Transference - The Seminar of Jacques Lacan, Book VIII

Alcibiades attempted to seduce Socrates, he wanted to make him,and in the most openly avowed way possible, into someoneinstrumental and subordinate to what? To the object of Alcibiades?sdesire: agalma, the good object. I would go even further. How can we analysts fail to recognizewhat is involved? He says quite clearly: Socrates has the goodobject in his stomach. Here Socrates is nothing but the envelope inwhich the object of desire is found. It is in order to clearlyemphasize that he is nothing but this envelope that Alcibiadestries to show that Socrates is desire?s serf in his relations withAlcibiades, that Socrates is enslaved to Alcibiades by his desire.Although Alcibiades was aware that Socrates desired him, he wantedto see Socrates?s desire manifest itself in a sign, in order toknow that the other, the object, agalma, was at hismercy. Now, it is precisely because he failed in this undertaking thatAlcibiades disgraces himself, and makes of his confession somethingthat is so affectively laden. The daemon of (Aidos), Shame,about which I spoke to you at another time in this context, is whatintervenes here. This is what is violated here. The most shockingsecret is unveiled before everyone; the ultimate mainspring ofdesire, which in love relations must always be more or lessdissimulated, is revealed, its aim is the fall of the Other, A,into the other, a.' Jacques Lacan