Beyond the pale
Abstract
This chapter considers the way in which femininity falls beyond the pale set by the phallocentric discourse of the master (as defined by Lacan). It makes use of a particular reading of the novel Milkman by Anna Burns to illustrate some of these points. It then proposes that the place of the analyst, also outside the discourse of the master, may be to witness and accept the non-phallic enjoyment of an analysand rather than bringing it ‘inside the pale’ by making sense of it or rendering it socially sanctioned.
Fields of Study & Subjects
Psychoanalysis
Philosophy
and Politics
Psychoanalysis and Social Critique
Literary Theory and Cultural Hermeneutics
Publication details
- Journal / source
- Routledge eBooks
- Pages
- 104–113
- Publication date
- 11 March 2026
- Language
- EN
- Document type
- Book chapter