In psychoanalysis, the Oedipus Complex (or syndrome) is a concept created by the Austrian psychiatrist Sigmund Freud (1856-1939). It was based on Sophocles' Greek tragedy Oedipus the King.
Freud used Greek literature to explain the child sexual development of a male child, who at a certain stage creates strong desires for the mother.
On the other hand, the boy creates a certain rejection by the father, the individual with whom he shares maternal attention and, moreover, the one who sleeps with his mother.
This love, according to psychoanalytic theory, translates an incestuous desire of the child with the mother, in a phase called phallic, that is, from 3 to 6 years old.
At this point, she begins to discover her body, her genitals and understand sexual differences. Furthermore, it is at this stage that she realizes that she is not the center of the world, that is, that she is no longer so dependent on her parents.
Thus, according to Freud, the boy, in this confused phase of libido construction, creates a desire for the opposite sex, in this case, his mother.
In this sense, he begins to see his father as a rival, while seeking his love and attention.
According to Freud, this conflict is the father who must break, in order to establish a male identity and, consequently, a balance in the child's affective-sexual development.
Thus, the child continues to mirror the father and, later, will look for a woman similar to his mother.
Note that the concept “Oedipus Complex” can be used in both sexes. That is, boys are strongly attracted to the mother, while girls are attracted to the father figure.
However, in the case of girls, the most used term is “Electra Complex”.
On the concept of “oedipal desire” in Freud's words:
“His fate moves us only because it could have been ours - because the oracle cast the same curse on us before our birth as it did on him. It is the fate of all of us, perhaps, to direct our first sexual impulse towards our mother and our first hatred and our first murderous wish against our father.”.
Unresolved Oedipus Complex
For Freud, if the Oedipus complex is unresolved, the person can have consequences related to difficulties in relationships, homosexuality or even having a submissive behavior.
Electra Complex
The Electra Complex, designates a term created by Carl Gustav Jung (1875-1961), founder of analytical psychology.
It was based on the Greek play by the Greek dramatist Sophocles: Electra. This disturbance, in contrast to the Oedipus Complex, marks a phase where the girl desires her father and rejects her mother.
However, for Freud, this disturbance was called the “Feminine Oedipus Complex”.
Oedipus King
Oedipus King is a Greek tragedy written by Sophocles (496-406 a. C.), around 427 BC Ç.
In it, Oedipus, son of Laius and Jocasta, faced with a prophecy, marries his mother and kills his father by mistake.
After learning the truth, his wife-mother commits suicide and Oedipus, ashamed, pierces his own eyes.
Curiosity
Freud created his theory about the “Oedipus complex” and the concept “Oedipal desire” after seeing Oedipus Rex in the theater. The play was a great success on display in the capitals Paris and Vienna, in the nineteenth century.
