The Psychoanalytic Theory of Sigmund Freud The Oedipus Complex is one of the most influential and controversial theories of the 20th century. Freud coined the term Oedipus complex to refer to a stage in the development of young boys. He believed that early in their development, around the age of five, young boys want to have all the love from their mothers. Thus, jealousy leads them to feel resentful and even unconsciously wish for their father's death. However, the concept has largely dominated the concept. People need to understand how this works because it shows why kids this age act the way they do. Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on “Why Violent Video Games Should Not Be Banned”? Get the original essayInspired by Sophocles' Oedipus Rex and by his study of the mental actions of his own patients, Sigmund Freud developed the concept of Oedipus. Freud claimed that dreams were thwarted by Oedipal impulses and that these desires were common to humanity. Opposition to the concept's title is widespread as many assume that the meaning of Oedipus Rex is deeper than Freud claims. Sigmund Freud advances his complex through the background of the play by highlighting the tragic and inescapable prophecy of Oedipus. The famous psychoanalyst Sigmund Freud created the Oedipus complex. The complex explains Freud's theory of the psychosexual phases of child development, particularly boys. It means the emotions related to a boy's mother's lust and desire, and the father's jealousy and envy. The boy sees the father as a competitor to win the love and affection of his mother (Cherry). Likewise, the Electra complex, a term coined by Freud's student Carl Gustav Jung, explains a similar idea of ​​young girls competing for their father's affection with their mother (Wiesen). However, Freud did not like this concept because it “seeks to emphasize the contrast between the mentality of the two sexes” (Cherry). He refers to the feminine version of his theory as the “feminine Oedipus mentality” and the “negative Oedipus system” (Freud, Sigmund Schlomo). Freud also looks at sibling relationships in his theory. He believes that sibling relationships have no independent purpose outside of the Oedipus complex. Opposite-sex siblings serve as doppelgangers for their parents, where a son may love his sister instead of his mother and vice versa, while same-sex siblings are competitors of each other, vying to attract the attention of their parents. The mother gave birth to a second son, Julius, when Freud was about a year and a half old. Freud remembers his younger brother's feelings of resentment, which absorbed his family's attention. Less than a year later, Julius died, leaving Freud for the rest of his life with a strong sense of guilt. According to Freud, at the third stage of his five stages of psychosexual development, the Oedipus complex arises; the phallic stage, which occurs between 3 and 6 years of age. Among the five stages I oral, (ii) vaginal, (iii) phallic, (iv) latent and (v) genital, the phallic stage mainly focuses on the genitals. The baby subconsciously wants the parent of the opposite sex, but boys are afraid that the father will punish them. This terror, known as castration anxiety, allows the boy to resist his mother's desire, and little by little the young male progresses towards the fourth stage; the latent stage. The boy then begins to form bonds with his father to manipulate his mother by proxy. On the other hand, a young girl experiences "penis envy", in which she condemns thealleged castration of his mother. Freud believes that women remain somewhat trapped in the phallic stage unlike their male counterparts and never outgrow their "penis envy". This theory is rejected and described by many psychologists, including Karen Horney, as misleading and condescending towards women. By suggesting that men have “womb envy”, an unconscious desire for a maternal womb (Freud, Sigmund Schlomo), she opposes Freud's vision of women. Sigmund Freud's creation of the Oedipus complex can be described in the six-stage timeline of his own life. Freud felt compelled to learn more about his own psychology in Stage 1 (1897–1909), galvanized by the death of his father in 1896. Freud began to develop his theory after attending a performance of Oedipus Rex at the end of the 19th century. In phase 2 (1909-1914), Freud suggested the idea that all (Young's) neuroses are the "physical complex" of the Oedipus complex. In 1910, during one of his lectures at Clark University, Massachusetts (Burke), the first use of the term "Oedipus complex" also occurred. Stage 3 (1914-1918) is where Freud begins to examine parental incest, concluding that we all have incestuous urges that must be suppressed to make us fully functioning adults. The Oedipus story ends at stage 4 (1919-1926) and Freud applies his theory to religion and social norms at stage 5 (1926-1931). Freud examines the "feminine nature of Oedipus" in the sixth and final stage (1931-1938), later known as the "Electra complex". Freud argues in his novel The Interpretation of Dreams that the Oedipus phenomenon is a universal mental event, unique to us, and a source of our subconscious and repressed guilt. He developed this from his study of the psychological actions of his patients and his own; especially dreams. He viewed dreams as wish fulfillments and embodiments of our innermost desires and fears, frequently involving secret childhood memories or fixations like the Oedipus complex (Freud). The story of Oedipus is where his theory is primarily supported. Freud claimed that the play was very popular because of its related content; ours could easily have been the harsh reality that is Oedipus' fate. However, many people oppose the Oedipus complex. Psychotherapist Dr Jeffrey B Rubin claims that Freud “…misinterpreted Oedipus Rex, which does not explain the dynamics of Oedipus, and distorted its meaning in accordance with his philosophical preconceptions” (Rubin). In the play, the Oracle of Delphi tells Oedipus that he is cursed to be "the slayer of the father who begat him" and to "defile his wife's bed." Oedipus leaves Corinth, unaware that Polybus and Merope are not his biological parents, in order to escape his fate. This indicates that Oedipus was trying to save his family, without sleeping with his mother and without murdering his son. Oedipus fought and killed Laius, his biological father, during his travels, and the hand of Jocasta, who was also his biological mother, was offered to him as a reward. The oracle's prophecy was inevitably fulfilled; however, none of the characters knew this. Freud consciously omitted from his theory two imperative facts about the play, according to Rubin: “Oedipus Rex begins with parental aggression and abandonment, not with filial parricide or incestuous relations between a son and a mother. And the son, with supposedly lustful impulses and violent tendencies, tried to protect his parents and escape the very fate that Freud attributed to him” (Rubin). Freud deliberately ignored all other influences in the story and reinterpreted it as a tragic love triangle between a child and his.