Oedipus complex,

Oedipus complex

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The term Oedipus complex (or, less commonly, Oedipal complex) denotes the

emotions and ideas that the mind keeps in the , via dynamic , that concentrates upon a child's to have sexual relations with the parent of the opposite sex (i.e. males attracted to their mothers, and females attracted to their

fathers). , who coined the term "Oedipus complex" believed that the Oedipus complex is a desire for the parent in both males and females; Freud deprecated the term "", which was introduced by in regard to the Oedipus complex manifested in young girls. The Oedipus complex occurs in the third — phallic stage (ages 3–6) — of the five stages: (i) the, (ii) the , (iii) the , (iv) the , and (v) the — in which the source of libidinal pleasure is in a different of the infant's body.

In classical Freudian theory, a child's identification with the same-sex parent is the successful resolution of the Oedipus complex and of the . This is a key psychological experience that is necessary for the development of a mature and . further proposed that boys and girls

experience the complexes differently: boys in a form of , girls in a form of ; and that unsuccessful resolution of the complexes might lead

to , , and . Men and women who are in the Oedipal and Electra stages of their might be considered "mother-fixated" and "father-fixated". In adult life this can lead to a choice of a sexual partner who resembles one's parent.

Contents

[]

? 1 Background

o 1.1 The Oedipus complex

o 1.2 Oedipal case study

o 1.3 Feminine Oedipus attitude

2 Freudian theoretic revision

o 2.1 Carl Gustav Jung ?

?

?

? o 2.2 Otto Rank o 2.3 Melanie Klein o 2.4 Wilfred Bion o 2.5 Jacques Lacan 3 Criticism

4 See also 5 References

Oedipus refers to a 5th-century BC character , who

unwittingly kills his father, , and marries his mother, . A play based on the myth, , was written by , ca. 429 BC.

Modern productions of Sophocles' play were staged in Paris and Vienna in the 19th century and were phenomenally successful in the 1880s and 1890s. The

Austrian, (1856–1939), attended. In his book first published in 1899, he proposed that an Oedipal desire is a universal, psychological phenomenon innate () to human beings, and the cause of much unconscious guilt. He based this on his analysis of his feelings attending the play, his anecdotal observations of neurotic or normal children, and on the fact that the Oedipal Rex play was effective on both ancient and modern audiences (he also claimed the play was effective for the same reason).[4]

Freud described the man :

His destiny moves us only because it might have been ours — because the Oracle laid the same curse upon us before our birth as upon him. It is the fate of all of us, perhaps, to direct our first sexual impulse towards our mother and our first hatred and our first murderous wish against our father. Our dreams [5]convince us that this is so.

A six-stage chronology of 's theoretic evolution of the Oedipus complex is: ?

?

?

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? Stage 1. 1897–1909. After his father's death in 1896, and having seen the play , by , Freud begins using the term "Oedipus". Stage 2. 1909–1914. Proposes that Oedipal is the "nuclear complex" of all neuroses; first usage of "Oedipus complex" in 1910. Stage 3. 1914–1918. Considers paternal and maternal . Stage 4. 1919–1926. Complete Oedipus complex; and are conceptually evident in later works. Stage 5. 1926–1931. Applies the Oedipal theory to religion and .

? Stage 6. 1931–1938. Investigates the "feminine Oedipus attitude" and "negative

Oedipus complex"; later the "Electra complex".[6]

In classical theory, the Oedipus complex occurs during the of (age 3–6 years), when also occurs the formation of the and the ; yet it might manifest itself at an earlier age.

In the , a boy's decisive psychosexual experience is the Oedipus complex — his son–father competition for possession of mother. It is in this third stage

of that the child's genitalia are his or her primary ; thus, when children become aware of their bodies, the bodies of other children, and the bodies of their parents, they gratify physical curiosity by undressing and

exploring themselves, each other, and their genitals, so learning the differences between "male" and "female" and the differences between "boy" and "girl".

Psychosexual infantilism — Despite mother being the parent who primarily gratifies the child's , the child begins forming a discrete sexual identity — "boy", "girl" — that alters the dynamics of the parent and child relationship; the parents become objects of infantile energy. The boy directs his libido (sexual desire) upon his mother, and directs jealousy and emotional rivalry against his father — because it is he who sleeps with his mother. Moreover, to facilitate union with mother, the boy's wants to kill father (as did ), but the pragmatic , based upon the , knows that the father is the stronger of the two males competing to possess the one female.

Nonetheless, the boy remains ambivalent about his father's place in the family, which is manifested as by the physically greater father; the fear is an irrational, subconscious manifestation of the infantile id.

Psycho-logic defense — In both sexes, provide transitory

resolutions of the conflict between the drives of the id and the drives of the ego. The first defense mechanism is , the blocking of memories, emotional impulses, and ideas from the conscious mind; yet its action does not resolve the id–ego conflict. The second defense mechanism is , in which the boy or girl child adapts by incorporating, to his or her (super)ego, the personality characteristics of the same-sex parent. As a result of this, the boy diminishes his , because his likeness to father protects him from father's wrath in their maternal rivalry. In the case of the girl,

this facilitates identifying with mother, who understands that, in being females, neither of them possesses a penis, and thus are not antagonists.[9]

Dénouement — Unresolved son–father competition for the psycho-sexual possession of the mother might result in a that leads to the boy becoming an aggressive, over-ambitious, and vain man. Therefore, the satisfactory parental handling and resolution of the Oedipus complex are most important in developing the male infantile . This is because, by identifying with a parent, the

boy ; thereby, he chooses to comply with societal rules, rather than reflexively complying in fear of punishment.

In Analysis of a Phobia in a Five-year-old Boy (1909), the case study of

the boy "", Freud showed that the relation between Hans's fears — of horses and of his father — derived from external factors, the birth of a sister, and internal factors, the desire of the infantile id to replace father as companion to mother, and for enjoying the normal to a boy of his age. Moreover, his

admitting to wanting to procreate with mother was considered proof of the boy's to the opposite-sex parent; he was a heterosexual male. Yet, the boy Hans was unable to relate fearing horses to fearing his father. As the treating , Freud noted that "Hans had to be told many things that he could not say himself" and that "he had to be presented with thoughts, which he had, so far, shown no signs of

possessing".

Feminine Oedipus attitude[]

Initially, Freud equally applied the Oedipus complex to the of boys and girls, but later modified the female aspects of the theory as "feminine Oedipus attitude" and "negative Oedipus complex"; yet, it was his student–collaborator , who, in 1913, proposed the to describe a girl's daughter–mother competition for psychosexual possession of the father.

In the , a girl's Electra complex is her decisive experience in forming a discrete sexual identity (). Whereas a boy develops, a girl develops rooted in anatomic fact: without a penis, she cannot sexually

possess mother, as the infantile id demands. Resultantly, the girl redirects her for

sexual union upon father, thus progressing to femininity, which culminates in bearing a child, who replaces the absent .[13] Furthermore, after the phallic stage, the girl's psychosexual development includes transferring her primary erogenous zone from the infantile to the adult .

Freud thus considered a girl's negative Oedipus complex to be more emotionally intense than that of a boy, resulting, potentially, in a woman of submissive,

insecure ; thus might an unresolved Electra complex, daughter–mother competition for psychosexual possession of father, lead to a phallic-

stage conducive to a girl becoming a woman who continually strives to dominate men (viz. ), either as an unusually (high self-esteem) or as an unusually submissive woman (low self-esteem). Therefore, the satisfactory parental handling and resolution of the Electra complex are most important in developing the female infantile , because, by identifying with a parent, the girl

internalizes ; thereby, she chooses to comply with societal rules, rather than reflexively complying in fear of punishment. When (1856–1939) proposed that the Oedipus complex was psychologically universal, he provoked the evolution of and the treatment method, by collaborator and competitor alike.

In countering Freud's proposal that the of boys and girls is equal, that each initially experiences sexual desire () for mother, and aggression towards father, student–collaborator counter-proposed that girls experienced desire for father and aggression towards mother via the — derived from the 5th-century BC Greek mythologic character , who plotted revenge with , her brother, against , their mother, and , their stepfather, for their murder of , her father, (cf. , by

Sophocles). Moreover, because it is native to , orthodox Jungian psychology uses the term "Oedipus complex" only to denote a boy's

psychosexual development.