By: Faith Bramer

• Oedipus was a mythical Greek king of Thebes, Greece.
• He was the child of Laius and Jocasta – the original rulers of Thebes.
• Laius took Oedipus to the oracle (a priest/priestess who predicts the future).
• The oracle told Laius that her son would grow up to kill his father and marry his mother, this resulted in Laius putting Oedipus up for adoption.
• When Oedipus grew up he went to the oracle himself and was given the same news.
• Oedipus didn’t go home after the oracle, he proceeded to Thebes but on the way he was faced with a carriage driver coming the opposite way.
• Oedipus fought the carriage driver and ended up killing him – unwittingly the carriage driver was his birth father (Laius) and had already fulfilled half the prophecy without knowing.

• Definition: “The Oedipal complex is a term used by Sigmund Freud in his theory of psychosexual stages of development to describe a boy's feelings of desire for his mother and jealously and anger towards his father.”
• Freud believes that this Oedipal complex occurs in a child’s brain between the phallic stage (ages 3-6).
• The phallic stage is when a child begins to notice gender differences
(physically, socially, etc) and become aware of their sexual identity.
• The term was originally applied to boys but the equivalent in girls is called the ‘Electra complex’.

• The Brain is composed of three parts:
-the ID
-the ego
-the superego
• The ID is the ‘inner wild child’ and is usually being impulsive in a negative way.
• The superego is completely opposite to the ID and is often philosophical and spiritual.
• The ego is the mediator and often is the balancer between the two – it resembles your “grown up self”.
• The ego is your conscious part of the brain, while the superego is preconscious and the ID is unconscious.

• The Ego is on the top, followed by the superego, then the ID at the very bottom.

• The Oedipus complex is a very controversial subject many who believe it still effects us today while others believe there is no effect at all.
• It is hard to say if it’s a “real thing” since it begins and ends in the brain at such a young age.
• Some social scientists believe that the Oedipus complex is a part of the ID – that it is completely unconscious thought and can’t be controlled.
• While others believe that it could be a part of the ego – being something that is controllable and only some experience it.

• The Oedipus complex is shown in the play of Hamlet through various characters.
• Claudius killed King Hamlet (who was his brother) so that he could marry
Gertrude, which would have been his sister in-law at the time.
• This immediately shows the Oedipus complex, especially because Claudius followed through with his thoughts.

• Hamlet feels nothing but bitter and disgust over the fact that Claudius married his mother, Gertrude, in such a short time – also knowing that it’s his uncle, not just any other man.
• Later on, Hamlet begins to have strong feelings towards his mothers’ sex life and eventually starts to urge her towards a life of chastity.
• This shows Hamlet’s protection and attraction towards his mother and it begins to interfere with his own life with distraction.

• Britton, Ronald et al. The Oedipus Complex Today: Clinical Implications. London. Karnac Books,
1989. Print.
• C, C. N.p.. Web. 26 Nov 2013.
<http://www.gather.com/viewArticle.action?articleId=281474977715874>.
• Dolloff, L.. N.p.. Web. 26 Nov 2013. <http://www.uvm.edu/~jbailly/courses/tragedy/student second documents/Oedipus Complex.html>.
• Donald W. Winnicott, . N.p., n. d. 19 Nov 2013.
<http://thinkingthoughtsdotorg.wordpress.com/2013/05/30/freud-on-the-oedipus-complex/>.

• Edmunds, L.. N.p.. Web. 26 Nov 2013.
<http://www.ancientgreece.com/s/GreekMyths/Oedipus/>.
• Melanie Klein Trust, . N.p.. Web. 26 Nov 2013. <http://www.melanie-kleintrust.org.uk/oedipus-comple&xgt;.
• “Sigmund Freud”. (2007). In Encyclopædia Britannica. Retrieved November 21, 2007, from Encyclopedia Britannica Online: http://search.eb.com/eb/article-22605.