Abstract
This essay will explore the scholarly and theatrical application of Freud's "Oedipus Complex" to the interpretation of Shakespeare's "Hamlet". It will be argued that while this view of the relationship between Hamlet and Gertrude is not definitive, the plot of the play does nonetheless fulfil many basic features of the "Oedipus Complex".

Tags:oedipus, complex, hamlet

Abstract
This article examines Freud's 'Oedipus Complex' theory. In this paper, the writer discusses the claims involved in the concept. The writer offers several reasons to doubt the validity of the 'Oedipal Complex', as it ignores many other factors that bear on parent-child relations.

From the Paper
"This paper examines the extent to which two claims of Freud concerning the Oedipus Complex may be valid claims. These are the claims that this aspect of a boy's mental life can be considered the greatest achievement of psychoanalysis as well as the foundation of all neuroses. Several reasons are offered to doubt these claims, most of which involve speculations as to the validity of the Oedipus Complex itself. First, it is noted that the Oedipal Complex cannot be remembered by people ... "

Tags:Oedipus, Complex

Abstract
The paper analyzes the painting "Oedipus Rex" by Max Ernst through the Freudian Oedipus Complex and through the play "Oedipus Rex" by Sophocles. The paper discusses how the surrealistic style of Ernst is used to depict the symbolic sexual tension between father, mother and son, especially in the case of the walnut and the arrow that penetrates it.

Tags:rex, oedipus, rex

Abstract
The paper firstly explains the origins of the Oedipus complex and then shows how William Shakespeare portrays this in his play "Hamlet". Hamlet's mother, Gertrude, is his Oedipus complex. This fits in with the idea of the Oedipus complex, where often the mother is the object of the Oedipus complex and is in the position of being the greatest importance in a child's life. Hamlet subconsciously feels that he should be the center of Gertrude's affection and this affects his relationships with women and also fuels his motivation for revenge for those that get in the way of this desire. The paper shows how Shakespeare fits in the idea of Oedipus complex in his play: Hamlet greatly disapproves of his mother's remarriage, his mother shows her undying love for him, Hamlet has extremely strong feelings towards his mother and how he repels other women, especially one who reminds him of his mother. The paper concludes that the Oedipus complex that exists during Shakespeare's time continues to exist today.

From the Paper
"The Oedipus Complex originated from Sophocles' tragedy, Oedipus Rex. In the tragedy, an oracle prophesizes that the son born to Liaus, the King of Thebes, and his queen Jocasta, will kill his father and marry his mother. Liaus, after the birth of his son Oedipus, abandons him and leaves him to die. Oedipus, however, lives and the prophecy comes true. Oedipus grows up and unknowingly murders his father. He then marries Jocasta, not knowing that she is his mother, and together, they have four children. When Oedipus discovers the horrifying truth about his mother and his father, he gauges his eyes out and lives the rest of his life in great depression. Freud defines the Oedipus Complex as "the unconscious desire for the death of the parent of the same sex and for physical union with the parent of the opposite sex" (Wertheimer 133). A man suffering from the Oedipus Complex has sexual desires for his mother and aggressive feelings towards his father. In Shakespeare's Hamlet, Hamlet shows the Oedipus Complex throughout the play and his mother, Gertrude, is the object of this complex. Hamlet demonstrates the Oedipus Complex through his actions and desires towards his mother, which, as a result, affects his relationship with women and Ophelia and becomes the main motivation for revenge."

Tags:ernest, freud, hamlet, jones, revenge, motivation, subconsciously, rival, jealous

Abstract
This paper discusses how the Oedipus complex was discovered by the Austrian psychiatrist Sigmund Freud who came up with the concept of this complex using the Greek mythology of Oedipus, a Greek hero who unknowingly killed his father and married his mother. The paper also uses the story "My Oedipus Complex" by Frank O'Connor as an example of an application of the complex.

From the Paper
"Sigmund Freud describes the beginnings of Oedipus complex in his book titled: The Interpretation of Dreams. Freud believed that the Oedipus complex starts in a boy's phallic period (at the age of five). This is basically where the little boy discovers his new "best friend". The boy is in the stage of "discovering his body and is aware that the penis is a key element in the privacy of his parents, where he is excluded." (The Oedipus Complex) The phallic phase is the third of Freud's five psychosexual stages. In Larry's case his father returning from the war triggered his Oedipus complex. He compares himself to his father and tries to do the things his father would do and also compete for his mother's love, affection, and attention. This stage in a young boy's life is submerged, and is succeeded by the latency period."

Tags:super-ego, phallic, phase, psychosexual

Abstract
This paper shows how the Oedipus complex theory can be applied to Hamlet, the main character of "Hamlet" by William Shakespeare and the issues that he faces concerning his mother and girlfriend. The paper shows that the intense rage that Hamlet projects onto Queen Gertrude (his mother), Ophelia (his girlfriend) and women in general compiles this version of Oedipus complex triangle. Hamlet finds himself strangely drawn to the act of matricide whether or not he blatantly expresses it, because he partially blames his mother for the circumstances leading up to his father's death, although he has a strange sexual affinity towards her. The paper describes how Hamlet releases his frustration about his father's death indirectly on Ophelia while raising to the surface strong undercurrents of an Oedipal complex with Gertrude as its center.

From the Paper
"According to psychoanalysis, a male child's dual view of his mother as the Madonna and the whore (her relationship with the father) is not abnormal. Men have a preoccupation with virginity as well as an urge to engage in dirty activities with the whore. Unfortunately, Hamlet fails to detangle the complicated web he has mentally and emotionally intertwined them in, and he ends up causing them to incur mental and physical damage. His feelings about Polonius' death have much to do with using Ophelia as a vehicle for him to feel as though he forced the same agony of grief upon his mother that he had to endure when his father died."

Tags:incest, Freud, King, Claudius

Abstract
This paper examines Frank O' Connor's book, "My Oedipus Complex" which is a unique take on Sophacles' traditional Greek tragedy where a son has improper relations with his mother. The paper describes the context and plot of O'Connor's story and then discusses the similarities and differences between O' Connor's story and Sophacles' original Oedipus story.

From the Paper
"One especially interesting ritual that is interrupted between Larry and his mother is sleeping together. Before Daddy comes home, Larry is always allowed in his mother's bed. But when Daddy reestablishes his position in bed, Larry feels resentment toward him. Now, Larry is forced to sleep in the crack between them and isn't allowed to talk or disturb his father. His mother admonishes him several times to be quiet, until eventually, Daddy wakes up and yells at her. She in turn, scolds Larry. This chain reaction causes Larry to feel even more antipathy toward his father, who seems to be putting his mother in a bad mood."

Tags:relationship, mother, son

Abstract
This paper analyzes Freud's fascination with the Sophocles' story "Oedipus the King" while also delving into the plot and main characters depicted in the classic Greek tragedy. The writer contends and explains why few people today are aware of the actual origins relating to Freud's Oedipus Complex. This paper details the manner in which the famed psychoanalyst recognized that the story of King Oedipus paralleled in both a literal and figurative sense his theories relating to early childhood development in which a young child falls in love with his or her opposite sex parent.

From the Paper
"Without Sophocles's play, of course, there would be no term like "Oedipus Complex", to describe today's best-known stage of early childhood development. However, Freud's theory is also very far from the story of Oedipus and his unfortunate fate, as told by Sophocles. Therefore, to think of King Oedipus only in terms of the Oedipus Complex of Freudian fame, is to seriously distort what we know of Oedipus through Sophocles' play. Be that as it may, however, the name "Oedipus" today is recognized much more as part of the term "Oedipus Complex" than as a tragedy by Sophocles. Toward that result, Freud took considerable (psychological) license with the original Oedipus story when he wrote, in 1940 (An outline of psychoanalysis. The ignorance of Oedipus is a legitimate representation of the unconscious state into which, for adults, the whole [early childhood development experience] has fallen; and the coercive power of the oracle [i.e., fate, in today's terms] . . . a recognition of the inevitability of the fate which has condemned every son to live through the Oedipus complex."

Tags:literature, psychoanalysis, parent, sex, child

Abstract
This paper discusses an essential part of Sigmund Freud's theory of child development that states that at a certain age all young children develop sexual feelings toward their opposite-sex parent which creates a hatred towards the same-sex parent. The author explains the Oedipus complex in detail and defines the process of psychoanalysis to illustrate why Freud considered his theory to be the most important factor in the psychoanalytic process.

From the Paper
"Oedipus Complex is a state of mind of a male child in which he is unconsciously attracted more towards the parent of opposite sex and develops a hatred and jealousy towards the other and sometimes an unconscious wish for that parent's death. Austrian psychiatrist Sigmund Freud was the founder of this concept and developed it in the late 19th century. Freud, the 'father of psychoanalysis' termed Oedipus Complex as the cornerstone of psychoanalysis. The name Oedipus Complex is derived from the great Greek tragedy written by Sophocles in which the hero, Oedipus, unknowingly killed his father and married his mother. Freud also disclosed that the same type of complex is found in female children also in which they are strongly attracted towards their fathers. In girls the complex was named after another Greek character, Electra, who planned the murder of her mother.
"According to Freud, the complex affects the mind of a child between the ages of 2 to 6. During these years, a child develops a dual mental state and encounters a conflict of thoughts. Freud discovered the concept during self-analysis. (Jones, 1961) He regards this state of mind as a common phenomenon found in almost all children during their childhood. His analysis reveals that a child develops a strong attachment with his mother during the phallic stages of development i.e., between the years of 2 and 3. This is the stage of life in which children experience "intense feelings--love and hate, yearning and jealousy, fear and anger--that produce emotional conflicts." (Oedipus Complex)."

Tags:freudian id ego superego electra, self-analysis, childhood development

Abstract
This paper analyzes Hamlet's incestuous attraction to his mother, Gertrude, in relation to the Oedipus Complex. The paper provides textual evidence as well as interpretation. Through a review of the play, the writer illustrates the background to Hamlet's behavior and explains his insanity which is incited by his subconscious sexual desires.

From the Paper
"Hamlet's Oedipal feelings toward his mother caused him to have an incestuous attraction to her and an intense feeling of rivalry towards Claudius. The Oedipus Complex is a Freudian term designating attraction on the part of the child toward the parent of the opposite sex and rivalry and hostility toward the parent of its own (The Columbia Encyclopedia). Typical characteristics of this complex include jealousy and anger towards the parent of the same sex, and a subconscious desire towards the parent of the opposite sex. While most of the urges are repressed by early childhood, extreme circumstances can bring them to the surface in the later stages of life. In Hamlet's case, it took the murder of his father to draw out his incestuous instincts."

Tags:gertrude, incest, claudius, sexuality, parent, ophelia, perverse, obsession, desire