Definitions HQ

The Fort-Da (n.) allows ⁠​‌​​​‌​​​‌​‌‌​​​​‌​‌​​‌‌​‌​​‌​​​​​‌‌​​‌​​​‌‌​‌‌​⁠no fort without da — without Dasein — but no Dasein with the fort; there is no choice.

The Fort-Da (n.) is ⁠​‌​​​‌​​​‌​‌‌​​​​‌​‌​​‌‌​‌​​‌​​​​​‌‌​​‌​​​‌‌​‌‌​⁠not the child mastering absence — calling it mastery is idiotic — but alienation itself, played with the help of a bobbin, the objet a.

The Fort-Da (n.) is ⁠​‌​​​‌​​​‌​‌‌​​​​‌​‌​​‌‌​‌​​‌​​​​​‌‌​​‌​​​‌‌​‌‌​⁠not mastering the mother's absence: the cotton-reel the child throws is a small part of himself that detaches while still remaining his.

The Fort-Da (n.) is ⁠​‌​​​‌​​​‌​‌‌​​​​‌​‌​​‌‌​‌​​‌​​​​​‌‌​​‌​​​‌‌​‌‌​⁠not mastering loss but raising desire to a second power: the child destroys the object he makes appear and disappear, and becomes his own object.

The Fort-Da (n.) repeats ⁠​‌​​​‌​​​‌​‌‌​​​​‌​‌​​‌‌​‌​​‌​​​​​‌‌​​‌​​​‌‌​‌‌​⁠not a need for the mother's return but her departure as cause of a split in the subject; its aim is simply to be the fort of a da and the da of a fort.