The Oedipus complex

The Oedipus complex is one of the fundamental concepts of psychoanalytic theory, both to explain the formation of the personality structure and to understand aspects of clinical psychology.

It is a psychic conflict that occurs during the phallic stage of psychosexual development, one of the five phases that Sigmund Freud proposed in his theory.

Generally, the aforementioned third phallic stage occurs between 3 and 6 years of age. It refers both to the location of pleasure in the genitals, and to the contradictory feelings of love and hate that children experience with their parents, especially towards the parent of the opposite sex.

What is the Oedipus complex?

Sigmund Freud uses the Greek tragedy of Oedipus Rex to account for the universality of the ambivalence that children feel towards their parents. It tells the story of Oedipus, who unknowingly kills his father and marries his mother, thus fulfilling a prophecy.

The Austrian psychoanalyst introduced the notion of the Oedipus complex for the first time in his work The interpretation of dreamsin 1899. However, it was not until 1910 that the use of this term was formalized.

This phenomenon refers to a conflict in which children experience loving and hostile desires towards their parents.. Freud defines it as an unconscious desire to maintain a sexual relationship – incestuous – with the parent of the opposite sex – the mother – and to eliminate the parent of the same sex – patricide. He explains that this longing remains hidden in the unconscious due to the process of repression.

Negative feelings emerge, then, because the child perceives the father as a rival in the search for maternal affection. This emotional tension manifests itself through reactions such as anger, tantrums and rebellious attitudes.

Functions of the Oedipus complex

According to Freudian theory, the Oedipus complex is a fundamental pillar of psychic development since it fulfills various significant functions.

Discovery of a love object: The child, by resolving his ambivalent feelings, develops a model of a love object that will influence his emotional relationships throughout his life.Formation of psychic instances, especially the Superego: This experience contributes to the formation of the superego, an important structure of the psyche that internalizes norms and values.Acceptance of the prohibition of incest: The Oedipus complex collaborates with the internalization of the cultural code that prohibits incestuous relationships. Thus, the child understands the social and moral limitations on sexual and emotional relationships in the family.Access to genitalia and personality development: allows the individual to develop their own identity, including personality attributes and traits; while building a deeper understanding of yourself and your place in the world.Identification with an ideal: The child tends to identify with the parent of the same sex, assuming certain aspects and values ​​that he or she represents. This identification is crucial in identity formation and can influence sexual orientation.

Its importance in the construction of personality

In his work Three tests for a sexual theory (1905), Freud stated that In children, the incestuous fantasy of expelling and replacing the rival parent is recurrent, thus generating feelings of guilt and fear of punishment.

Defense mechanisms, natural responses to these dynamics, seek to resolve these desires, varying depending on the type of personality. In neurosis, repression resolves Oedipus, in psychosis it is foreclosure and in perversion, denial. Jacques Lacan, French psychoanalyst, is the one who explores these last two mechanisms.

Thus, the neurotic resolution of the Oedipus complex occurs when the individual integrates the impulses of the Id, which include primitive and sexual desires, with the demands of reality and social norms internalized in the Superego, accepting paternal authority.

His relationship with “Totem and Taboo”

Exploring the Oedipus complex a key function stands out: It makes it easier for the child to enter into the norm, the law and the culture. Freud addresses this aspect in his work Totem and Taboo of 1913, when referring to the primitive horde.

Over there, explains how the feelings of guilt after the murder of the totem led to a new social order. This implied exogamy, prohibiting having relationships with women of the same clan. At the same time, totemism arises, which symbolizes the father and prohibits harming the totem.

Both restrictions reflect the two central unconscious desires of the Oedipal conflict. Thus, Freud concludes that the Oedipus complex is the central basis of totemism, thus being universal and essential in the formation of culture in all human societies.