a lacanian interpretation of harold pinter’s a slight ache

a lacanian interpretation of harold pinter’s a slight ache

in this article the aim is to show how harold pinter’s a slight ache can be read through lacanian theory of psychoanalysis including the imaginary, the symbolic and the real. pinter’s use of neurotic, anxious, hysteric and isolated characters in his plays brings him closer to lacan, who tried to redefine the developing psychological aspects of personality. in this play, the couple are confronted with the truth of their identity.

dealing with inner fear and isolated individuals, the play demonstrates the struggles of the unconscious which provides a possible reading of lacanian psychoanalysis for us. flora and edward seem to have been lost in their search of the real. in their imagination, they fantasize about their desires. reading lacan, we learn that we spend all our life looking for our objet petit a and trying to satisfy our desires. the ambiguous blind matchseller who is silent throughout the play serves a different function for flora and edward. the matchseller is the fulfillment of flora’s lost passion, however, he brings annihilation to edward.