If we talk about what the Oedipus complex is, then, according to Freud, this complex is mandatory and universal for everyone in childhood. Oedipus complex, what is it? This is one of the concepts used by Freud in classical psychoanalysis to indicate a child’s contradictory attitude towards his parents. That is, this explains the manifestation of unconscious drives in a child, which are accompanied by an expression of feelings of both love and hatred of parents.
Ancient Greek tragedy, which formed the basis of the Oedipus complex
The Oedipus complex, what it is, can be explained with the help of the tragedy of the ancient Greek time Sophocles “Oedipus Rex”. This tragedy tells of the unfortunate fate of Oedipus. Unconsciously, he first kills his father Lai, then to become the husband of his mother Jocasta. After he learns from the oracle about the acts committed by him, he blinds himself.
It was from this myth that Freud derived the idea of where the Oedipus complex came from in men. And, as Freud believed, this complex is inherent in every person. He argued that our dreams prove that everyone, without exception, directs their first sexual drive toward the mother and their first desire to inflict violence - toward the father.
Oedipus complex according to Freud
Studying the memories of adults and observing children, Freud concluded that the manifestation of the Oedipus complex is universal. The boy in childhood is erotically attached to his mother and wants to possess her. In this case, their father is perceived as a hindrance. The girl, however, feels the need to eliminate her mother, as she has warm feelings for her father.
Oedipus complex what is it according to Jung
In psychoanalytic literature, to designate the Oedipus complex in women, they often use the concept introduced by Jung K.G., the Electra complex. And this name also originates from the ancient Greek myth of the daughter of Agamemnon. In this tragedy, Electra helped to kill her mother, who was guilty of the death of her father.
But Freud, arguing on the topic "Oedipus complex, what is this?", Believed that it is equally common to all people, regardless of what gender they belong to. Freud justified this by the fact that a person has a masculine and feminine principle, and his bisexuality leads to the fact that the child can take an active or passive position.
The crowding out of the Oedipus complex
According to Freud, the Oedipus complex begins to appear in children aged 3 to 5 years. And everyone’s task is to overcome it, since this process is essential for the development of a child, characterized by a transition from the phase of child sexuality to the normal path of human development. If it persists in the unconscious child, then this can cause the child to neurotize and affect his psychological disorders already in adulthood.
But, despite the universality of the complex, Freud still believed that in boys and girls it develops and becomes obsolete in different ways. The boy’s fear of castration as a punishment for attraction to his mother leads to his disgust from the Oedipus complex. And the boy sublimates his drives to other, socially acceptable goals.
The girl, according to Freud, normally reacts to the fact that she does not have a penis, but at the same time she feels envy for the organ that she does not have and wants to get it from her father. This desire persists for a sufficiently long period, so the girls part with the Oedipus complex slowly. But the long-term preservation in girls of this complex helps to prepare a woman for her puberty.