Originally published in 1957, this short treatise is Bellmer's self-analysis of the physical unconscious, in which he explores the obsessions underlying his famous Doll with reference to Freudian interpretations and to hallucinogenic experiences shared with the poet Joë Bousquet. He examines how the most violent or imperceptible modification of the body can be explained as a tendency to disorient, to double pain and to create a virtual centre of excitement, and argues that expression is displaced suffering that brings deliverance. Few artists have pushed introspection and exploration of their drives to such lucidity.