The Child of the Eye. A Symptomatic Reading of Louis Althusser's Melancholy

Abstract

This article offers a symptomatic reading of Louis Althusser’s melancholy through his autobiography, correspondence, and key concepts from Jacques Lacan’s teaching. The analysis highlights the role of filiation, maternal desire, and the function of the partner in the constitution of the philosopher’s subjectivity. Particular attention is devoted to his relationship with his wife Hélène and to the question of “passage à l’acte” culminating in her killing. Philosophy, Marxism, love, and writing are interpreted as supplementary supports that sustained Althusser’s sentiment of life and limited the effects of melancholy. The case of Althusser thus provides an opportunity to explore the relationships between symptom, desire, love, and jouissance.