Sigmund Freud's Oedipus Complex

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During the course of last unit, we touched upon the Oedipus Complex, which originated from the play Oedipus the King. Basically, at a young age, children feel romantically inclined toward their opposite gender parent. But why do none of us remember doing this? And what causes us to feel this way? The only way these questions can be answered is through further research. "The Oedipus Complex is a term used by Freud in his theory of psychosexual stages of development to describe a child's feelings of desire for his or her opposite-sex parent and jealousy or anger toward his or her same-sex parent. According to Freud, children view their same-sex parent as a rival for the opposite-sex parent's attention and affections." You may recognize that some of your younger siblings or cousins around the age of 5 beg for attention from the opposite gender parent. One good explanation for that could be Freud's theory of the Oedipus Complex. 
According to Freud, "there are a number of behaviors that children engage in that are actually a result of this complex." When a boy expresses possessiveness towards his mother and tells his dad not to hug or kiss her or a little girl declares that they plan to marry their father when they grow up, these are two signs of the Oedipus Complex and it plays out in most little kids, whether we notice it or not.
When referring to the Oedipus Complex, we are mostly referring to a young boys attitude toward his mother. Girls have a completely different name for their complex, known as the Electra Complex. This complex describes a young girls attitude toward her father. 
"In order to resolve the conflict, the defense mechanism known as identification kicks in. It is at this point that the super-ego is formed. The super-ego becomes a sort of inner moral authority, an internalization of the father figure that strives to suppress the unconscious urges of the younger son and make the ego act upon these idealistic standards." Other influences such as social norms, religion, and other cultural influences can help contribute to the repression of the Oedipus Complex.
As we grow older, the Oedipus Complex helps to guide us in achieving mature adult romantic relationships.


Comments

  1. AnonymousDecember 5, 2019 at 6:00 PM

    I cringed when we looked this up online in class it's so weird to think about!!

    ReplyDelete
  2. DanielleDecember 9, 2019 at 10:21 AM

    I love teaching this because everyone freaks out! It is a wild concept for sure!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. DanielleDecember 9, 2019 at 10:22 AM

      But there is no name on this - email me so that you can get credit!

      Delete
  3. AnonymousDecember 9, 2019 at 5:41 PM

    When we learned this in class I couldn't believe what I was hearing because this theory is so crazy!

    ReplyDelete

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