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