Abstract

The author reconstructs and explains the Lacanian concept that distinguishes Alienation and Separation. In particular, he appeals to the concepts of set theory which inspired Lacan, those of union and the intersection of sets. The author shows how Lacan appropriates these mathematical figures to develop a dialectic of choice that goes beyond the mathematical field. And to illustrate this dialectic, the author evokes and comments on a successful farce of 1921, The Magnificent Cuckold, which seems to rotate, in a perverse key, around a delirium of jealousy. The author shows how the plot of the farce renders the Lacanian difference between Alienation and Separation understandable.