The Mirror Imaginary Order: The Lacanian Theory Of

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Lacanian theory of orders is a rather significant insight into the relationship between literature and psychology. The construction of the human life by the three orders will lead to a sense of admiration in literary readers’ minds. The psychological problems are the most challenging issues instigating a researcher to attempt his/her hand at this study. Lacan argues that the three interconnected orders make the life of the man, and any problem in their process can bring chaos to the individual. To investigate the diverse aspects of the orders, in this article David Mamet’s Edmond (1982) will be analyzed in the light of the Lacanian perspective. The researchers try to apply the terms that fall under the rubric of the orders, such as the mirror …show more content…

Not knowing himself as a whole or “self”, the infant feels unity with his world and supposes he can possess the mother and the objects. This phase is full of images that cannot be categorized by signs and language (M. Habib 589). Lacan argues that, at the end of the imaginary order, an infant of almost eighteen months age sees his image in a mirror and recognizes himself as an independent self, differentiating between himself and his mother. As soon as we pass the imaginary, we have a passion or desire for the mother, thinking that our mother can fulfill all of our wishes, to gain the unity we had before the mirror stage (Bressler 153, …show more content…

Seeing his palm, the Fortuneteller says, “You are not where you belong”, that is, you are special. She continues that you are not sure about your place and wonder in life (221), causing Edmond to doubt his personality and to seek for a specific characteristic in his individuality. In the mirror stage, it occurs to a child that he is independent and separate from the mother, but this is illusive because he still wants someone to help and resolve his needs (Homer 31). Such an illusion makes Edmond believe the Fortuneteller’s words and think that he has special traits as a whole subject, so he tries to change his place in life. Edmond is, however, entangled in the bigger system, the Name of the Father, where he is under the control of the Other or the Father, who constructs one’s world. Therefore, there is a conflict between the fragmented self and the imaginary

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