Sigmund Freuds Oedipus Complex Essay - 1355 Words

Oedipus Complex 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. - Sigmund Freud(Clark, 122) The Oedipus conflict or complex is a concept developed by Sigmund Freud to explain the origin of certain psychological disorders in childhood. It is defined as a childs unconscious desire for the exclusive love of the parent of the opposite sex. This desire includes jealousy toward the parent of the same sex and the unconscious wish for that parents death. Horney states that it is not a â€Å"biologically given phenomenon† but rather a response to the â€Å"provocation’s† of the outside world.(Horney) The â€Å"Oedipus Complex† was started†¦show more content†¦Oedipus, outraged at the accusation, denounces it as a plot of Creon to gain the throne. Jocasta appears just in time to avoid a battle between the two men. Seers, she assures Oedipus, are not infallible. To prove her point she cites the old prophecy that her son should kill his father and have children by his mother. She prevented its fulfillment, she confesses, by abandoning their infant son in the mountains. As for Laius, he had been killed by robber’s years later at the junction of three roads on the route to Delphi. This information makes Oedipus uneasy. He recalls having killed a man answering Laius description at this very spot when he was fleeing from his home in Corinth to avoid fulfillment of a similar prophecy. An aged messenger arrives from Corinth, at this point, to announce the death of King Polybus, supposed father of Oedipus, and the election of Oedipus as king in his stead. On account of the old prophecy Oedipus refuses to return to Corinth until his mother, too, is dead. To calm his fears the messenger assures him that he is not the blood son of Polybus and Merope, but a foundling from the house of Laius deserted in the mountains. This statem ent is confirmed by the old shepherd whom Jocasta had charged with the task of exposing her babe. Thus the ancient prophecy has been fulfilled in each dreadful detail. Jocasta in her horror hangs herself and Oedipus stabs out his eyes. Then he imposes on himself theShow MoreRelatedSigmund Freud s Theory And Criticism1345 Words   |  6 PagesCriticism Spring 2015 Midterm Essays Freud and Literature At some point in life, everyone has heard the name Sigmund Freud. Sigmund Freud was born in 1856, and went on to become one of the most talked about theorists. He is known as the father of psychoanalysis and has left behind an everlasting legacy. There were two influential and sometimes controversial theories that Freud left behind. Sigmund Freud’s big legacy was his work with dreams and the unconscious. This work can relate to literature on a largeRead MoreSons And Lovers By D. H. Lawrence901 Words   |  4 Pagesbooks were ahead of time, and he was quite influenced by Sigmund Freud. 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