Oedipus Complex

The oedipus complex is a term used by Sigmund Freud in his theory of psychosexual stages of development. The name oedipus comes from the greek charecter 'oedipus' who kills his father. The complex describes a boys feelings for his mother and the jealousy and anger towards his mother. Essentially, a  boy feels like he is in competition with his fatherfor posession of his mother. He views his father as a rival for her attentions and affections. In order to develop into a successful adult with a healthy identity, the child must identify with the same sex parent in order to resolve the conflict. Freud suggested that while the primal i.d wants to eliminate the father, the more realistic ego knows the father is much stronger. According to Freud, the boy then experienced what he called castration anxiety - a fear of both literal and figurative emasculation. Freud believed that the child becomes aware of the physical differences between male and female and he assumes the females penis has been removed and that the father will castrate him as a pu nishment for not desiring his mother.