The maternal original. The language of mothers between symbolic dimension and interpretation

Abstract

The paper proposes a reflection on maternal language as the original place where the relationship with the mother is rooted in the principle of authority. Since it is certainly true that “knowing how to speak is a revocable dowry or gift of the mother” Muraro, 1991), it is necessary to explain whether it is true and why ‘patriarchal’ society attempts by all means to silence maternal language. “Thinking from motherhood” (Cavarero, 1990) thus becomes necessary in order to reconstruct a genealogy of the maternal that reappropriates its generative power (Scattigno, 1997). However, every language must also come to terms with its symbolic-existential dimensions, not neglecting to confront the areas of opacity and resistance inherent in every form of human communication (Volli, 2008; Lacan 2002).