In this article, a psychoanalytic analysis of the Hain ceremony of the Selk'nam people is undertaken with the aim of reflecting on the construction of masculinity and the threats underlying it. This ceremony, which is central to the transition from childhood to adulthood in the culture, is based on a myth chronicling the existence of a prior matriarchy. The fear of the return of this regime gives rise to a ceremony symbolising a counter-response, sustained by a pact of silence among men. The underlying threat is rooted in the fear of female domination and submission to women. It is suggested that this myth contains a specific truth connected to contact with vulnerability. It is proposed that the combination of an intense mother-son relationship, coupled with distance from the father during the early stages of development, is connected to the threat of regression to a mother-child bonding state as a form of protection from the anxieties associated with facing the world. At the same time, this generates the need to establish defensive barriers towards women.
Lacan's reinterpretation of Freud's theory on trauma Abstract In this article we consider the Lacanian theory of trauma, with the aim of demonstrating which of Freud's theories Lacan sought to build on and develop in his own model. This approach highlights the continuity, as well as the divergences, between Lacanian psychoanalysis and the Freudian model of trauma. Approaching Lacanian psychoanalysis through the concept of trauma reveals how his theories did not focus only on the subject as determined by the register of language. Rather, Lacanian psychoanalysis emphasises the intimate relationship between the unconscious and the sexual. The Lacanian model of trauma is also of interest for clinical practice, since it provides a better understanding of the Lacanian concept of 'structure'. This is a concept that considers the impact of events experienced on the psychic functioning of the subject. It can guide the analytical listening during therapeutic work with patients. Aside from its clinical relevance, approaching Lacan's work through trauma makes it possible to clarify the fundamental difference between psychoanalysis and contemporary nosographic approaches to the treatment of trauma, and aetiology in psychopathology.
