The Duden defines the Oedipus complex (Oedipus conflict) as follows: “Psychoanalytical term for the early childhood, in both sexes developing relationship to the opposite-sex parent.” The term was coined by Sigmund Freud. But what exactly is the Oedipus complex and where did the term actually come from?
Who was Oedipus, anyway?
Oedipus is a figure from Greek mythology. He is abandoned as a child with pierced ankles, because according to an oracle saying he should kill his father and marry his mother. However, Oedipus is saved and taken in by the king of Corinth. A few years later, he unwittingly slays his father and marries his mother, who has four children by him. When the two finally find out the truth, the mother hangs herself and Oedipus blinds himself.
What is the Oedipus complex?
The Oedipus complex is a term in psychology coined by Siegmud Freud. According to Freud’s theory, every male child goes through the so-called “Oedipal” or “phallic phase,” which first appears between the ages of three and five. During this phase, the child is attracted to his mother, viewing the father as his greatest competitor.
How can the Oedipal phase turn out?
In the best case, the child stops seeing his father as a competitor and gives up his incest desires toward his mother. The boy should see the father as a role model and identify with him. However, if the Oedipal phase is not overcome, Freud sees it as a cause for the emergence of neuroses or perversions.
Does the Oedipus complex actually exist in girls?
Carl Gustav Jung found a term for the female variant of the Oedipus complex – the Electra complex. This is characterized by the girl’s desire to have a child by her father, while at the same time developing an aversion to her mother. This desire persists into puberty and disappears only when the girl loses interest in the father and simultaneously identifies with the mother.
- Freud, S. (1938): outline of psychoanalysis. Reclam.
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DocCheck Flexikon (2010): Oedipus complex. (Retrieved: 10/2020)
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Psychology Magazine (2012): the Oedipus complex. (Retrieved: 10/2020)
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Bayern 2 (2010): Oedipus. A myth and its interpretation. (Retrieved: 10/2020)
