The Psychoanalysis of the fire was a philosophical work ofGaston Bachelard(1884-1962).

His
the writing has been completed on11December1937For Gaston Bachelard, man first imagines
and then sees. Dreams and myths are classified according to the four elements: air, water, fire,
earth. Here, it is the element 'fire' that takes a predominant place.

Composition of the work

The book contains seven chapters:

Foreword
Fire and respect. The Prometheus complex.

II-Fire and dream. The complex of Empedocles

III-Psychoanalysis and Prehistory. The Novalis Complex.

IV-The sexualized fire

V-The chemistry of fire: history of a false problem.

VI-Alcohol: the water that burns. The punch: the Hoffmann complex. Combustions.
spontaneous.

VII-The idealized fire: fire and purity.

Conclusion.

Chapter IerFire and respect. The Prometheus complex.

In this chapter, Bachelard wants to describe the element 'fire.' Bachelard speaks about fire.
how to be oneof phenomena that have a double value, that is to say we
talks about two opposing valuations: good and evil.it shines in Paradise.
He burns in Hell.
He wants to conduct a psychoanalysis of objective thought: to find the unconscious causes of
the very foundation of scientific and empirical knowledge. He explains to us that what we
First know the fire, it is that one should not touch it. It then gives a definition.
of the Prometheus complex: "all the tendencies that push us to know as much
that our fathers, more than our fathers, as much as our teachers, more than our teachers.
That is to say, the Promethean complex represents a totality of feelings that embodies
the emphasis on desire, on the crazy temptation of man to measure himself against the gods and thus to
rise above his condition.

Chapter II. Fire and Dream. The Complex of Empedocles

Greek philosopher, engineer, and physician, legend has it that he threw himself into the flames.
of Etna.
In this chapter, Bachelard speaks about the complex of Empedocles and how Empedocles too, he...
adopt a contemplative attitude towards daydreaming.That is to say, daydreaming
 represents a philosophical axis that determines 'a true complex where they unite'
Love and respect for fire, the instinct to live and the instinct to die.
Another idea of Bachelard is that fire represents the idea of destruction,
to change, the being when it speaks about the fire, he hears the call of the pyre, for him "the
Destruction by fire is more than a change, it is a renewal. 14

Bachelard then proposes a reflection on the psyche of the arsonist, the one who ignites
a fire, the man fascinated by fire, a symbol of destruction. 'The fire smolders in a soul
more surely than under the ash. The arsonist is the most concealed of criminals.
then continues with a brief analysis of fire dreams whose sexual interpretation is
the safest. He continues his journey on the musings before the fire: 'The fire
warms and comforts, it invites the soul to rest. It is the symbol of change and
renewal. That is to say, reverie represents a philosophical axis that has the role of
to unite love and respect for fire, the instinct to live and the instinct to die.

Chapter III. Psychoanalysis and Prehistory. The complex of

Novalis
Novalis - poet, novelist, philosopher
The dream precedes experience, it is stronger than it. 'One can only study what one has
first dreamed. " There is a link between fire and sexuality: " it must be recognized that the
friction is a highly sexualized experience. Love is the first hypothesis for the
objective reproduction of fire." One thinks of the objective experience of the friction of two
pieces of wood, to the subjective experience of the friction that ignites a beloved body. The
friction is also a cause of electricity.

The fire refers to the dream of fertility. The ashes of bonfires fertilize and the
beasts and the fields, for they fertilize women. It is the experience of the fire of love.
who is at the base of objective induction. Fire refers to fulfilled desires.
The Novalis complex thus synthesizes the impulse towards the fire provoked by the
friction, the need for shared warmth. It is characterized by an awareness of the
intimate warmth. Novalis also wrote: 'See in my tale my aversion for the '
games of light and shadow and the desire for the warm and penetrating Ether.
warm earthly intimacy.
Chapter IV. The Sexualized Fire
Bachelard wants to denounce the false evidence that claims to link life and fire. Losing the
fire, the seminal fire, here is the great sacrifice. Only this sacrifice can engender life. In
In The Formation of the Scientific Mind, the author attempted to show that all alchemy was
crossed by an immense sexual daydream, a daydream of wealth and
rejuvenation, through a reverie of power. Alchemy is solely a science
of men, of singles, of insiders withdrawn from human communion in favor of a
masculine society. Its doctrine of fire is therefore polarized on unfulfilled desires. This
inner and male fire is naturally the most powerful fire. It is the one that can open the
bodies, to take them, to possess them. It is done, as some alchemists say, by the
 Veil of Fire. Let us think of the marriage story of Earth and Fire in the works.
of alchemy.
He concludes by stating that everything changes through fire and that the first phenomenon that matters
The attention of man is the 'pyromene'.

Chapter V. The Chemistry of Fire: The Story of a False Problem

The philosopher throughout this chapter somewhat critiques animist prejudices and
substantialists, but takes them back and tries to explain them. The fire offers itself for reflection
scientific on light, electrical phenomena. The heat of certain
plant substances are also part of beliefs rooted in certain minds. In
In antiquity, laurel branches were dedicated to the sun and were used to
crown all the conquerors of the earth. According to some, laurel heals ulcers.
from the head and erase the blemishes on the face.
Fire is related to digestion and to the desire to think of a power of
destruction. We use acid and we abuse it. It is about destroying the fire of life by
a surfer, to consume itself without flame or ash.

Chapter VI. Alcohol: the water that burns. The punch: The
Hoffmann complex. Spontaneous combustions.
writerromanticand acomposer, alsodesignerandlawyerGerman.
The water of life is the water of fire. It is a water that burns the tongue and ignites.
"lesser spark." One of the characteristics of Hoffmann's work is the importance of
fire phenomena. It talks about punch, a simple accompaniment for an evening of celebration. The
madness and drunkenness, reason and enjoyment are presented in their interferences. All
a part of phantasmagoric literature rests on the poetic excitement of alcohol.
Edgar Poe, like Hoffmann, was aided in his genius by alcohol. But the two
are different. Hoffmann's alcohol is the one that ignites while Edgar Poe's alcohol,
it is the one that gives forgetfulness and death. Alcohol burns, consumes. The philosopher quotes
several examples reported in the works of the 18th centuryandcentury where we find a drunkard
in ashes, consumed by drink. It is in the collective unconscious that we find the idea
that a living body can be consumed from the inside by the "fire" of alcohol.
Chapter VII. The idealized fire: fire and purity
Fire is both the symbol of the devil, the flames of hell, and a symbol
purifier. In agriculture, it destroys useless weeds and enriches the soil.
When fire dematerializes, it becomes spirit. For Rilke, to be loved is to burn away.
In the flame, it is to escape doubt, it is to live in the evidence of the heart.
Conclusion
The daydreaming about fire has highlighted all the ambiguity of this element:
to be aware of burning is to cool down, to feel an intensity is to diminish it. All
Fire-related complexes are painful: to catch fire or to give oneself to the fire, to follow the
complex of Prometheus or Empedocles. Only creative daydreaming can destroy these
painful ambiguities, for imagination is the very force of psychic production,
of a fruitful and positive freedom.