The Oedipus complex As of late it seems to be a popular driving knowledge, but do you really know what it means or how it operates on a mental level? Is it true that the child falls in love with his mother?
These and many myths surround the concept, so it is time to go to the original source: Freud and Psychoanalysis..
In the first instance we will try to define the concept in the least technical terms possible, then we will talk a little about how it operates at a real level.
The first thing to clarify is that the Oedipus in psychoanalysis refers to a natural moment in human psychic development.
The Oedipus complex It is configured as a result of a bad closure of that moment, or a bad management in the sense of the child's interpersonal relationships.
The first thing is to remove the myth that with Oedipus we refer only to children, this is an ambiguity since for Freud and psychoanalysis, mentally there is no gender differentiation, so it applies to boys and girls.
Now, to define Oedipus, we must clarify some aspects of the child's mental life. The first thing is that the child has an instinctual load, this means that he has some needs to be solved.
These needs refer to emotional states focused on the relationship with the world, these can be vital urges or sexual urges.
The vital impulses refer to the aspects of survival with physiological correlates, such as hunger, cold and heat.
The second aspect related to sexual drives refers to the child's relationship with objects and the satisfaction they produce..
In adults, this aspect of the sexual drive is easy to observe because it is enough to see how many objects become the main source of satisfaction. In many cases it is usually "My car" "My job" "My honor" "My wife" "My son" etc..
In the first instance, the child interacts with the world always through his mother or caregiver and it is this that acts as an idealized object.
This means that the mother fully satisfies both vital and sexual drives, in the sense that she is a provider of food, warmth and affection. In addition to being the only constant presence in their first moments of life.
Because of this, the mother stands for the infant like a idealized object and in the mind of this, the mother is of his exclusive demand and will.
The Oedipal moment is when the child learns that the mother is not an object of his exclusive belonging, Rather, your affections, time, and most importantly your attention belong to someone else..
We can equate the difficulty of assimilating this moment, with the fact that you realized today that your partner of 5 years ago has someone else and that he cannot continue to be your exclusive partner. Not difficult?
Now the Oedipus complex It occurs when there is a poor transition in this regard. In an ideal stage of oedipal function, the child will quickly understand that his mother is not his exclusive object. When we talk about this same relationship between the girl and her father we talk about the Electra complex
Normally we notice the onset of Oedipus when the child begins to show jealousy in the face of the affection shown to his mother. Prevents others from kissing or hugging her, gets angry if she notices that her mother is conscious of another child or pet.
In a normal transit, the child will increasingly leave his mother and his tendency will be to explore and learn about the world, no matter what happens with his mother..
If you are configuring a Oedipus complex, It is probable that the child does not move away from his mother more than a short distance, he will show strong anguish at the separation and will increasingly show more aggressive attitudes to protect his position before the mother.
The child begins to become more and more aggressive and possessive towards people who approach his mother, does not allow them to touch him and becomes angry if she gives affection to other people.
Aggression can finally be focused on the mother herself before the impotence of not being able to force her to agree to her requests.
The child may show special affection before the father or siblings, considering them as figures that threaten to take away his absolute object.
To better understand how the oedipal moment and the transit to the Oedipus complex, it is necessary to use two new terms, "The wish of the mother" and "The name of the father"
The mother's desire refers to the intention of every good enough mother to become an absolute object for the infant. That is, meet all your needs effectively.
The mother's desire covers all drive aspects, both vital and those relating to objects of satisfaction, in this case she herself.
The father's name on the other hand is the infant's discovery that there is a world beyond the world that the mother creates for her. The father's name in this sense introduces to the child the absence of a fixed object and shows him that there is a world to discover.
Taking into account what has been seen above, the mother's desire tends to the absolute protection of the infant, it takes him away from the world and does not give him the tools to know the world, remaining as the absolute object of the child.
The father's name is called to put an end to this, showing the little one that the mother is not his object and that by moving away from his mother there is a world to explore.
This moment in any case is difficult for both the parents and the infant, but it is absolutely necessary for the correct psychic development..
The Oedipus complex It occurs when the father's name fails to overcome the mother's desire, being impossible to make the child understand that his mother is not his object and that he must go out into the world and create new object relationships.
Normally this transition is a much more difficult matter when the father's name does not exist, since the mother's desire has absolute power.
To close this topic, it is necessary to make the caveat that mother and father in this sense are terms that define an interpersonal relationship and not a biological relationship.
Namely, the mother is the person who acts as caregiver and main figure of affection, and the father is the one who acts as a complementary figure of affection and is a mediator in the child's affairs.
For the infant it is not difficult to establish who is his maternal figure and who or who are his father figures, this is not an ideal state but a conclusion based on the observation of infantile behavior
We hope it is clear to you what it is and how it operates Oedipus complex, We know that it is a subject a bit difficult to digest so we invite you to leave all your questions in the comment box.
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