Amongst the other miraculous phenomena to which Schreber bears witness, the references to bodily disintegration in relation to specific organs are particularly interesting. In my interpretation these disintegrations reflect how an oral object a ravages all experience of consistency.
For example, Schreber indicates that at the start of his illness a lungworm absorbed the lobes of his lungs, that his abdomen was rotting and that at several moments in time his stomach simply disappeared.
These phenomena indicate that, to his utter dismay, holes are created in his body. Organs that in a previous stage were part of Schreber’s body are suddenly eaten away and vanish into nothingness. Contrary to what takes place in paranoia, no attributions to the jouissance-laden activities of an overwhelming Other are made.
An unmotivated force simply destroys his body.
The Subject of Psychosis Stijn Vanheule
