The Oedipus Complex

When we began our drama unit, I was really excited to learn that we were going to read Oedipus. Last semester, I took a psychology course that touched on Freud, his theories of defense mechanisms, childhood development, and of course, the "Oedipus Complex." Freud attributed feelings of competition with parents of the same sex, and unwanted desire of parents of the opposite sex, to a stage of development, usually between the ages of three and five years. During this time, children generally see their parent of the same gender as a threat. However, once they "outgrow" this feeling, they begin to mimic the traits and actions of that parent. I had heard of the Oedipus Complex before taking this course, and had a basic understanding of the theory. However, even after taking the psychology course, I didn't understand completely where the name came from. I knew that Oedipus was a Greek character, who killed his father and married his mother, but as I had never read the play, I didn't know the exact details. After reading the play, and learning that Oedipus did not even know that he had killed his father and "bedded" his mother, the Oedipus Complex seemed to make more sense. His killing of his biological father, and taking over his place as king, mirrors Freud's thoughts on taking on parental traits. The desire he had for his mother, even though he did not know who she was, fits perfectly with the theory that all children yearn to "possess" their parent of the opposite sex. Overall, because he did not know who his real parents were, Oedipus' whole life was based on subconscious desire. This therefore made it easier to relate to Freud's theory, because it is highly based on the subconscious.

After reading Oedipus, not only did I understand the psychoanalytic theory better, but I also had a better grasp on Greek drama. Since I had never read this type of work before, it was a bit hard to read at first. By the second or third page, however, I had picked up on the tone and grasped the plot. Because I came away with a greater understanding of both psychology and dramatic literature, I thoroughly enjoyed reading this piece. I would, therefore, highly recommend it to anyone interested in ancient Greece, philosophy, psychology, drama, or literature. I would also simply recommend it to anyone looking to read something new or different from what is readily available today.

Submitted by Alyssa Bellie