Traumatic Self-fixation of Subject in Ever-cancerousConfrontation with the RealA Lacanian Reading on Beckett's That Time

This paper intends to study Samuel Beckett’s “That Time,” a one-act, non-punctuated, one-cast playthrough which the author dramatizes three different phases in the life of an anonymous person basedon Lacanian psychoanalysis. The “Listener,” whose head is the only visible part on the stage, has noaction throughout the whole play except for opening and closing his eyes from time to time and amysterious smile in the closing scene. The disorder shown in the heard voices indicates the traumaticsituations, impediments, failures, and enigmas he has experienced throughout his life. As perceived byLacan, the audio memories coming one after another, mostly in a hesitant form, though different inappearance, besides the blockage the subject is in, stem from the trauma of the confrontation with theReal. The subject feels voids and is static throughout the play. His fixation, facing unfulfilled desires,and his stagnation while confronting his memories regarding Lacan’s theories are what will bediscussed afterward.

Keywords:

Lacan , Subject , Real , Desire , Fixation , Trauma , Blockage