Oedipus complex
Son's maternal desire
A psychoanalytic term from Freud describing a child's unconscious sexual desire for the parent of the opposite sex and rivalry with the same-sex parent—named for the Greek mythological figure who unknowingly killed his father and married his mother.
The concept remains influential in psychology and literary analysis, though its scientific validity is disputed.
His therapist suggested unresolved Oedipal issues.
- patricideMurder of one's father
- repressionUnconscious blocking of thoughts
- psychoanalysisTreatment via unconscious exploration
- castration anxietyDread of losing male organs
- superegoMind's moral overseer
Jocasta · ego · Sigmund Freud · Greek tragedy · unconscious · id · Melanie Klein · Sophocles · libido · penis envy · oracle · Freudian theory · sexual development · self-discovery · Greek mythology · childhood trauma · incest · incest taboo
- Greek & RomanAchilles heel, Trojan horse, Pandora's box, Midas touch, Odyssey
- Mythological WordsAchilles heel, Adonis, aegis, ambrosia, Apollo
- psychoanalysisFreud, id, ego, unconscious, Sigmund Freud
- psychology termsmotivation, habits, self-knowledge, stress, intuition
- classical literature referencesOdyssey, Iliad, odyssey, epic, muse
- psychepsyche, soul, mind, ego, id