Ghost of a flea

In his essay “Beyond the Pleasure Principle” (1920) Freud relates how he observed a boy of around 36 months who had just mastered a few words and basic sounds throwing a wooden reel out of his cot and exclaiming “fort” [“gone”], and then reeling it in and exclaiming “da” [“there”]. The episode was often repeated, as was his habit of throwing toys away into a corner or under a bed, then struggling to get them back. Other parents have often noted similar behaviour as children around this age toss a favoured toy out of their cots and then wail miserably until it is returned to them. The “fort – da” episode, as it is now often called, was interpreted by Freud as a game whereby the child gained mastery over loss: the wooden reel or favourite toy stood for the mother whose absence and then presence the child was enacting and controlling via the toy.