A REFLECTION ON PROCRUSTEAN HOSPITALITY IN THE LIGHT OF PSYCHOANALYSIS

Abstract

This paper proposes a critical reflection on the hospitality of Procustus in the light of psychoanalysis, especially based on the characteristics of obsessive neurosis. It uses a case study from Greek mythology, analyzing the figure of Procustus, known for subjecting his guests to a rigid standard of conduct, forcing them to fit perfectly into an iron bed - stretching them out or amputating their limbs. As the study is based on material in the public domain, no Ethics Committee approval was required. Procusto's behaviors reveal traits typical of obsessive neurotics, such as perfectionism, rigidity, the need for control and the difficulty of dealing with difference. His imposed “hospitality”, without the possibility of refusal, reflects his obsessive attempt to mold the other according to his own standards. The analysis suggests that the myth symbolically represents the psychic conflict between law and transgression, desire and prohibition, which structures obsessive neurosis.