Zilkha, Nathalie
The Ego-Superego Relationship and Subjectivization
- 2013.
74
How does the ego gain freedom and play in its relation to the superego and what can complicate this movement? Disidentification involves a potential opposition of the ego to the superego. If this never really occurs as a matter of course, what happens when an imagoic figure predominates that seems to hypnotize the ego? A film sequence drawn from Fritz Lang's Dr. Mabuse the Gambler serves as a starting-point for this reflection. The resexualization of the superego, paradigmatic of adolescence, leads to a confrontation with other subjectivation issues. How can interpretation, and especially humoristic interpretation, deal with these difficulties? The article concludes with some observations on the function of humor in the treatment.