CONSTELLATIONS OF SUBJECTIVITY, MATERNAL FANTASIES AND THE SYMBOLIC SIGNIFIER IN KING LEAR

Carlos Roberto Ludwig

Resumo


This essay aims at discussing the constellations of subjectivity and maternal fantasies in King Lear. The analysis is focused on the first scene of play, taking into account Lear’s blindness in not recognising his own failure and limits. The scene is analyzed according to Cavell’s, Adelman’s and Lacan’s assumptions. Moreover, I propose the notion of symbolic signifier, based on Lacan’s concepts. Shakespeare introduces the play’s symbolic signifier, conveyed by key-words such as nothing and darker purposes. In these symbolic signifiers we can see what is hidden in the play, what is suggested and emanates as the core meaning of the characters’ subjectivity.

Keywords: Subjectivity. Maternal Fantasies. Symbolic Signifier. Shakespeare’s King Lear.

 


Referências


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_____. The Merchant of Venice. London: Arden, 2010.

SNYDER, S. King Lear and the Psychology of Dying. Shakespeare Quarterly, v. 33, n. 4, p. 449-460, Winter, 1982. Available at: http://www.jstor.org/stable/2870125 Accessed on: Sept. 28, 2010.

DOI: 10.5935/1679-5520.20170012


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