Blog Entry Four ~ The Oedipus Complex

The Oedipus complex is a term often used to describe a boy’s sex attraction to his mother. Often young boys become “attracted” to their mothers. Because of these attractions they can become hostile toward their fathers. Many times this has a lifelong effect on their personalities. They can be unconscious. Sometimes they include fantasies that influence the man’s view of the world. It can even lead to mental illness in some cases. (Stephens 16-17)

The Oxford Reference Online definition for the Oedipus Complex is: "(Psychoanalysis) (in Freudian theory) the complex of emotions aroused in a young child, typically around the age of four, by an unconscious sexual desire for the parent of the opposite sex and wish to exclude the parent of the same sex. (The term was originally applied to boys, the equivalent in girls being called the Electra complex.)"

Stephens, William. The Oedipus Complex. 1st. New York, NY: The Free Press of
Glencoe, 1962. 16-17. Print.

"Oedipus complex noun"  The Oxford Dictionary of English (revised edition). Ed. Catherine Soanes and Angus Stevenson. Oxford University Press, 2005. Oxford Reference Online. Oxford University Press.  Central Washington University.  1 November 2010  <http://www.oxfordreference.com/views/ENTRY.html?subview=Main&entry=t140.e53529>