Simon Gros

Susane Dow’s presentation explores the intriguing, albeit limited, intersection of Jacques Lacan’s psychoanalytic theory and the literary works of Samuel Beckett. Unlike his extensive engagement with writers like Shakespeare and Joyce, Lacan mentions Beckett sparingly, positioning him as a “silent partner” to Joyce. Despite this silence, Beckett’s divergence from Joyce’s artistic path offers a rich terrain for Lacanian exploration.

The paper goes into the contrasting approaches of Joyce and Beckett: where Joyce masterfully manipulates language to express omniscience and control, Beckett embraces themes of impotence, ignorance, and subtraction, rejecting the accumulation of meaning. This artistic divergence raises questions about the limits of psychoanalysis in literary critique—a field Lacan himself critiques when it veers into psycho-biographical analysis rather than focusing on the speaking subject.

By analysing the gaps and ambiguities in literary texts, particularly Joyce’s, Lacan’s seminars reveal the limitations of psychoanalysis in fully comprehending the ‘letter’ in literature. This is exemplified in Joyce’s pun between “letter” and “litter,” and in the notion that a letter always arrives at its destination, shaping the subject’s path. Lacan’s interest in Joyce’s work, particularly in how it circumvents the analytic process, highlights his fascination with literature’s ability to bypass conventional meaning, revealing something deeper about the human psyche.

Lacan’s shift towards a pragmatic understanding of psychoanalysis as a lifelong process. It reflects on how Joyce’s writing contributes new insights into the neurotic symptom, suggesting that literature can offer unique knowledge to psychoanalysis, even when it challenges its boundaries. Beckett was a pivotal, albeit minor, figure in Lacan’s thought, whose works, when considered alongside Joyce, open new avenues for understanding the intersection of psychoanalysis and literature.

The presentation was part of Samuel Beckett: Debts and Legacies, presented on 4 June 2010, A seminar conference sponsored by the University of Oxford and the University of Northampton.

Dr. Suzanne Dow was a renowned expert in the field of psychology at the University of Nottingham. Her research focused on understanding human behavior, particularly in the context of health and illness. She has published numerous papers on topics such as chronic pain, mental health, and behavioural economics. She was also involved in teaching and supervising undergraduate and postgraduate students. Her work contributed significantly to the advancement of knowledge in her field and has had practical implications for healthcare professionals and policy-makers. She tragically committed suicide in 2011 after years of torment from her criminal, drug-dealing neighbours.