English 101- Oedipus Complex

Oedipus Rex, an ancient Greek tragedy authored by the playwright Sophocles, includes many types of psychological phenomena. Most prominently, the myth is the source of the well-known term Oedipal complex, coined by psychologist Sigmund Freud in the late 1800s. In psychology, “complex” refers to a developmental stage. In this case the stage involves the desire of males, usually ages three to five, to sexually or romantically posses their mother, and the consequential resentment of their fathers. In the play, a prince named Oedipus tries to escape a prophecy that says he will kill his father and marry his mother, and coincidentally saves the Thebes from a monster known as the Sphinx. Having unknowingly killed his true father Laius during his

In order to completely understand Oedipus and his actions, we must first understand the basics of Freud’s theories. One of the most well known aspects of Freudian theory is the Oedipus Complex. We can already see a relationship between the Oedipus

The Oedipus complex refers to the thoughts some men have regarding their mother or maternal figures. Many scenes from the play can prove Hamlet did have these thoughts about his mother, such as acts one and three. If the reader knows what he or she is looking for, then these signs can be easily spotted. The story of Oedipus Rex is an

This denial causes him to make decisions that only lead to his downfall and further deterioration. He himself leads to his own downfall through his foolish beliefs. To further, Oedipus makes more destructive decisions when he summons the Sheppard to reveal who the murderer of Laius is. Oedipus says, “I must pursue this trail to the end, till I have unraveled the mystery of my birth” (Sophocles, 113), illustrating his mental deterioration considering that this obsession to deny his position as the murderer is consuming his life. Oedipus forces the Sheppard to tell the ill-fated truth and is told: “I hadn’t the heart to destroy it, master” (Sophocles, 118), demonstrating that Oedipus was the cursed baby who was sent to his death, but as fate had planned, Oedipus lived. Not only did he live, he went on to accomplish each revelation the Oracle declared he would. At the end, once the truth has been revealed, Oedipus reaches his breaking point and cannot bear the truth. His mental deterioration from discovering the truth consequently influences him into literally blinding himself, resulting in his downfall. These examples establish how Oedipus’s internal madness played the role of influencing him into believing he could alter the will of the Oracle. He displayed madness when he continuously denied the truth despite the evidence that went against his beliefs. He was blinded by madness into

Freud’s theory of Oedipus complex has brought a lot of controversies in modern psychology and literature while some critics opine Freud’s concept of Oedipus complex deserves a great deal of appreciation. When Sigmund Freud (1856–1939) proposed that the Oedipus complex was psychologically universal, he provoked the evolution of Freudian psychology and the Psychoanalytic treatment method.¬¬¬¬¬¬¬ Certain contemporary psychoanalysts agree with the idea of the Oedipus complex to different degree. Hans Keller proposed it is so "at least in Western societies"; and others consider that ethnologists already have established its temporal and geographic universality. Nonetheless, few psychoanalysts disagree that the "child then entered an Oedipal phase which involved an acute awareness of a complicated triangle involving mother, father, and child" and that "both positive and negative Oedipal themes are typically observable in

           Oedipus has spent all his life running from his fate. He has, we learn, been told that he is fated to kill his father and marry his mother. And he refused to accept that fate. He has spent much of his life moving around, so as to avoid his fate. It was a

As the play continues, we start to see a shift in Oedipus’s personality. This was due to the conclusion he makes based on the conversation him and the prophet Tiresias has. It mentions how Kreon, Oedipus brother-in-law, is plotting against him. “So? You come here? You have the nerve to face me in my own house? When you’re exposed as its master’s murderer? Caught trying to steal my kinship?” (Sophocles 500). Now, Oedipus is arrogant, he blames Kreon based off of the conclusion he jumps too. He gets discouraged from his role as a leader, he is irrational, angry and hot tempered, whereas, in the beginning,

In short, Oedipus is a poor leader. He is irrational which leads to him being hot headed, and ultimately leads to him being naive and blind to the truth. The irrationality of this character shows readers that negative actions will lead to someone’s

Oedipus is the former king of Thebes, he has an unfortunate prophecy that seems to be the stem of his psychological problems. His prophecy states that he is destine to kill his father and lay with his mother. Oedipus tells me that after hearing this he fled what he thought to be his home country to save himself and his parents. He unknowingly fled to Thebes, his actual home country, kills his birth father, solves the riddle of the sphinx granting him the title of King and sleeps with his birth mother unknowingly. I have been studying this patient through Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs, and I have found his psychological state very unstable.

Sophocles’ powerful tragedy, Oedipus Rex, details the tragic fall of Oedipus, the king of Thebes. Oedipus’ false claims of certainty of knowledge and justice, as well as his rash actions based on these presumed certainties are some of the main drivers of the prophecy stating he will marry his mother and kill his father. As the scholar Bernard Knox states, “these attributes of divinity - knowledge, certainty, justice – are all qualities Oedipus thought he possessed – and that is why he is the perfect example of the inadequacy of human knowledge, certainty, and justice.” Oedipus did not consider the possibility that he was wrong, but instead denied any attempts by others to help him see the truth of the situation. This hubris, coupled with his false beliefs based on these certainties, led to his tragic downfall at the end of the play.

Response to Literature: Oedipus the King Fate: be destined to happen, turn out, or act in a particular way. In the play, Oedipus the King, by Sophocles, the main character Oedipus is a victim of fate. Whether he tried to change what was supposed to happen or not, it still happened. When Oedipus was first born, the oracle put on his life damned him from the beginning.

Oedipus’ behaviors do show signs of some type of mental disorder, specifically PTSD. “PTSD of abandonment is a psychological condition in which earlier separation traumas interfere with current life”Post Traumatic Stress Disorder of Abandonment. Oedipus, when an infant, experienced a traumatic experience, as stated here; “As for the son-three days after his birth Laius fastened his ankles together and had them cast away on the pathless mountains” (41). It is demonstrated here that this very moment of abandonment caused him to possibly acquire PTSD at a very early point of time in his life. Oedipus having his ankles pinned at such a young age had to have a psychological effect on him, subsequently ruining his life. His PTSD, caused prior to abandonment, does affect the way he behaves

Sophocles ' play “Oedipus Tyrannus” is an enigma. His play includes incest, murder and self-enlightenment all leading into the main theme of fate. Athenians believed that fate is not left up to man, but that is provided solely on the whims of the gods. Because of his dramatic approach to his plays Sophocles was considered one of the most brilliant and creative writers of his time.

Therefore, Oedipus’ strong desire to seek the truth is what leads him to his ironic downfall. Sir Tyrone Guthrie makes sure that everyone who has information belonging to the murder of King Laius or Oedipus true parents comes to Oedipus rather than him seeking the information. This shows how all the answers are being fed to Oedipus but he does not make any sense of it. Creon foreshadowed Oedipus downfall when he explained that “time alone shows a just man, though a day can show a name” which led to Oedipus gauging out his eyes for the wrong doing he did (Guthrie, Oedipus Rex, 33:13). Sigmund Freud would recall this from his patients having unresolved feelings for their parents that led them to get sick or self-inflict themselves, like Oedipus, as punishment. Though, Freud’s patients have also “…imagined themselves killing

Oedipus Rex, is a Sophocles play, that according to Freud exemplifies a formative stage in a individuals psychosexual development. The psychosexual stages are the age related developmental periods in which sexual impulses are exerted through different bodily zones and then activities are associated with those areas in the bodily zones. These is when a young child will transfer his love object from the breast to the mother. When the child gives up the breast and moves to the mother it is known as the oral phase. The child then has the sexual desire for the opposite sex parent and will usually have hostility towards the same sex parent.