The Oedipus Complex- Courtney Askin

                                                                                          The Oedipus Complex 

    Most of you are probably familiar with the greek tragedy Oedipus The King. If not, the plot is simple: The protagonist Oedipus, king of Thebes, sets out to find the murderer of the past king, Laius. While on his search, Oedipus meets a prophet who tells him that Oedipus was the murderer. Oedipus is shocked and angry because he believes that he would know if he killed him. The prophet then hints at Oedipus that he is married to his mother. Oedipus returns to his wife, the queen who then tells Oedipus to not believe the prophecy. She then tells Oedipus a prophecy that Laius was to be killed by his son, and his son would then marry his mother. But, to prevent this, she and Laius left their son in the middle of the woods to presumably die. I guess now is a good time to say that Oedipus's wife used to be married to Laius. You can probably put together what happened at this point. Oedipus remembers of a time he had where he brutally beat someone up on a road. Oedipus later finds out that it was Laius, and that he is married to his mother in a turn of events. Much more goes on in the story, but I told a quick summary just for you to get the main ideas. 

    The Oedipus complex does not have a lot to do with the actual story, but solely the relationship that Oedipus was in with his mother. While the complex usually only affects children from ages 3-5, the theory is named after Oedipus because of the similarities. During this stage of development, the child grows an attachment to the parent of the opposite-sex and a jealousy/envy of the same-sex parent. Most of this occurs in the subconscious of a child, and there are usually are no irrational actions taken. This complex does lead to the development of characteristics or behaviors much like the same-sex parent because the child is aiming to be them. They become a role-model sort for the child. The child feels like they are competing for the opposite-sex parent and wants to replace the parent of the same sex. This stage in development is very important for children, and is very important in their ultimate maturity. 

    As I said earlier, no irrational actions are usually taken by children. During this stage however a boy might be very possessive of his mother, and girls might state their interest in marrying their father. Usually this complex is over once the child understands that they cannot replace one of their parents and identify with the same-sex parent. 

Sources: 

https://www.verywellmind.com/what-is-an-oedipal-complex-

2795403https://www.simplypsychology.org/oedipal-complex.html