In this theory, Freud also presented his own perspective on the definition of ‘self’. The sense of self commonly refers to the defining elements of
personality and character Elliot, 2002: 9. Freud revolted this view by defining self or ‘ego’ as a “dimension of subjectivity which is internally fashioned through
interpersonal relationships and intense emotional experiences, particularly experience in early infancy and childhood” Elliot, 2002: 10. Freud’s breaking-
through thought split the centre of the self between consciousness of the self and the unconscious.
The very famous concept in psychoanalytic proposed by Freud is the division of what structures human. He introduced the terms ego, superego, and id.
It is called the tripartite model Bressler, 1998: 150. Ego is the rational, logical, waking part of the mind. It is usually recognized by the visible entity which is the
human. Superego is thing which shapes, controls, and even restricts the ego. In real life, superego is represented by the existence of grand narration or discourses
where humans live. Id is the more abstract entity which runs the function of being what exactly human wants. Unconsciousness is the main distinctive point that
psychoanalysis officially deals with.
3. Theory of Subject by Lacan
The next important thinker of psychoanalysis was Jacques Lacan. He claimed that all individuals are fragmented; no one is whole Bressler, 1998: 156.
Going along with the concept of self or subject, Lacan also developed Freud’s concept of ‘the other’ into a more complex thought.
a. The Three Order: The Real, The Imaginary, and The Symbolic
Lacan also divided human psyche into three parts. They are the real, the imaginary, and the symbolic. ‘The real’ is an abstract concept. It is difficult to
understand since, “…the fact that it is not a ‘thing’; it is not a material object in the world or the human body or even the ‘reality’” Homer, 2005: 81. ‘The real’
is the place from which human’s basic needs originate. It is pre-symbolic since human does not have any way to symbolize it. In short, the real can be defined as
“…something that is repressed and functions unconsciously, intruding into our symbolic reality in the form of need” Homer, 2005: 82-83. Since the real could
not be symbolized, it can be said that, “The real exists outside of or apart from our reality” Fink, 1956: 25.
Imaginary phase is when human exists as unified entity with hisher mother. Within this phase, human will recognize that heshe and the mother are
two different individuals. Later in the symbolic order, father dominates the process. Father is the person who teaches languages Bressler, 1998: 157. He is
also the one who separates baby from baby’s mother. The third phase is the symbolic order. In this step, human learns how to
use language to symbolize what human had in the real order. According to Lacan, existence is the product of language since language brings things into existence
Fink, 1956: 25. The symbolic creates reality. Reality is not the same as ‘the real’
since reality is the result of naming ‘the real’ by language and can thus be thought and talked about Fink, 1956: 25.
In those phases, there are some parties who are included. They are mother and father. In this point, Lacan presented a different definition and understanding
of terms ‘mother’ and ‘father’. According to Freud’s thought, ‘mother’ and ‘father’ are defined as biological parents that a person has. Differently, Lacan
erased the sense of ‘biological’ in his own definition of those terms. To Lacan, what to emphasize more is the function of ‘mother’ and ‘father’. Therefore, they
might be anything. As mentioned briefly earlier, mother is the first individual from whom a
baby separated a self. Based on this statement, term ‘mother’ might be understood as the person who gave a birth to the baby. However, in some cases Lacan also
called a ‘babysitter’ as a mother. Essentially, ‘mother’ is the person who intensively takes care of the baby. “The mother manifests herself in the real as the
primary caretaker of the infant” Evans, 1996: 121. Lacan’s ‘father’ appears in more various forms. Playing a role as a father
in Lacan’s thought means separating the baby from the mother and teaching languages. Teaching languages in this context means showing how a reality
speaks and then teaching the way to respond it. Thus, Evans also mentioned that a father ‘makes possible an entry into social existence” 1996: 62. While the term
‘mother’ is commonly used in many contexts without being different in meaning, Lacan’s concept about ‘father’ includes three terms: the real father, the imaginary
