Through observation of his studies on hysteria and clinical practice, Freud realized the great influence of childhood sexuality on the development of the psychic apparatus. Read on and understand about the unresolved Oedipus complex.

The Oedipus Complex

In time Freud understood that his hysterical patients, at some point in their childhood, had sexual desires for their parents, a desire that was most often repressed by the patients because it was socially immoral.

Through letters Freud reported to his physician friend Fliess that he dreamed about Mathilde, his own daughter and after the analysis of this dream found that there really is an unconscious desire of the children for their parents.

Freud also related the feelings he had for his mother and his father's jealousy in his childhood. From this point on, a concept of great importance for Psychoanalysis began to form: the Oedipus Complex.

Stages of psychosexual development

To better understand the Oedipus Complex it is necessary to know a little about the stages of psychosexual development postulated by Freud.

• 1st Phase: Oral - where the mouth is the focus of libidinal satisfaction. From birth to 2 years.
• 2nd Phase: Anal - where the anal region is the focus of libidinal satisfaction. From 2 years to 3 or 4 years.
• 3rd Phase: Phallic - The libidinal desires, even if unconscious, are directed to the parents. From 3 or 4 years old to 6 years old. Like the other phases, the phallic phase is fundamental for the child's development, because it is here that the Oedipus Complex occurs.

The origin of the term and the unresolved Oedipus complex

The term Oedipus Complex originates from the Greek tragedy written by Sophocles: Oedipus the King. In the story, Laius, king of Thebes, discovers from the Oracle at Delphi that his son will kill him and marry his wife, his own mother. Knowing this, Laio delivers the baby to be abandoned in order to cause its death.

Feeling sorry for the child, the man responsible for abandoning him takes him home, but the man and his family are very humble and cannot afford to raise him, so they give him away, and the child ends up with Polibo, king of Corinth.

Oedipus later discovers that he is adopted, and very confused, he runs away. On the way Oedipus meets a man (his biological father) and his companions on the road.

Upset by the news he had received, Oedipus kills all the men, and so the first part of the prophecy comes true. Even without knowing it, Oedipus kills his father.

The unresolved Oedipus complex and the riddle of the sphinx

Arriving in his hometown of Thebes, Oedipus is confronted with a sphinx that questions him with a challenge that no man has yet been able to solve.

After deciphering the riddle of the Sphinx Oedipus is crowned king of Thebes and marries Queen Jocasta (his own mother), fulfilling the second part of the prophecy, after consulting the Oracle and discovering that his destiny has been fulfilled, Oedipus desolate pierces his own eyes and Jocasta, his mother and wife kills herself.

Aspects of the Oedipus Complex

It is well known that the Oedipus Complex is a fundamental Freudian concept for Psychoanalysis. The Oedipus Complex is unconscious and transient, mobilizing drives, affections, and representations linked to the parents. As soon as the baby is born he projects his libido into the relationship with his mother, but with the appearance of the father, this baby realizes that he is not the only one in her life.

The presence of the father will make the child perceive the existence of an external world and of limits in the mother-baby relationship. Thus, an ambivalence of feelings is established in the relationship with the parents, where love and hate can be experienced simultaneously.

The unresolved Oedipus Complex begins in the phallic phase.

The son feels threatened by the father in his relationship with his mother, but at the same time understands that the father is stronger than he is. This is when the Castration Complex. The boy thinks he will be castrated by his father for wanting his mother.

At this stage the child is discovering the difference between the male body and the female body. Thus, the boy turns to his father, allying himself with him and understanding that this is the only way to overcome this conflict.

Electra Complex

In the case of the girl (Electra Complex, according to Jung), she believes that everyone is born with a phallus, in this case hers would be the clitoris. The mother plays a very important role in her life, but when the girl discovers that her clitoris is not what she thinks it is, she will blame the mother for the lack of phallus and will turn to the father, thinking that he can give her what the mother didn't.

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That is, while in the boy castration causes him to ally with the father and leave the Oedipus Complex, in the girl castration causes her to enter the Female Oedipus Complex (Electra Complex).

Final considerations

For the boy the Castration Complex is a loss and for the girl a deprivation. The father has different representations for both the boy and the girl.

The girl recognizes and admits the Castration Complex while the boy fears it. Thus, the male superego tends to be more strict and inflexible.

All these stages are normal and need to be experienced in childhood. When overcome, they provide the child with maturity and a good emotional and psychosexual development.

This article was written by the author Thais Barreira ( [email protected] ). Thais has a Bachelor's degree and a Licentiate in Philosophy and will be a future psychoanalyst in Rio de Janeiro.