Attachment of the child to the parent of the opposite sex, accompanied by envious and aggressive feelings toward the parent of the same sex. These feelings are largely repressed (i.e., made unconscious) because of the fear of displeasure or punishment by the parent of the same sex. In its original use, the term applied only to the boy or man.
In Freudian theory, the sexual attraction of a little boy to his mother. [Go to source
In Freudian theory, the sexual attraction of a boy to his mother and simultaneous fear of his father. The male analog of the Electra complex.
In Freudian theory, the desire and conflict of the four-year-old male child who wants to possess his mother sexually and to eliminate the father rival. The threat of punishment from the father causes repression of these id impulses. Girls have a similar sexual desire for the father, which is repressed in analogous fashion and is called the Electra complex.
In psychoanalytic theory, a general term for the cluster of impulses and conflicts that occurs during the phallic phase, at around age five. In boys, a fantasized form of intense, possessive sexual love is directed at the mother, which is soon followed by hatred for and fear of the father. As the fear mounts, the sexual feelings are pushed underground and the boy identifies with the father. An equivalent process in girls is called the Electra complex.
a complex of males; desire to possess the mother sexually and to exclude the father; said to be a source of personality disorders if unresolved
A son's amorous obsession with his mother. The phrase is derived from the story of the ancient Theban hero Oedipus, who unknowingly killed his father and married his mother. Literary occurrences of the Oedipus complex include Andre Gide's Oedipe and Jean Cocteau's La Machine infernale, as well as the most famous, Sophocles' Oedipus Rex. (Compare with Electra Complex.)
in Freud's theory, a conflict, during the phallic stage, between the child's sexual desire for the parent of the opposite sex and fear of punishment from the same-sex parent. (446)
Freud's term for the final stage of normal infantile development, in which a child (usually aged 3-7) becomes emotionally attached to the parent of the opposite sex and views the same-sex parent as a competitor. A "fixation" at this stage, often caused by a lack of adequate parental love and affection, is a common cause of "personality" disorders; hence it tends to manifest itself during a "transference". The name comes from a Greek myth wherein Oedipus unknowingly kills his father and marries his mother.
A Freudian term derived from Sophocles' tragedy Oedipus the King. It describes a psychological complex that is predicated on a boy's unconscious rivalry with his father for his mother's love and his desire to eliminate his father in order to take his father's place with his mother. The female equivalent of this complex is called the Electra complex. See also Electra complex, psychological criticism.
repressed desire to have sex with parent of opposite sex
The Oedipus complex or Oedipus conflict is a concept developed by Sigmund Freud to explain the origin of certain neuroses in childhood. It is defined as a male child's unconscious desire for the exclusive love of his mother. This desire includes jealousy towards the father and the unconscious wish for that parent's death.
