The Son's Secret. Massimo Recalcati

29

      32  30

      33  31

      34  32

      35  33

      36  34

      37  35

      38  36

      39  37

      40  38

      41  39

      42  40

      43  41

      44  42

      45  43

      46  45

      47  46

      48  47

      49  48

      50  49

      51  50

      52  51

      53  52

      54  53

      55  54

      56  55

      57  56

      58  57

      59  58

      60  59

      61  60

      62  61

      63  62

      64  63

      65  64

      66  65

      67  66

      68  67

      69  68

      70  69

      71  70

      72  71

      73 72

      74  73

      75  74

      76  75

      77  76

      78  77

      79  78

      80  79

      81  80

      82  81

      83  82

      84  83

      85  84

      86  85

      87  86

      88  87

      89  88

      90  89

      91  102

Dedication

      For my son Tommaso, for his life.

       Why do you look for the living among the dead? He is not here; he is risen!

       Luke 24:5–6

The Son’s Secret

      From Oedipus to the Prodigal Son

      Massimo Recalcati

      Translated by Alice Kilgarriff

      polity

      Copyright © Giangiacomo Feltrinelli Editore Milano. First published in 2017 in Italian under the title Il Segreto del Figlio. Published under licence from Giangiacomo Feltrinelli Editore, Milan, Italy. This English edition © Polity Press, 2020

      Polity Press

      65 Bridge Street

      Cambridge CB2 1UR, UK

      Polity Press

      101 Station Landing

      Suite 300

      Medford, MA 02155, USA

      All rights reserved. Except for the quotation of short passages for the purpose of criticism and review, no part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system or transmitted, in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording or otherwise, without the prior permission of the publisher.

      ISBN-13: 978-1-5095-3178-3

      A catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library.

      Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data

      Names: Recalcati, Massimo, author.

      Title: The son’s secret : from Oedipus to the prodigal son / Massimo Recalcati ; translated by Alice Kilgarriff.

      Other titles: Segreto del Figlio. English

      Description: Cambridge, UK ; Medford, MA : Polity, [2020] | “First published in 2017 in Italian under the title Il Secreto [sic] del Figlio.” | Includes bibliographical references. | Summary: “This new book by Massimo Recalcati focuses on the psycho-social life of the son”-- Provided by publisher.

      Identifiers: LCCN 2019035308 (print) | LCCN 2019035309 (ebook) | ISBN 9781509531752 (hardback) | ISBN 9781509531769 (paperback) | ISBN 9781509531783 (epub)

      Subjects: LCSH: Parent and child--Psychological aspects. | Sons--Psychology. | Oedipus complex. | Prodigal son (Parable) Classification: LCC BF723.P25 R43313 2020 (print) |

      LCC BF723.P25 (ebook) | DDC 155.9/24--dc23

      LC record available at https://lccn.loc.gov/2019035308 LC ebook record available at https://lccn.loc.gov/2019035309

      The publisher has used its best endeavours to ensure that the URLs for external websites referred to in this book are correct and active at the time of going to press. However, the publisher has no responsibility for the websites and can make no guarantee that a site will remain live or that the content is or will remain appropriate.

      Every effort has been made to trace all copyright holders, but if any have been overlooked the publisher will be pleased to include any necessary credits in any subsequent reprint or edition.

      For further information on Polity, visit our website: politybooks.com

Introduction

      The need for dialogue between children and their parents as a fundamental part of children’s upbringing is insisted upon today in a variety of ways. Faced with the slow yet traumatic