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Character of Oedipus in Sophocles' Oedipus Rex
Strengths and weaknesses of sigmund freud theory
Character of Oedipus in Sophocles' Oedipus Rex
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Oedipus Complex
"It is the fate of all of us, perhaps, to direct our first sexual impulse towards our mother and our first hatred and our first murderous wish against our father." - Sigmund Freud(Clark, 122)
The Oedipus conflict or complex is a concept developed by Sigmund Freud to explain the origin of certain psychological disorders in childhood. It is defined as a child's unconscious desire for the exclusive love of the parent of the opposite sex. This desire includes jealousy toward the parent of the same sex and the unconscious wish for that parent's death. Horney states that it is not a “biologically given phenomenon” but rather a response to the “provocation’s” of the outside world.(Horney)
The “Oedipus Complex” was started from Simund Freud. Freud was born on May 6, 1856, in Freiberg, Moravia, a region now in the Czech Republic. His father was a wool merchant and was forty when he had Sigmund, the oldest of eight children (Gay, 78) and lived till 1939. (Gay, 112)
The term Oedipus complex gets its name from Oedipus Rex. The story of Oedipus can be found in the recount authored by Sophocles. In the story Oedipus has been made King of Thebes in gratitude for his freeing the people from a plague brought on them by the presence
of the riddling Sphinx. Since Laius, the former king, had shortly before been killed, Oedipus has been further honored by the hand of Queen Jocasta.
Now more deadly famines and diseases are raging and the people have come to ask Oedipus to rescue them as before. Oedipus give his brother in-law the job of finding the solution. Creon, Jocasta's brother, comes back from Apollo's temple with the announcement that the famine will be cured if Laius' murderer be found and cast from the city.
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... things that don't support freud's idea. Freud’s theory was according to the libido theory every human relationship is based ultimately on instinctual drives. When the theory is applied to child-parent relationships several conclusions are suggested: “any kind of
submissive devotion to a parent of the same sex is probably the expression of passive homosexuality or of sexual masochistic trends, while a rebellious rejection of a parent of the same sex is probably an inner fight against existing homosexual desires,” (Horney)
Works Cited
Bernheimer, Charles, In Dora's case : Freud—hysteria—feminism , New York : Columbia University Press,
Horney, Karen, New Ways in Psychoanalysis, New York: W.W. Norton & Co., 2000
Clark, David. What Freud Really Said. New York: Scholden, 1995.
Gay, Peter. Freud, A Life Of Our Time. New York: W.W. Norton, 1988.
Oedipus Rex is a Greek play written by Sophocles. The play is set in Thebes; Thebes is infected with a plague that is killing its crops and unborn children. This plague is caused by the prophecy. The prophecy states that Oedipus would kill his father and wed his mother. Laius threw out Oedipus when he was a baby to avoid this fate, but he failed because Oedipus was not killed. Oedipus was raised as a prince in Corinth. One day he was told the prophecy and feared that he would kill his father Polybus. While running away from Corinth to escape the prophecy, Oedipus killed Laius. When Oedipus arrived in Thebes, he freed the people from the sphinx. He was named king and married Jocasta. Towards the end of the play, Oedipus finds out that he had fulfilled the prophecy and is exiled from Thebes.
Wilson, Sarah. "Sigmund Freud and the oedipal complex." The Observer”. Guardian News and Media, 8 Mar. 2009. Web. 1 May 2014. <http://www.theguardian.com/lifeandstyle/2009/mar/08/sigmund-freud-oedipal-complex>.
The Oedipus complex came to my knowledge in my first semester of college, during my English class as we study Greek mythology. The first time I read the story I took it as it was; a story. But later on, on my first psychology class I finally understood the complexity of it and how it was used. Even now after a few more classes on psychology I still have some disagreements and have a hard time accepting it. It is because of my background that I’m facing challenges with t...
The beginning of the play opens up with the dilemma of the plague as explained before. Creon, Oedipus's brother in-law (which turns out to be his uncle), comes from the oracle with the advice to end the plague. He explains the previous leader, Laius, had been murdered, and they haven't found the murderer. More importantly, was the way Oedipus handled the situation. He
Jocasta’s and Laius’ fate all depends of Oedipus. The story begins with the Oracle giving them horrible news. It tells them that they will have a child, Oedipus, but when he grows up, the boy will in turn kill Laius and then it says that the boy will sleep with Jocasta after Laius dies. Both of the parents are in distress over this news, so when the little boy is born they tell a servant to put him on a mountain and leave him there to die. Years pass by and the King and Queen keep thinking that they are safe; however when Laius is on a crossroad on his way to speak to the Oracle Oedipus, his son, comes along. Lai...
In Sophocles' "Oedipus the King" which is a tragic play, which discusses the tragic discovery that Oedipus has killed his father and married his mother. Oedipus is the embodiment of the perfect Athenian. He is self-confident, intelligent, and strong willed. Ironically these are the very traits which bring about his tragic discovery. Oedipus gained the rule of Thebes by answering the riddle of The Sphinx. Sophocles used the riddle of The Sphinx as a metaphor for the 3 phases of Oedipus' life and to further characterized him as a tragic hero.
The play Oedipus the King by Sophocles has multiple examples of collective unconscious archetypes from the theories of Carl G. Jung. In general Jung's theories say that there are archetypes that define the world, its people, and why people participate or commit certain activities. Jung explains that these archetypes are harbored in the collective unconscious of every person's mind. The archetype of the hero is one of them. The middle of Oedipus the King shows the character Oedipus as the Jungian archetypal hero and sacrificial scapegoat.
Homosexual is a romantic attraction that occurs between two people of the same sex. This is the endurance pattern with an aim of experiencing sexual, affection and romantic attractions which is exclusively between similar genders. This is one of the three major categories of sexual orientation in sex. There have been many issues and concerns regarding the issue of homosexuality. In any society, homosexual has always been considered as evil and ungodly (Connors 2007). It is also considered as something extra ordinary that is only practiced by a certain part of people. For this reason, there are many discussions on homosexuality and this also includes a number of theories. These researchers are forwarded to explain the cause and the origin of homosexuality in both men and women. One of the famous theories that were forwarded on homosexuality are the theories by Freud`s and Jung. This essay introduces the theories on homosexual as they were discussed by Freud and Jung. Further, I will compare and contrast Freud’s and Jung’s theories about the sexual orientation in women. In particular, what factors lead females to become homosexual?
grew up in Europe and spent his young adult life under the direction of Freud. In 1933
In the tragic play of Oedipus, the prideful king, Oedipus, who demolished the curse of the Sphinx is now the king of Thebes due to their previous king, Laius, being killed by his own son. Furthermore, Oedipus married the queen the queen of Thebes (Jocasta) and has four children. The tragic unfolding starts to begin as the town of Thebes is under another plague and the only way it can be broken is by finding Laius’ killer. Oedipus, being prideful, accuses his wife’s brother, Creon as the unrighteous killer. As the story unfolds slowly, Oedipus finds out that he himself was the killer of his own father and married his mother. Because of this news, Jocasta hangs herself because she cannot bare to live with the shameful embarrassment. In addition,
What we consider the “Oedipus Complex” in which a man is at odds with his father and idolizes his mother has been around for thousands of years. In Greek mythology we find some of the earliest instances of it. For example in the beginning Gaia and Uranus ruled the universe and
Sigmund Freud, a famous Austrian neurologist of the 19th and 20th century, was considered as the father of psychoanalysis; his most famous work is the Oedipus complex. Basing his theory on the name of Sophocles’ character, Oedipus, in the play Oedipus the King, Sigmund Freud discovered a psychological disorder that makes the sufferer act like the character Oedipus. Oedipus the King is a play describing the prophecy of a child- saying that the child would grow up and kill his own father, but also sleep with his own mother. People with this oedipal disorder would act like Oedipus- desiring to have a relationship with their parents. Sigmund Freud clearly showed that he is highly influenced by Sophocles’ great work of art: basing his theory on Sophocles’ character and using Sophocles’ ideas to structure his own perception.
The largely significant psychologist in the twentieth century, Sigmund Freud, founded analysis and also recognized a new organization for treating behavior disorders. His study in psychology brought out many radical and contentious views on human behavior. One of the view he maintained is that unseen layers in the child's mind are vibrant by sexual and hostile motive regarding its parents. A distinctive example is the Oedipus complex, consisting of sexual need toward the parent of the opposed sex and jealous loathing of the rival.
Once again Oedipus becomes a hero when he promises to save the city of Thebes from plague. Oedipus sends Creon, to ask Apollo how to save the city. Creon returns from Delphi and told Oedipus "banishment-or repaying blood with blood"(Page 7). Oedipus asks, "Who is the man whose death Apollo lays to our charges?"(Page 7). The king, wanting restore his city to what it once was, seeks to find the killer Laius.
Shortly thereafter Oedipus learns the truth. He gouges out his very own eyes when he sees that Jocasta killed herself. At this point his attitude towards Creon changes and he requests his presence. Creon automatically assumes the role as king. Oedipus tries to convince Creon to put him into exile, but Creon feels that he should check with the gods first.