The Oedipus Complex (TOW #5)

                Sigmund Freud is probably the most important figure in world of modern psychology. His works have been so influential that they are still studied and are the basis of nearly all of today’s psychological principals. Considered the father of psycho analysis, Freud coined the iceberg theory, a belief that a person’s subconscious had a great effect on their daily life. He believed that dreams were a crucial tool in analyzing patients’ subconscious.

                In his book The Interpretation of Dreams Freud discusses one of his more famous concepts, the Oedipus complex. In a section of the book, in which he describes the more common dreams, he talks about this complex in an essay entitled “The Oedipus Complex.” The essay seems to be directed toward an audience of more educated individuals, presumably with some connection to the neuroscience or psychology field, as shown by his use of specialized jargon without pretense.

                In his essay Freud establishes, and defends his theory of the Oedipus Complex. He theorizes that the relationship of between parents and children have great effects on the psychological traits of the children. He shows that there is an even more significant effect on children who hold onto polar opinions on their two parents. Freud goes on to explain his belief that children go through a phase where they become sexually attracted to their mothers and feel resentful, even wants to kill their father.

                Freud justifies this belief with three primary examples. He initially discusses patients he has had who became stuck in this Oedipus complex, never growing out of it, and resulting in states of poor psychological health. His next example is the legend of Oedipus Rex from which the complex obtains its name. The myth tells of a young boy who is abandoned, becomes king, accidentally kills his birth father, has sex with his mother, and then gouges his own eyes out as a form of retribution. Freud argues this is an exemplification of the complex. Freud’s final large example is in his analysis of Hamlet in which he argues that the reason hamlet could not do what his father’s ghost asked is because he would feel like a hypocrite because he too desired to sleep with his mother and kill his father.

                Though Freud was a notable figure and established some ethos with patients and cultural examples the theory has generally been regarded as wacky and been refuted many times. This, Freud would argue, is tied back to the social taboo of incest, but he would also say that the Oedipus complex is why incest was made into a taboo.