1. Or “Tell me about your mother”
Oedipus Complex Or
“Tell me about your mother”
Copyright Sheila Jones, 2009
for her Honors English 2 classes, Englewood H.S.
Englewood, CO

2. Sigmund Freud 1856-1939 Considered father of modern psychology
Introduced psychological concepts, though now considered obsolete, still remain part of popular culture.
Criticized for ignoring developmental phases of women. Saw women as inferior and defective.

3. Freud’s psychoanalytic view of man
The id: primitive, unconscious brain
The ego: the personal, reality-based, conscious mind
The superego: conscience, our values and morality

4. 5 stages of psychosexual development based on primary source of sexual gratification
Oral [0-8 months] Pure id. Gratification involves use of the mouth.
Anal [8-18 months] Toilet training stage. Controlled by id. Child feels some control over elimination and receives gratification by either elimination (aggressive, sadistic) or retention (possessive, stubborn)

5. 5 stages continued
Phallic (18 months - 6 yrs.) Preoccupation with genitals. Controlled by id. Self-stimulation is major source of gratification.
Oedipal complex for boys years - competiveness, achievement, ambition. Attempt to outdo father
Electra complex for girls.

6. 5 stages continue Latency (6-11 years).
Loss of interest in sexual gratification.
Identification with same sex parent.
Defensiveness vs. insecurity
Adolescent competitiveness. Tendency to show off.

7. Fifth stage, finally Genitality (11-18 years)
Concern with adult modes of sexual pleasure, barring fixations or regressions.
Real object love
Surplus energies lead to socially useful functions
Girls develop maternal interest.

8. Oedipal vs. Electra Complexes
Father/son conflict
Oedipus kills his father, marries his mother, and when he figures it out, gouges out his eyes.

9. Oedipal vs. Electra complexes
Mother/daughter complex
A woman kills her mother, Clytemnestra, and her mother’s lover to avenge the death of her father Agamennon.

10. Significance of complexes
To Freud, all young children have a desire to do away with the like-sex parent and take possession of the opposite sex parent.
Fear prevents children from doing this because the parent is bigger and stronger.

11. Oedipal Complex in Phallic Stage
Son is torn between love of his father and hatred for him, stemming from jealousy
Castration complex: Castration is father’s possible retaliation.
This is reinforced when boy sees girl’s anatomy; she appears castrated.
Thus, the boy represses his incestuous desire for his mother and hostility to his father.

12. Oedipal Complex in Latency Stage
Superego is strong enough to defeat the id and the Oedipal and Electra complexes are resolved.
Oedipus’ lack of knowledge of his parents OR his arrogance indicate a lack of superego development.
Oedipus allows id to control him. He acts on instinct when he kills Laius and marries Jocasta–libidinal fixation.
In the latency stage, Oedipus recognizes his crime and gouges out his eyes in self-punishment.

13. Oedipal Complex and Jocasta
Jocasta denies her maternal behaviors (genitality).
To Freud, Jocasta was narcissistic.
She fixated in the phallic state, seeking only her personal gratification, regardless of consequences.
She can not admit her mistake, so she commits suicide.