Metaphor and Metonymy in the Unconscious
Table of Contents
In Lacanian psychoanalysis, metaphor and metonymy serve as unconscious processes similar to condensation and displacement. Metaphor brings dissimilar things together by using one object as a stand-in for another to which it is compared. On the other hand, metonymy involves substituting a person or object associated with another, which shares some connection. Language and Loss in the Symbolic Order Lacan emphasizes that loss and lack are fundamental components of the Symbolic Order, the world known through language. Words serve as stand-ins for things, indicating a separation between self and objects. The Symbolic Order marks the end of the comforting illusion of fulfillment and control, where others' needs, desires, and fears limit one's own. For little boys, this entry into the Symbolic Order involves the Oedipal prohibition, leading them to seek substitutes for Mother because she is no longer solely theirs. The Name-of-the-Father and Patriarchal Power Lacan's concept of the …