Before we get into the main topic of this article, about what the Electra Complex is, how it works and its consequences, I think it is important to know the concepts of femininity and the Oedipus Complex for Psychoanalysis.

Electra complex and what it means to be a woman for psychoanalysis

For Freud and Lacan to explain and give a place to femininity in psychoanalysis has always been a challenge. When Lacan says: "Woman does not exist", it is because there is no word, no performance, no name that defines woman, they are all castrated The logic of the feminine is, in essence, the logic of diversity, therefore the inexplicable logic. And that is why Lacan says that it does not exist.

How can a "business" that has no right or wrong, be whoever you want, that can't. A little bit about the Oedipus Complex To talk about the Electra Complex it is important to also know about the Oedipus Complex.

Who was Electra in Greek Mythology?

In psychoanalysis, the Oedipus Complex is a concept we use to explain how the relationship between son and father works. It was described by Sigmund Freud, known as the father of psychoanalysis. To this day it is used in the field of psychology, it shows that children need to be completed in affections that they find in other people, He explains that a boy's first love is his mother, and he creates a competition and rivalry with his father so that the mother is only his.

Briefly Electra, for Greek mythology Years after Agamemnon's death, the young Electra, with the help of her brother, Orestes, decides to plan a terrible plan to avenge his death and defend the honor of her father, whom she had an immense feeling of adoration, admiration and whom she missed very much. In the end, he cruelly kills his mother and her lover.

What it is and how it happens Electra Complex

The Electra Complex, also called by some the "Female Oedipus Complex", is a term used by the psychoanalyst and psychotherapist Carl Gustav Jung for what would be a way to express the unconscious of the girl's affections the free desire for the father.

And, the mother as his competitor or adversary. The difference between the Oedipus and Electra complexes are the characters, while in the Oedipus Complex it is the boy who desires the mother, in the Electra Complex, the girl has such a complex "love-hate" relationship with her mother that she even wants to exclude her so that the father is hers alone. It usually happens between the ages of three and six (there is some disagreement as to the exact age range). It is a time of intense conflict, when the girl identifies that she is no longer the center of attention.

Sigmund Freud rejected Jung's idea of an Electra Complex. Freud preferred to conceive that Oedipus applied to both boys and girls.

He realizes that although he receives love and affection from his parents, he also feels anger and frustration when he is repressed or when his attitudes and behavior are considered inappropriate in society. It is possible to observe some behavioral changes in girls during this phase, such as: constant conflicts with the mother, sudden and exaggerated preference for the father, exacerbated search for the father's approval, the girl starts to experience the parents' conflicts as her own, always stands up for the father, feels jealous of the father with the mother or with any other woman, creates a dependency on the father (example: only the father knows how to bottle feed or bathe the baby).

Late Electra Complex

Obviously, each being is unique and must be observed in its specificities. This stage usually ends when the girl is between 6 and 7 years old, which is when they again want to be close to and identify with their mother, tend to imitate and be curious about the feminine traits and behaviors that their mother demonstrates in everyday life. It is important to point out that for many people it may seem strange or worrying to have this excess of love for the father and implication for the mother. But for Psychoanalysis this process is extremely normal and natural. It can be said that it is expected during the psychosexual and psychological development of a girl.

When the rivalry with the mother and the exaggerated predilection for the father does not diminish and extends into youth or adulthood, it can be a "late or unresolved Electra Complex" as we call it in psychoanalysis. But one must know that there are consequences left in cases of late Electra complex. It is common that already in the adult phase, women stop living their dreams and their real desires to eternally seek their father's approval, even in decisions that only concern their own lives. There is always a need to please the father.

For not overcoming these behaviors in the right phase, in childhood, they often end up seeking relationships that remind them of the paternal relationship and image, such as with an older man, who has a personality and image that reminds them of their own father.

Conclusion on the Electra Complex

In this same sense, we also see as a consequence the search for a loving relationship between daughter and father, and with this these women always end up falling into abusive, submissive, and emotionally dependent relationships with the man they choose to live with. It is a path that always generates in the woman dependence, be it emotional or financial.

It always generates losses for the woman, because she puts herself as an object in a relationship, where she is always there to serve and please, and thus ends up annulling and diminishing herself to meet social expectations that are expected and considered correct. Establishing limits and clear roles within the family.

It is important to understand that it is not something that the girl does consciously so she should not be punished for her preference for her father or be prevented from showing this love for him. It is necessary to be alert to the signs and to seek help when identifying this behavior after the age that is considered acceptable.

This article about the Electra Complex was written by Pamella Gualter ( [email protected] com), a student of Psycho-pedagogy and Psychoanalysis. I love discovering and understanding how the human mind works so that, together with the individual, we can reach a balance between what one is and what one needs to be for society.

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