The voracious Father: From Saturn to the phenomenological and analytic reading of time

Abstract

Refocusing our attention on the father’s role in the personal maturation of the child implies an analysis of the triangular relationship by means of which the infant opens himself to the world. This study deals with the role of time in that overture. Starting with a mythological reading of the phenomenon of «time» through the myth of Kronos-Saturn, I hereby contrast the experience displayed in the narrative of the myth with the experience of fullness and a-temporality associated with the fusional relationship between Mother and Baby. The integration of the Father within this strong attachment should make an effective openness to the external world feasible for the infant, thereby sustaining a wholesome maturation process for the latter, which culminates in what Heidegger called Geviert and allows for full personal development. The failure of such a maturation process induces pathological experiences of time.