What is the Oedipus complex?

Introduction

The classic presentation of the myth of Oedipus is the play Oidipous Tyrannos (c. 429 BCE; Oedipus Tyrannus, 1715), by the Greek playwright Sophocles. The play begins when Laius, ruler of Thebes, is told he will one day be murdered by a son. When Jocasta, his wife, gives birth to a son, the couple orders him killed. Instead, the baby is abandoned, then found and adopted by Polybus, king of Corinth. The boy, named Oedipus, grows up believing Polybus is his biological father.

As an adult, Oedipus is told that he is fated to kill his father and, in an attempt to evade the prophecy, leaves Corinth. On the road, he meets an old man driving a wagon who refuses to move and let Oedipus pass. In a rage, Oedipus kills Laius, not aware that he is Oedipus’s biological father.

The throne of Thebes is now vacant, and through a series of circumstances Oedipus becomes king of Thebes and marries the widow of the former king—his biological mother, Jocasta. The two have four daughters. Thebes is then beset with a terrible plague. Oedipus vows to save his kingdom and puts a curse on the person who must have committed the sin that has caused the plague. Through an entanglement of circumstances and the confession of Polybus, Oedipus learns the truth about his murder of his father and his marriage to his mother, Jocasta. When Jocasta hangs herself in shame, Oedipus takes the brooches from her dress and thrusts the pins into his eyes, blinding himself so he cannot see the evil around him. Oedipus is taken to Mount Cithaeron, where he was originally abandoned, and left to die as the gods originally intended.

Oedipus in the Human Psyche

Sigmund Freud, the Austrian founder of psychoanalysis, first turned his attention to the Oedipus myth while undertaking his own self-analysis in the late 1890s, as he was attempting to puzzle out the dynamics of infant sexuality. After studying the Oedipus myth, Freud believed he had gained insight into the human mind, revealing a basic tenet of the human psyche based on persons dealing with family dynamics. Freud believed all male children deal with aggression toward their fathers and dream of making love to their mothers at some point in their development. Freud felt that Oedipus was the perfect model for this example because of his extreme behaviors.

Improper infantile sexual feelings that are not dealt with cause neuroses that affect daily life. These neuroses can cause disabilities later on. However, historical data now prove incestuous behaviors are extremely rare in all societies worldwide. Psychiatrists have dismissed much of what Freud had to say on the subject.

Diagnosing this complex is difficult in the light of psychological research since Freud first used the term and began treatment using psychoanalysis. Versions of what might still be termed Oedipal conflicts may be found in psychiatric patients exhibiting sexual disorders as a result of childhood incestuous experiences. Serial murderers most often have suffered abnormal sexual experiences, and case histories show that child molesters were often sexually abused as children. However, the idea that the incestuous relations between children and adults are the result of ( unconscious) desire on the part of the child is now discredited. Most references to the Oedipus complex now take place in the realm of literary studies.

Bibliography

Bergmann, Martin S. "The Oedipus Complex and Psychoanalytic Technique." Psychoanalytic Technique 30.6 (2010): 535–40. Print.

Blazina, Chris. “Mythos and Men: Toward New Paradigms of Masculinity.” The Journal of Men’s Studies 5.4 (May, 1997): 285–95. Print.

Blum, Harold P. "Adolescent Trauma and the Oedipus Complex." Psychoanalytic Inquiry 30.6 (2010): 548–56. Print.

Kulish, Nancy, and Deanna Holtzmann. A Story of Her Own: The Female Oedipus Complex Reexamined and Renamed. Lanham: Aronson, 2008. Print.

Nicolson, Paula. "Oedipus At Work: A Family Affair?" Psychodynamic Practice 18.4 (2012): 427–40. Print.

Sophocles. The Oedipus Cycle. Trans. Dudley Fitts and Robert Fitzgerald. San Diego: Harvest, 1987. Print.

Young, Robert M., ed. Oedipus Complex: Ideas in Psychoanalysis. New York: Totem, 2001. Print.