The Oedipus complex and the Electra complex are the theories that Freud and Jung derived. The complexes received the names of mythical heroes in order to more clearly explain the behavior of patients.
It should be noted that the Electra complex, like the
Oedipus complex, is considered by many modern psychiatrists to be untenable. Nevertheless, it makes sense to consider these phenomena.
What is the Electra complex
C. G. Jung introduced the concept for the first time to explain the experiences of a growing girl and her craving for her father. On the one hand, this complex is opposed to the Oedipus complex (the boy’s craving for his mother), which was formulated by Z. Freud. On the other hand, both the Oedipus complex and the Electra complex (according to Freud) characterize the child’s craving for the parent of the opposite sex.
Freud himself believed that it was the Oedipus complex that was peculiar to children of both sexes. A girl attached to her mother in early childhood, growing up, begins to become more and more attached to her father.
Over time, she begins to see a rival in her mother and, of course, begins to experience a feeling of jealousy, and later a desire to eliminate her rival. Hatred is constantly growing and aggravated by (according to Freud) that over time the girl discovers: she is arranged not as a father, but as a mother - she does not have a penis. This "discovery" further enhances the Electra complex. The girl is confident in her physiological inferiority and begins to blame the mother who gave birth to her with such a noticeable defect. At the same time, she even more needs the male attention of her father and seeks to get pregnant from him. Freudians believe that this "penis envy" can be so strong that the girl even begins to dream about having a baby, and not just about a speculative pregnancy.
The following complex is developing - castration.
It is this feeling of inferiority and the castration complex that lead to the fact that the girl, from Freud's point of view, finally develops the Oedipus complex. According to Jung, this condition is called the Electra Complex. The desire for castration in boys usually leads to the fact that his desire and craving for his mother subside over time. One reason for this crowding out is fear of the father. In girls, on the contrary, the Electra complex develops, exerting a noticeable influence on the formation of a female character. In the state of Electra (Oedipus) the girl is longer than the boys. If the complex cannot be completely eliminated, then an adult woman will necessarily suffer from various
mental disorders.What's next?
Freud's followers are sure that from a girl suffering from the Electra complex, an outstanding specialist is obtained over time. Such a woman easily learns and teaches, but ... not women. She gets along well with men, but nothing more. Her personal life either does not add up, or the girl marries late and for a man many years older than herself. In the “adult” husband, she sees her father, thereby as if achieving a goal that involuntarily arises in front of everyone who suffers from the Electra complex. This goal is not to be like a mother and always stay with my father.