They had no illusions about duty, or the perpetuation of their kith and kin, or the preservation Lacan's admirable theory of desire appears to liS to have two poles: one related to the object small a as a desiring machine, which defines desire in terms of a rea! production, thus going beyond both any idea of need and any idea of fantasy; and the other related to the great Other as a signifier, which reintroduces a certain notion of lack.