jouissance
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''Jouissance'' is a French term meaning "enjoyment", which in
Lacanianism Lacanianism or Lacanian psychoanalysis is a theoretical system that explains the mind, behaviour, and culture through a structuralist and post-structuralist extension of classical psychoanalysis, initiated by the work of Jacques Lacan from the ...
is taken in terms both of rights and property, and of sexual
orgasm Orgasm (from Greek , ; "excitement, swelling") or sexual climax is the sudden discharge of accumulated sexual excitement during the sexual response cycle, resulting in rhythmic, involuntary muscular contractions in the pelvic region charac ...
. The latter has a meaning partially lacking in the English word "enjoyment". The term denotes a transgressive, excessive kind of pleasure linked to the division and splitting of the subject involved, which compels the subject to constantly attempt to transgress the prohibitions imposed on enjoyment, to go beyond the pleasure principle.


In Lacanian psychoanalysis

English editions of the works of
Jacques Lacan Jacques Marie Émile Lacan (, , ; 13 April 1901 – 9 September 1981) was a French psychoanalyst and psychiatrist. Described as "the most controversial psycho-analyst since Freud", Lacan gave yearly seminars in Paris from 1953 to 1981, and pu ...
have generally left ''jouissance'' untranslated in order to help convey its specialised usage. Lacan first developed his concept of an opposition between ''jouissance'' and the pleasure principle in his Seminar "The Ethics of Psychoanalysis" (1959–1960). Lacan considered that "there is a ''jouissance'' beyond the pleasure principle" linked to the partial drive. Yet according to Lacan, the result of transgressing the pleasure principle is not more pleasure, but instead pain, since there is only a certain amount of pleasure that the subject can bear. Beyond this limit, pleasure becomes pain, and this initial "painful principle" develops into what Lacan calls ''jouissance''. Thus ''jouissance'' is
suffering Suffering, or pain in a broad sense, may be an experience of unpleasantness or aversion, possibly associated with the perception of harm or threat of harm in an individual. Suffering is the basic element that makes up the negative valence of a ...
, epitomized in Lacan's remark about "the recoil imposed on everyone, in so far as it involves terrible promises, by the approach of ''jouissance'' as such". Lacan also linked ''jouissance'' to the
castration complex The castration complex is a concept developed by Sigmund Freud, first presented in 1908, initially as part of his theorisation of the transition in early childhood development from the polymorphous perversity of infantile sexuality to the ‘infan ...
, and to the
aggression Aggression is overt or covert, often harmful, social interaction with the intention of inflicting damage or other harm upon another individual; although it can be channeled into creative and practical outlets for some. It may occur either reacti ...
of the
death drive In classical Freudian psychoanalytic theory, the death drive (german: Todestrieb) is the drive toward death and destruction, often expressed through behaviors such as aggression, repetition compulsion, and self-destructiveness.Eric Berne, ''Wha ...
. In his seminar "The Other Side of Psychoanalysis" (1969–1970), Lacan introduced the concept of "surplus-''enjoyment''" (French ''plus-de-jouir'') inspired by
Marx Karl Heinrich Marx (; 5 May 1818 – 14 March 1883) was a German philosopher, economist, historian, sociologist, political theorist, journalist, critic of political economy, and socialist revolutionary. His best-known titles are the 1848 p ...
's concept of
surplus-value In Marxian economics, surplus value is the difference between the amount raised through a sale of a product and the amount it cost to the owner of that product to manufacture it: i.e. the amount raised through sale of the product minus the cost ...
: he considered ''
objet petit a In the psychoanalytic theory of Jacques Lacan, ''objet petit a'' stands for the unattainable object of desire, the "a" being the small other ("autre"), a projection or reflection of the ego made to symbolise otherness, like a specular image, as ...
'' is the excess of ''jouissance,'' which has no use value, and which persists for the mere sake of ''jouissance''. Lacan considered that ''jouissance'' is essentially
phallic A phallus is a penis (especially when erect), an object that resembles a penis, or a mimetic image of an erect penis. In art history a figure with an erect penis is described as ithyphallic. Any object that symbolically—or, more precisely ...
, meaning that it does not relate to the "
Other Other often refers to: * Other (philosophy), a concept in psychology and philosophy Other or The Other may also refer to: Film and television * ''The Other'' (1913 film), a German silent film directed by Max Mack * ''The Other'' (1930 film), a ...
" as such. In his seminar "Encore" (1972–1973), however, Lacan introduced the idea of specifically
feminine Femininity (also called womanliness) is a set of attributes, behaviors, and roles generally associated with women and girls. Femininity can be understood as socially constructed, and there is also some evidence that some behaviors considered fe ...
''jouissance'', saying that women have "in relation to what the phallic function designates of ''jouissance'', a supplementary ''jouissance''...a ''jouissance'' of the body which is...''beyond the phallus''". This feminine ''jouissance'' is ineffable, for both women and men may experience it, yet know nothing about it.


In philosophy and literary theory

The Slovenian philosopher
Slavoj Žižek Slavoj Žižek (, ; ; born 21 March 1949) is a Slovenian philosopher, cultural theorist and public intellectual. He is international director of the Birkbeck Institute for the Humanities at the University of London, visiting professor at New Y ...
, a known Lacanian theorist, has adopted the term in his philosophy; it also plays an important role in the work of Julia Kristeva and
Roland Barthes Roland Gérard Barthes (; ; 12 November 1915 – 26 March 1980) was a French literary theorist, essayist, philosopher, critic, and semiotician. His work engaged in the analysis of a variety of sign systems, mainly derived from Western popular ...
. In his 1973
literary theory Literary theory is the systematic study of the nature of literature and of the methods for literary analysis. Culler 1997, p.1 Since the 19th century, literary scholarship includes literary theory and considerations of intellectual history, mo ...
book ''
The Pleasure of the Text ''The Pleasure of the Text'' (french: Le Plaisir du Texte) is a 1973 book by the literary theorist Roland Barthes. Summary Barthes sets out some of his ideas about literary theory. He divides the effects of texts into two: ''plaisir'' ("pleasur ...
'', Barthes divides the effects of texts into two: ''plaisir'' (translated as "pleasure") and ''jouissance''. The distinction corresponds to a further distinction Barthes makes between "readerly" and "writerly" texts. The pleasure of the text corresponds to the readerly text, which does not challenge the reader's position as a subject. The writerly text provides bliss, which explodes literary codes and allows the reader to break out of his or her subject position. For Barthes ''plaisir'' is, "a pleasure... linked to cultural enjoyment and identity, to the cultural enjoyment of identity, to a homogenising movement of the ego." As Richard Middleton puts it, "''Plaisir'' results, then, from the operation of the structures of signification through which the subject knows himself or herself; ''jouissance'' fractures these structures."


In feminist theory

The French feminist writer
Hélène Cixous Hélène Cixous (; ; born 5 June 1937) is a French writer, playwright and literary critic. She is known for her experimental writing style and great versatility as a writer and thinker, her work dealing with multiple genres: theater, literary a ...
uses the term ''jouissance'' to describe a form of women's pleasure or sexual rapture that combines mental, physical and spiritual aspects of female experience, bordering on mystical communion: "explosion, diffusion, effervescence, abundance...takes pleasure (jouit) in being limitless". Cixous maintains that ''jouissance'' is the source of a woman's creative power and that the suppression of ''jouissance'' prevents women from finding their own fully empowered voice. The concept of ''jouissance'' is explored by Cixous and other authors in their writings on ''
Écriture féminine ''Écriture féminine,'' or "women's writing", is a term coined by French feminist and literary theorist Hélène Cixous in her 1975 essay " The Laugh of the Medusa". Cixous aimed to establish a genre of literary writing that deviates from tradi ...
'', a strain of feminist literary theory that originated in France in the early 1970s. Other feminists have argued that
Freudian Sigmund Freud ( , ; born Sigismund Schlomo Freud; 6 May 1856 – 23 September 1939) was an Austrian neurologist and the founder of psychoanalysis, a clinical method for evaluating and treating pathologies explained as originating in conflicts i ...
"
hysteria Hysteria is a term used colloquially to mean ungovernable emotional excess and can refer to a temporary state of mind or emotion. In the nineteenth century, hysteria was considered a diagnosable physical illness in women. It is assumed that ...
" is ''jouissance'' distorted by
patriarchal Patriarchy is a social system in which positions of Dominance hierarchy, dominance and Social privilege, privilege are primarily held by men. It is used, both as a technical Anthropology, anthropological term for families or clans controll ...
culture and say that ''jouissance'' is a transcendent state that represents freedom from
oppressive Oppression is malicious or unjust treatment or exercise of power, often under the guise of governmental authority or cultural opprobrium. Oppression may be overt or covert, depending on how it is practiced. Oppression refers to discrimination ...
linearities. In her introduction to Cixous' ''The Newly Born Woman'', literary critic
Sandra Gilbert Sandra M. Gilbert (born December 27, 1936) is an American literary critic and poet who has published in the fields of feminist literary criticism, feminist theory, and psychoanalytic criticism. She is best known for her collaborative critical wo ...
writes: "to escape
hierarchical A hierarchy (from Greek: , from , 'president of sacred rites') is an arrangement of items (objects, names, values, categories, etc.) that are represented as being "above", "below", or "at the same level as" one another. Hierarchy is an important ...
bonds and thereby come closer to what Cixous calls ''jouissance'', which can be defined as a virtually metaphysical fulfillment of
desire Desires are states of mind that are expressed by terms like "wanting", "wishing", "longing" or "craving". A great variety of features is commonly associated with desires. They are seen as propositional attitudes towards conceivable states of aff ...
that goes far beyond ere satisfaction...
t is a T, or t, is the twentieth letter in the Latin alphabet, used in the modern English alphabet, the alphabets of other western European languages and others worldwide. Its name in English is ''tee'' (pronounced ), plural ''tees''. It is deri ...
fusion of the erotic, the mystical, and the political." Many French feminists have resisted against translating the word ''jouissance'' claiming that "It is impossible to give an adequate translation of ''jouissance"'' and "not to assimilate it, but to retain its foreignness."


See also


References


Further reading

*Dylan Evans, ''An Introductory Dictionary of Lacanian Psychoanalysis'' *Julia Kristeva, ''Desire in Language'' (1980)


External links


What Does Lacan Say About Jouissance? Article on LacanOnline.comMarie-Christine Laznik, ''Jouissance'' (Lacan)Slavoj Zizek: Lacan's Formulas of Sexuation
{{Women in Media Psychoanalytic terminology Jacques Lacan Philosophy of sexuality Feminism and the arts Feminism and spirituality French words and phrases