Sophocles
Oedipus Tyrannos
Mythological
Background/storyline
What is the "Oedipus Complex"?
A desire for sexual involvement with one parent and a rivalry with or
hostility toward the other parent. It is usually applied to
heterosexual desire of a male child for involvement with the mother.
For a heterosexual female child desiring sexual involvement with the
father, the usual name is "Electra Complex." There may be further names
for the configuration if the child has homosexual desires.
In normal development, the complex occurs between 3 and 5 years of age
(the phallic stage), then passes into a phase of identification with
the parent of the same sex.
Freud connected overcoming the Oedipus/Electra complex with the
formation of the roots of the Superego (the moral part) and considered
it the cornerstone of all relationships.
Modern psychologists supposedly recognize Oedipal relationships, but
attribute them to resentment of parental authority.