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We have been presented with a paper that attempts to explore and discuss the author's interpretations and distresses over the influence and insinuation of postmodern trends within psychoanalysis. What is postmodernism? What is psychoanalysis? Is there a particular “psychoanalytic theory” that is being effected? Can I locate my own particular psychoanalytic narrative and do I even have a constant, unified one? Chessick refers in the title of his paper to poststructural psychoanalysis; does such a phenomenon even exist or is that a rhetorical strategy evoked to unite various voices and stances into a unified position? Can postmodernism be referred to as a theory or is it a series of critical stances toward theory and theory making? Leaving aside these questions temporarily, his paper signifies and reflects important concerns within contemporary psychoanalysis. Some analytic writers embrace postmodernism and its' emphasis on discourse, culture, and power/knowledge factors. Chessick is fearful and warns us of the dangers involved in this “softening” of analytic theory and favors a return to Freud (although which Freud is unclear).
Let me digress for a few minutes with a story. A young girl and her dog are swept up in an incredible, ferocious tornado and are taken far from their home in Kansas and find themselves in a new land, that is populated by good and bad witches, scarecrows, tin men, lions, mountains, and assorted others. The girl is hunted down by a bad witch who wishes to steal the magical “ruby red slippers” that have been put on the girl's feet. The girl, desperately wishing to go home joins with the tin man, the lion, and the