Sigmund Freud’s psychoanalytic theory Oedipus complex is one of the most influential as well as divisive theories of twentieth century. Freud coined the term Oedipus complex to refer to a stage in the development of young boys.
The term “Oedipus Complex”, describes a psychcodynamic conflict constellation based on the desire of the 3- to 5-year-old child to be the mother’s favored love object and to eradicate the paternal rival–or to be the father’s favored love object and to eradicate the maternal rival. Oedipal wishes trigger castration anxiety, fear of being humiliated and abandoned, and are repressed into the unconscious.
It has pathogenic potential; the return of the repressed may take effect within the area of relationships, leading to symptom formations and enactments of the adolescent or the adult.
Sigmund Freud's theory as related to the Oedipal complex is basically saying that humans are ruled "deep down" by animalistic sexual drives. The key here is to understand that he was saying that these drives are derived from human primitive ancestry and are hidden deep within human subconscious.
Freud theory
of Oedipal complex
