The Oedipus Complex

The Oedipus Complex is a disturbing term related to the play we are studying in class, Oedipus Rex. The Oedipus Complex is a term used by Sigmund Freud to explain his theory in psychosexual stages of development. Basically, the Oedipus Complex can be described as a boy having feelings, affections, and desires for his mother, and feeling hate and anger towards his father. The boy starts to feel in competition with his father, fighting for his mother’s attention. Although this is sickly, it can be resolved. What happens for this to be resolved is the boy starts to identify with his father, learning the differences between a male and a female. After this is done, the boy forms a super-ego. While reading Oedipus Rex, I found it disturbing that he killed his father and married his mother, and as I researched more about the Oedipus Complex it explained a lot to me. It is quite interesting to read about Freud’s theory on this, and how it can be resolved.