Following Lacan, the author takes into consideration the family as a place where, through Oedipal complex, the child accedes to the phallic function thanks to the intervention of the paternal metaphor. Grandparental role as a significant word is also contemplated in both patients’ counts, in tales, and in Freud’s text on Little Hans, also referring to Leonardo da Vinci’s portrait of Anna Metterza.
Keywords: Desire, Oedipal complex, paternal metaphor, function of the third generation.