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The process of becoming a father depends on the (primal) early experience of differentiating between maternal and paternal qualities, recognised in their different sensorimotor impacts on the child. The integration of these differences demonstrates the organising value of the body both for the protective shield and for the superego. From the myth of Perseus to contemporary social issues, the primitive model of the subject’s constitution on the model of the other is found. The example of Rimbaud is used to demonstrate the narcissistic deficiencies, both bodily and psychic, that are rendered especially harmful for the developing young person by the father’s absence.