The objects voice and gaze in devastation in The Human Voice by Pedro Almodóvar

Abstract

This article addresses the concepts of the objects voice and gaze in psychoanalysis, exploring Lacan’s contributions in the dialogue with Winnicott stemming from the film The Human Voice by Pedro Almodóvar. Delving into the conception of the object a, particularly the voice as an inaugural drive object, the text articulates the dimension of jouissance with the register of structural alterity, problematizing the failure of phantasmatic constructions in confronting the real of amorous trauma. The relationship between voice and gaze is analyzed, situating its components as elements that transcend the symbolic and imaginary registers, evoking the tension between the subject’s position and alienation towards the fallen object. The protagonist’s trajectory from devastation to subjective reconfiguration is evidenced, mediated by a transitional object, as formulated by Winnicott. The aim is to critically read contemporary forms of subjectivation, love, and gender, highlighting the interweaving of the death drive, fantasy, and not-all jouissance.