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In 1912 Jung boasted, in a letter from America, that his modifications of psychoanalysis had overcome the resistances of many people who hitherto refused to have anything to do with it. I replied that this was nothing to boast of.
I am not concerned with the truth that may be contained in the theories which I am rejecting, nor shall I attempt to refute them…I wish merely to show that these theories controvert the fundamental principles of analysis…and that for this reason they should not be known by the name of analaysis.
In the fall of 1975, Lacan paid a rare visit to the United States. Convinced that he was a world-famous superstar, he announced upon his arrival in New York that he wanted to make a private visit to the Metropolitan Opera House. “Tell them I am Lacan,” he said. His academic hosts were a bit flustered, but knowing the consequences of crossing their imperious guest, they hit upon an ingenious solution: an urgent call was placed to the director of the Metropolitan, telling him that Jean-Paul Sartre wanted to visit, with the caveat that the visit would be absolutely incognito. Flattered and delighted by the prospect of entertaining such an eminent celebrity, the director agreed at once. Having been warned in advance not to address the French visitor by name, the gracious reception came off without a hitch, and a delightful and memorable day ensued. It was said that Lacan could not have been more delighted by his welcome. (Roudinesco, 1997, p. 376-377)
This fabulous tale reveals a material truth: misrecognition and miscommunication mar/k Lacan's reception in the United States. A devoted and active analyst for more than 50 years whose teaching ceaselessly questioned the formations of the unconscious and the practice of psychoanalysis, it is well-known that Lacan's passage into the United States has not taken place primarily through institutions