Mirror Stage

From monstrouspossibility

Mirror stage is a term coined by the psychoanalyst Jacques Lacan in which a subject, or reader, is permanently captivated by his own image. Here is a link to Jacques Lacan on Wikipedia. [1]

Mirror stage deals with a dual relationship between the Ego and the Body, where one creates illusions of similarity, as well as a disjointed perception of the distinction between the imaginary and reality. When a child looks in a mirror and feels a disconnect between themself and the image presented, there is a need for identification to combat the sense of confusion. To fix this, the infant identifies with the "other" in front of them. This explains that the Ego is a "product of misunderstanding." Here is a link to the wikipedia article: [2]

An important concept of mirror stage is that the "unconscious is structured like a language." Therefore language helps construct our picture of the world. Here is a link to a relatively easy to understand article/blog/essay on this subject. [3]

Here is a link to a page on Jacques Lacan's relation to language. It is stated that Lacan is fascinated by the lack of fixed references of words out of context of language. He ties together the Freudian concept of word association with that of a lack or desire. [4]

Eagleton, in "Literary Theory, and Introduction" describes Lacan as a structuralist, who greatly influenced the post-structural beginnings, attempting to "re-write Freudianism and place it in a relationship with language." (p. 142) He describes the mirror stage in a similar vein, in which a child's reflection elicits confusion, and the child creates an imaginary blurring of subject and object, therefore "constructing a centre of self...essentially narcissistic" Eagleton goes on to state that "The imaginary for Lacan is this realm of images in which we make identifications, but in the very act of doing so are led to misperceive and misrecognize itself. As the child grows up, it will continue to make such imaginary identifications with objects, and this is how its ego will be built up." (p. 143) The infant's blurring of the signified and signifier, in this case the infant as an existing being and the image of himself in the mirror, has not reached post-structuralism. When a child discovers language, it then learns that substantial differences occur between "language and reality." The child then learns that "identities come about only as a result of difference." (p. 144) All language is deemed metaphorical, it "substitutes itself for some direct, wordless possession of the object itself." The split between this version of reality and the initial mirror stage version of reality where object and subject are one, allows the child to understand that reality is never total. The child then simply moves from signifier to signifier, without ever entering the "present" form of reality. Eagleton states, "the metaphorical world of the mirror has yielded ground to the metonymic world of language." (p. 145) Here is a link to the wikipedia page on metonymy. [5]

Lacan's theory of language having no concrete reference led into post-structuralism and also contributed strongly to feminism. This article states that Lacan theorized that sexual identity is based more on language than on biological gender discrepancies, or "any innate factor." This dismisses Freud's Oedipus theory, instead saying the "Oedipal crisis occurs not because a child wants to possess his mother sexually, but when the child understands the sexual rules within a culture." These rules are constructed by the "Symbolic order" [6] which mediates between the imaginary and the real. Here is a link to an essay discussing Lacan and Feminism. [7]

A quite lengthy article that gives a background on Lacan, as well as criticism of his theories can be found here [8]

Here's a link to an article discussing the various seminars Lacan gave. [9]

There's actually a website called Lacan.com which has multitudes of information, including a bibliography of his works as well as neat graphics...here's a link. [10]

Finally, here's a quote from Lacan, which is indicative of his theory in general terms:

"In other words, the man who is born into existence deals first with language; this is a given. He is even caught in it before his birth."