The Oedipus Complex

“You murdered your father,

  You married your mother.

  You rascal!

  You’re my kind of guy!”

  - Madame Peep

Oedipus the King, also known as Oedipus Rex, is an Athenian tragedy by Sophocles. Oedipus, the main character in the play has been the inspiration for a theory called the Oedipal Complex. This theory causes us to look at human existence in a completely different way. The theory created by Sigmund Freud discusses the psychosexual stages of development to describe a boy’s feelings of desire for his mother and jealousy and anger towards his father. This is clearly derived from the play as with in the play, Oedipus marries his mother and kills his father. One might think that this is an insane thought! How could a person be attracted to his mother and want to kill his father? According to Freud, it is a fact of life but definitely not as drastic as described in Oedipus Rex. The boy feels as if he is in competition with his father for possession of his mother. He views his father as a rival for her attentions and affections.

Although, this theory seems disturbing to me and I’m sure many others, it does have it’s truths. When you are a young child it is only obvious that you are going to want your mother’s undivided attention. Therefore, if someone has the ability of taking this attention away, such as your father, then you are not going to be happy. This theory also makes sense to me because it is a common fact that the person you marry will most likely have qualities, values, character-traits like your mother or father. You may not want to believe it but it is true! It is possible that this initial attraction to your parent causes you to want to marry a spouse like him/her.

When researching the Oedipus complex I found an article called “The Real Oedipal Complex” by Jeffrey B. Rubin. He states that Freud misread Oedipus Rex as it does not illustrate the Oedipus complex. He also states that Freud distorted Oedipus Rex’s meaning to suit his theoretical preconceptions. Rubin states, “What Freud willfully omitted from his theory of the Oedipus complex were two terribly important facts about Sophocles’ play: Oedipus Rex begins with parental aggression and abandonment, not filial patricide or incestuous relations between a son and mother.” Therefore, in Rubin’s opinion, the Oedipus Complex is not displayed in Oedipus Rex as Oedipus did not grow up in a normal situation where he had his actual parents present in his lives. He states that he in fact tried to protect the people who he thought were his parents by abandoning them.

Works Cited: "The Real Oedipal Complex." Psychology Today: Health, Help, Happiness + Find a Therapist. N.p., n.d. Web. 25 Apr. 2014.