Mortel Transfert

+ The truth of a work of art lies in what it reveals of itself.
-- Even unconsciously.
+ The way of the detective or the way of the psychoanalyst.
-- Each might elicit a confession and arouse the expectation of punishment.
+ Is each story already a story of a crime?
-- Each story is a transgression.
+ The difference between the cop and the shrink is that to the former a crime is a fundamental given, an indisputable fact, whereas the latter thinks of it as a symptom, a superficial manifestation of something hidden.
-- And yet: the crime may take place only after the fact, in the wake of the detection of a crime.
+ Spoken like a true psychoanalyst.
-- A mere observer.
+ Even the margin is a side taken.
-- A work of art seems, at first approach, an object contained within its bounds: the margin, the frame, the first and the last cut. Setting aside the preparatory sketch, the rough draft, the work appears as an unambiguous object.
+ Like a crime, ready to submit to analysis.
-- Yes, like a crime.
+ Only, as does crime, the object slips between one's fingers as soon as one attempts to grasp it.
-- Or it is the object that takes hold of whoever tries to grasp it.
+ The detective proceeds by asking well-aimed questions. The psychoanalyst remains silent. . . .