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Chapter Seven – A Discussion – Page 224
blocks in constructing an interpretation of the events of the session, in a manner similar
to the method of dream analysis referred to elsewhere in the thesis.
‘Bait’ to me evokes enticement, allure, a trap, being caught, but also being used as bait.
‘The fishhook’ evokes ‘hooked’ very intensely. In particular, I understand that if a
fishhook pierces the flesh (of the fisher-man or -woman), then to try and remove it
manually is doomed to fail, in that the hook can only become further embedded.
Regarding ‘showing’, this is contentious in this group. As tutors, we haven’t shown
much directly (although a lot of what we have offered indirectly has, we believe, been
of considerable benefit to many if not all of the students).
‘Longing’ seems to be an important part of what takes place. My associations go to
wanting, hunger and thirst. Linked to this, I wonder if the question that contains the
fishhook is actually a way of catching the staff, either catching their attention or
catching them out.
A commentary
In this section, I am approaching the interaction in the session as a sequence, bringing in
some of the perspectives I have outlined, as well as introducing some others as lenses
through which to view aspects of the interaction.
This session seems very dense in terms of underlying dynamics, which suggests much
condensation (Freud, 1915; Matte-Blanco, 1988; Rayner & Tuckett, 1988) is taking
place. Partly this is because things are ‘hotting up’ as the end of the semester and of the
course draws near.