Listening to Voices, Hearing a Person: F ranÇoise D olto and the Language of the Subject

The aim of this paper is two‐fold. The first is to further introduce readers to the work and ideas of F rançoise D olto and in particular to the concept of castration which was so central to her thinking on child development and her practice of child psychoanalysis. The second aim is to offer a partial interpretation of why D olto has been so neglected in A nglo‐ S axon psychoanalytic thinking unlike her close colleague, J acques L acan, and in contrast to her status in F rance. In conclusion I offer some thoughts on why her work is of continuing relevance and importance.