970s. Its focus was the letter as interpreted by Lacan in a commentary of Poe’s “Purloined Letter”. While agreeing with some of Derrida’s objections, I conclude that Lacan makes s...
| Main Author: | |
|---|---|
| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
| Published: |
MDPI AG
2023-12-01
|
| Series: | Humanities |
| Subjects: | |
| Online Access: | https://www.mdpi.com/2076-0787/12/6/146 |
| _version_ | 1797380823881613312 |
|---|---|
| author | Jean-Michel Rabaté |
| author_facet | Jean-Michel Rabaté |
| author_sort | Jean-Michel Rabaté |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Starting from a recent book on Derrida and psychoanalysis, I return to the controversy between Lacan and Derrida in the 1970s. Its focus was the letter as interpreted by Lacan in a commentary of Poe’s “Purloined Letter”. While agreeing with some of Derrida’s objections, I conclude that Lacan makes stronger points about the destination of the letter. I give my own example, Kafka’s “Letter to the Father” in order to argue that one can state that “a letter always reaches its destination” even if it has not been delivered. |
| first_indexed | 2024-03-08T20:42:35Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-3c84faeeba1f468ead97adb393b73816 |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 2076-0787 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-03-08T20:42:35Z |
| publishDate | 2023-12-01 |
| publisher | MDPI AG |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Humanities |
| spelling | doaj.art-3c84faeeba1f468ead97adb393b738162023-12-22T14:12:48ZengMDPI AGHumanities2076-07872023-12-0112614610.3390/h12060146Is a Purloined Letter Just Writing? Burrowing in the Lacan-Derrida ArchiveJean-Michel Rabaté0Department of English, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, PA 19104, USAStarting from a recent book on Derrida and psychoanalysis, I return to the controversy between Lacan and Derrida in the 1970s. Its focus was the letter as interpreted by Lacan in a commentary of Poe’s “Purloined Letter”. While agreeing with some of Derrida’s objections, I conclude that Lacan makes stronger points about the destination of the letter. I give my own example, Kafka’s “Letter to the Father” in order to argue that one can state that “a letter always reaches its destination” even if it has not been delivered.https://www.mdpi.com/2076-0787/12/6/146deconstructionsignifierletterwritingdestinationpsychoanalysis |
| spellingShingle | Jean-Michel Rabaté Is a Purloined Letter Just Writing? Burrowing in the Lacan-Derrida Archive Humanities deconstruction signifier letter writing destination psychoanalysis |
| title | Is a Purloined Letter Just Writing? Burrowing in the Lacan-Derrida Archive |
| title_full | Is a Purloined Letter Just Writing? Burrowing in the Lacan-Derrida Archive |
| title_fullStr | Is a Purloined Letter Just Writing? Burrowing in the Lacan-Derrida Archive |
| title_full_unstemmed | Is a Purloined Letter Just Writing? Burrowing in the Lacan-Derrida Archive |
| title_short | Is a Purloined Letter Just Writing? Burrowing in the Lacan-Derrida Archive |
| title_sort | is a purloined letter just writing burrowing in the lacan derrida archive |
| topic | deconstruction signifier letter writing destination psychoanalysis |
| url | https://www.mdpi.com/2076-0787/12/6/146 |
| work_keys_str_mv | AT jeanmichelrabate isapurloinedletterjustwritingburrowinginthelacanderridaarchive |