The Son's Secret. Massimo Recalcati
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Dedication
For my son Tommaso, for his life.
Why do you look for the living among the dead? He is not here; he is risen!
Luke 24:5–6
The Son’s Secret
From Oedipus to the Prodigal Son
Massimo Recalcati
Translated by Alice Kilgarriff
polity
Copyright © Giangiacomo Feltrinelli Editore Milano. First published in 2017 in Italian under the title Il Segreto del Figlio. Published under licence from Giangiacomo Feltrinelli Editore, Milan, Italy. This English edition © Polity Press, 2020
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All rights reserved. Except for the quotation of short passages for the purpose of criticism and review, no part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system or transmitted, in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording or otherwise, without the prior permission of the publisher.
ISBN-13: 978-1-5095-3178-3
A catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library.
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Names: Recalcati, Massimo, author.
Title: The son’s secret : from Oedipus to the prodigal son / Massimo Recalcati ; translated by Alice Kilgarriff.
Other titles: Segreto del Figlio. English
Description: Cambridge, UK ; Medford, MA : Polity, [2020] | “First published in 2017 in Italian under the title Il Secreto [sic] del Figlio.” | Includes bibliographical references. | Summary: “This new book by Massimo Recalcati focuses on the psycho-social life of the son”-- Provided by publisher.
Identifiers: LCCN 2019035308 (print) | LCCN 2019035309 (ebook) | ISBN 9781509531752 (hardback) | ISBN 9781509531769 (paperback) | ISBN 9781509531783 (epub)
Subjects: LCSH: Parent and child--Psychological aspects. | Sons--Psychology. | Oedipus complex. | Prodigal son (Parable) Classification: LCC BF723.P25 R43313 2020 (print) |
LCC BF723.P25 (ebook) | DDC 155.9/24--dc23
LC record available at https://lccn.loc.gov/2019035308 LC ebook record available at https://lccn.loc.gov/2019035309
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Introduction
The need for dialogue between children and their parents as a fundamental part of children’s upbringing is insisted upon today in a variety of ways. Faced with the slow yet traumatic