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15. Oedipus Complex

Oedipus Complex

Origin:
Sigmund Freud introduced Oedipus Complex in his book, Interpretation of Dreams(1899). The term derives from the Theban hero Oedipus of Greek legend, who unknowingly slew his father and married his mother; its female analogue, the Electra complex, is named for another mythological figure, who helped slay her mother.

Description:
Oedipus complex, in psychoanalytic theory, a desire for sexual involvement with the parent of the opposite sex and a concomitant sense of rivalry with the parent of the same sex; a crucial stage in the normal developmental process. 

Freud attributed the Oedipus complex to children of about the ages three to five. He said the stage usually ended when the child identified with the parent of the same sex and repressed its sexual instincts. If previous relationships with the parents were relatively loving and nontraumatic, and if parental attitudes were neither excessively prohibitive nor excessively stimulating, the stage is passed through harmoniously. In the presence of trauma, however, there occurs an “infantile neurosis” that is an important forerunner of similar reactions during the child’s adult life. The superego, the moral factor that dominates the conscious adult mind, also has its origin in the process of overcoming the Oedipus complex. Freud considered the reactions against the Oedipus complex the most important social achievements of the human mind.

Features:

• Occurs between the ages of 3 to 5.

• The male child grows possessive of her mother and develops sexual desire for her(which is often unconscious and repressed).

• The child may suffer guilt.

• The child may develop castration anxiety. He may think his father will remove the child's genitals, as a result.

• Healthy parent-child relationships can help remove the envy from the same sex parent.

• When the complex is resolved, the child is able to develop a healthy and mature sexual identity.

• If unresolved, it may lead to neurosis, paedophilia and homosexuality.

Criticism:

Post-Modernist Criticism:

In recent years the more countries have come in support of same-sex marriage, with the number expected to increase. as of December of 2017 the countries that have legalized gay marriage stands at 29, including the majority of European nations and the Americas. The scientific and technological advancements have allowed gay couples to start families through adoption, or surrogacy. As a result the pillars of the family structure are diversifying to include families in which the parent(s) is single or of the same sex along with the traditional heterosexual, married parents. These new family structures pose new questions for the psychoanalytic theories such as the Oedipus Complex which requires on the presence of the mother and the father in the successful development of a child. However as evidence suggest, children who have been raised by parents of the same sex have shown no difference when compared to children raised in a traditional family structure. The classic theory of the oedipal drama has fallen out of favor in today’s society, according to a study by Drescher, having been criticized for its “negative implications” towards same sex parents. It is necessary for the psychoanalytic theory to change to keep up with the times and remain relevant. Many psychoanalytic thinkers such as Chodorow, and Corbett are working towards changing the Oedipus complex  to eliminate “automatic associations among sex, gender, and the stereotypical psychological functions deriving from these categories” and make it applicable to today’s modern society.