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In this discussion of the psychoanalytic frame, my starting point may at first appear far removed from the field of psychoanalysis: Lars von Trier's well-known film Breaking the Waves, a classical drama in modern costume. The film is classical in the sense that it adheres to the unities of time, place and action, but also because it uncovers fundamental human dilemmas in as truthful a manner as a psychoanalysis may do.
For the benefit of those who have not seen the film, I will begin with a résumé. The film is divided into seven chapters and an epilogue. It is set in the Hebrides in a community marked by a rigid, Calvinist religiosity in which most of the characters have grown up. The lead character, Bess, has gained a great deal of respectability within the religious community because of her devoted obedience to church laws. For this reason, her marriage to the outsider Jan, an adventurer who works at an oil-rig in the North Sea, is accepted.
The first chapter depicts the wedding, and the second the newly-weds' initial happiness. In the third chapter, Jan returns to his work at the oilrig. Bess, who is childish and impulsive, reacts strongly to their separation. Her mother disapproves of her, and her sister-in-law worries, while her physician, Dr. Richardson will later declare that in his opinion, her emotions at the time were appropriate. Bess prays to God that her husband may be sent home earlier than his contract stipulates. He is indeed returned to the island, but an accident has left him severely injured and completely paralysed.
In the next chapter, the fourth, Jan hovers between life and death. He starts to believe that his only chance of survival lies in being reminded of