What is unveiled by rotating the mirror? From the formation of the I to the sensation of the Other's desire

Abstract

Based on Lacan’s optical scheme, proposed to identify the formation of the I in the constitution of the subject, this theoretical-clinical research posits that by rotating the plane mirror one reveals the fragility of the I. The plane mirror introduces, in the formation of the self, the alterity emerging from Lacan’s conception of the Other. As already conceptualized by Freud, the I is a surface that emerges from the libidinal investment in the infans’ relation with the Other, replacing the original experience of the fragmented body. However, such fragmentation does not disappear in this illusional substitution, which, when unveiled, can cast the subject into anguish. Our clinical vignette aims to discuss the theoretical path arising from this question: when anguish — as a sensation of the Other’s desire — emerges for the subject, shattering the image; or better, as our young subject puts it, “spaghettifying” the I.