No Oedipal Complex Found in Hamlet Essay

Some explain Hamlet 's mysterious hesitancy as a result of the Oedipus complex. One might think that Hamlet continually postpones the act of vengeance against Claudius because of the overly confused psychodynamic situation in which he finds himself. Although he hates his uncle, at the same time he unconsciously identifies with him, for having killed his father and having married his mother. Claudius has fulfilled the frustrated desires of Hamlet. However, from the beginning of the play there is an essential element that marks an important difference between Hamlet and Oedipus, which brings with it certain effects in the clinical analysis.

According to Ernest Jones, Hamlet has the “Oedipus-Complex” while others might just call him a momma’s boy. The “Oedipus-Complex” from Freud is expressed through Diderot statement of, “If we were left to ourselves and if our bodily strength only came up to that of our phantasy we would wring our fathers’ neck and sleep with our mothers.” In

murder in a rash mood. It is not seen by Gertrude. It tries to urge

Oedipus, on the other hand, chooses to be involved in the death of Laius, thus, concurring with the predetermination of Oedipus’ fate set forth by the gods. When arrogantly speaking to Creon, Oedipus proclaims, “I shall rid us of this pollution, not for the sake of a distant relative, but for my own sake.” (Sophocles 12) Unlike Hamlet, it was Oedipus’ foolishness and egotistical behavior that kicked him in the direction of his tragic ending. Oedipus has nobody to blame but himself for the way he ended up. His negligence towards the wise words of Tiresias eventually resulted in the belated acknowledgment that he really did murder Laius, who was in fact Oedipus’ biological father. Due to the revelation of events, the fate of Oedipus is more tragic than that of Hamlet. But the fate of Hamlet is also tragic, only occurring in a different way. He, Laertes, Queen Gertrude, and Claudius all die in the duel at the end of the story. Not to mention it was Hamlet who is directly responsible for killing Claudius’ chief counselor, Polonius, and also indirectly responsible for the death of Polonius’ daughter, Ophelia. Both Hamlet and Oedipus believe that fate is responsible for their tragic end, but clearly, Hamlet is more a victim of Claudius than fate, whereas Oedipus creates his own demise.

Hamlet is often seen as one of the most well known examples of an Oedipus Complex presented in literature. The reasons for this is probably because of the plot that resolves around the revenge that Hamlet has against his step-father Claudius and because of the relationship that Hamlet has with his mother that is loaded with sexual energy. Hamlet's love for his mother is especially exemplified by the Mel Gibson's interpretation of the infamous closet scene.

How would it be possible for Hamlet to express or even recognize love, without having a clear definition of what love is? One may define love as a lover’s passion, devotion or tenderness for someone or something. Hamlet perceives love as an emotion that causes loss, devastation and pain. In the play, Hamlet, written by William Shakespeare, the main character uses love as a reason for his actions, but never truly loves any of the characters except his father. Hamlet seems to be more of a love story but, truthfully, it is more of revenge then love.

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

Oedipus the King is a tragedy that displays irony throughout the play. In the play, King Laius and his wife Jocasta learn that in the prophecy their newborn son, Oedipus, will kill his father and marry his mother. In order to prevent the prophecy from occurring, they decide to bind and tie his ankles and then abandoned him. When Oedipus grew up, he eventually learned about this prophecy and decided to leave his parents. What he did not realize was that the parents who raised him were not his biological parents. On his voyage to Thebes, Oedipus ended up in a chariot accident

Hamlet has also idealized his mother, and it seems like that they have had a close relationship before this incident. Hamlet really loved his mother, and I think he put her on a pedestal. In the play, this delusion that he has about his mother's character is quickly shattered. She, "within a month" (1,2,145) marries Hamlet's uncle who has for some odd reason become king after Hamlet's father's death. Hamlet is sickened and disillusioned by his mother's behavior saying things like "O that this too too sullied flesh would melt" (1,2,129) and "frailty, thy name is woman"(1,2,146). But the realization that he has about his mother also ties into the realization that he has about his father and ultimately

Throughout William Shakespeare’s classic play, Hamlet, it is very clear that the Prince of Denmark suffers from severe parental problems. These problems bear a stark resemblance to those borne by Oedipus, the classic staple of Greek mythology. The similarities, however, end and begin with an unhealthy obsession towards the mothers of each character and a distinct distaste towards the father that would border on hatred. Oedipus is, due to childhood experiences that were uncontrollable to him, largely unaware of these issues and even takes steps to disprove them. Hamlet, on the other hand, finds himself in this situation due to circumstances that he encounters later in life. While both Hamlet and Oedipus have very unnatural and unusual

Throughout William Shakespeare's Hamlet, Shakespeare portrays Hamlet with the same types of behaviors and frustrations in humans that Sigmund Freud saw at a much later date. When the relationship between Hamlet and his mother is analyzed Freud's oedipal complex theory comes to mind. The oedipal complex is a theory created by Freud that states that "The child takes both of its parents, and more particularly one of them, as the object of its erotic wishes."(51) Because of this desire to be with the parent of the opposite sex, a rivalry is formed with the parent of the same sex. In the play, Hamlet shows great hostility toward his uncle Claudius because his mother's remarriage to him. Hamlet sees his mother's remarriage as disgusting

Hamlet fascinates many readers and the first thing to point out about him is that he is mysterious. Shakespeare's work demonstrates Hamlet's dilemma as the role of revenger showing a man of thought forced to be a man of action. Hamlet is extremely philosophical and introspective. He is particularly drawn to difficult questions or questions that cannot be answered with any certainty. Faced with evidence that his uncle murdered his father, Hamlet becomes obsessed with proving his uncle's guilt before trying to act. He is equally overwhelmed with questions about the afterlife, about the wisdom of suicide, and about what happens to bodies after they die.

Hamlet starts with a similar tragic background because his father is dead. Hamlet is a young prince of Denmark though which has Hamlet living a more lavish lifestyle rather than Cinderella. Although Hamlet is very upset because his mother re-married his uncle Claudius shortly after his father's death. Soon after that Hamlet encounters his father's ghost in the basement which brings to his attention that he wasn’t just dead but murdered by his own brother Claudius. Afterwards Hamlet creates this master plan to act as if he was crazy and try to uncover the truth of his real fathers' killer. He involved his girlfriend Ophelia in the plan so she could help him accomplish his mission. He composed a play to re-enact the scene of how Claudius killed

Though Hamlet is observed as an emotional character, there is no evidence that he suffered from an Oedipus complex. He loves his mother, Gertrude, but he is certainly not falling in love with her, neither is he sexually attracted to her in any way. Hamlet admires her because

William Shakespeare undoubtedly achieved one of his greatest characterizations when he created the role of Hamlet, in the tragic play Hamlet. Hamlet's appeal to audiences almost certainly stems from his many human weaknesses. The one for which he is best known is indecisiveness, but his inconsistency may well be an even more outstanding characteristic.