JAN KOTT
585
In
this classification system the idealiza tion of the mouth corre–
sponds
to
the abasement o f the anus: the " ho le" is rela ted to the cloaca
(meaning bo th a sewer, a receptacle for filth , and in its zoological use,
referring to the common orifice of the urinary, elimina to ry and genital
sys tems in vertebra te embryos),
to
filth and, in the semantics of myths,
to
the "ga tes o f Hell ." According
to
this sys tem
" to
spit," the inverse of
" to
drink," wo uld be the consecutive of " to shit. " "Ea t shit" is
consecutive and parallel, a t the symbolic level, to " Go to hell !" The
verb o f exchange between Mouth and Anus is always, significantl y, " to
eat" with its pa rall els and inversion s. The exchange of food against
excrement bo th unites and puts in opposition all the signs of Mouth
and Anus
(La bouch e d'egout )
and becomes the paradi gm genera ting all
the permuta tio ns of " to ea t" in social rela tions (e.g. in dirty jokes) and
in myths.
MOUTH
~
______
~
______
~ANUS
TO eAT-TO BREATH
TOEXCRETE-"ll:)
~
"VOICE"
"NOISE"
At a stage o f infantil e ero ti sm sexua l curiosity is ori ented towards
the anus and nouri shment symbolicall y identified with sex (food =sex ).
With sexual maturity the two terms of thi s linguistic and symboli c
equa tion are reversed (sex=food ). In the lingui stic sys tem o f English the
verb o f transiti on between Mouth and Genitals is aga in " to ea t" with
its parall el
" to
suck." In the sys tem of French the sign o f the exchange
between "
La Bouch e"
and "
Le Sexe"
is
" baiser"
(to ki ss/ to copula te).
This ana tomical identifi ca ti on is found already in La tin with " labia. "
T he fear o f cas tra tio n is o ften symbolized by the devouring mouth of
the "vagina denta ta. " Sexual " nouri shment" is signified by
" La chair"
(fl esh , meat ) and mos t markedl y by " la consomma tion du marri age."
