CLICK-CAUTION: the following may contain spoilers regarding the ‘reality’ (or otherwise) of Santa.
Santa is an essential part of Christmas. But can Santa be understood through the psychoanalytic concepts of fetishism, ambivalence and narcissism? Some say yes, he can. Take for example Dr. Robert Cluley PhD, currently Lecturer in Marketing at Nottingham University Business School, UK. In a paper for the journal Organization, November 2011 vol. 18 no. 6 , Dr. Cluley put forward his thesis : The organization of Santa: fetishism, ambivalence and narcissism (US$32.00 for non-subscribers). The abstract explains:
The article argues that parents’ role in this organization of Santa can be understood through the psychoanalytic concepts of fetishism, ambivalence and narcissism. The article concludes that parents’ misinform their children about Santa in order to meet their own narcissistic wishes. They organize a world based on an image they wish were true as if it were true.