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At least 19 recordsLinked to original sources
PubMed1991

The emergence of oedipal centrality comments on Michael Feldman's paper 'Common ground: the centrality of the Oedipus complex.

The Oedipus complex is indeed a central organizing focus of human development. Given the opportunity to review psychoanalytic work illustrative of how this concept influences clinical theory and technique, patches of common ground and of significant differences are described. The patient discussed was in the termination phase of a very long analysis, resulting in a concentration and telescoping of the three weeks of reported material from six months prior to termination. This facilitated the elucidation of similarities and differences in viewing and handling manifestations of resistance, transference and countertransference. In particular, differences in conceptualization of the Oedipus complex were addressed, especially the constraints imposed on the analyst's thinking and technique by an obligatory perception that all material represented oedipal themes. In an alternative view, a pre-oedipal, dyadic developmental foundation provides a framework for the elaboration and evolution of oedipal, triadic complexities as a developmental achievement. This enables a reconsideration of transference manifestations of conflictual object relations in terms of distinctions between dyadic, pre-oedipal and triadic, oedipal themes, thus enhancing the analyst's interpretive relevance.

Countertransference↗
PubMed1976

The oedipus complex. A critical re-examination.

The Oedipus complex no longer holds the crucial role in psychodynamics attributed to it by Freud. Attempts to distinguish between oedipal and pre-oedipal disturbances are brought into question, and it is suggested that the complex reflects many non-psychosexual issues, particularly separation-individuation. Ten views of the Oedipus complex are critically reviewed.

Anxiety↗
PubMed1991

Is the Oedipus complex still the cornerstone of psychoanalysis? Three obstacles to answering the question.

Current controversies about the centrality of the Oedipus complex in psychoanalysis are difficult to resolve unless we address three obstacles in the way of rational examination. The first is that the Oedipus complex, Freud's "shibboleth" of psychoanalysis, is politically controversial. Second is the great difficulty in agreeing upon the definition and boundaries of the Oedipus complex, especially the necessary complexities introduced with the negative Oedipus complex, female sexuality, the nature of the preoedipal, and counteroedipal fantasies and actions. The third obstacle involves basic questions of psychoanalytic epistemology: our criteria for evidence to prove or disprove any particular proposition. I conclude that the awareness of these difficulties signifies a certain maturation in our thinking and that the complexity introduced by these obstacles can in time provide the groundwork for a set of formulations that is richer and closer to the complexities and ambiguities of the clinical situation.

Ego↗
PubMed1976

On the girl's entry into the Oedipus complex.

Detailed child observational study reveals variable pathways by which the girl enters her Oedipus complex. The data of three normal girls are briefly detailed to demonstrate the path each took. The data reported do not support the generalizability of the 1925 postulate that the girl enters her Oedipus complex by way of her castration complex. It is hypothesized that the girl, as well as the boy, enters the Oedipus complex--given a favorable-enough "expectable environment"--from about two and a half years of age on, compelled by a psychobiologically determined gender-related change in her libido and inherited ego dispositions.

Child, Preschool↗
PubMed1990

[The "daughterly" existence. Unanswered questions about the female Oedipus complex].

The author investigates the structural difficulties currently involved in arriving at a conclusive definition of the female Oedipus complex. She shows how Freud's theory of the female Oedipus complex, originally a theory of non-individuation, now figures as a theory of individuation, with old, partriarchally oriented constructs and modern ideas of emancipation having entered into complex combinations that can sometimes be disentangled only with difficulty. Finally, three aspects of the female Oedipus complex are examined: 1. its importance in the acquisition of female sexual identity, 2. its function as a locus for finding the heterosexual object, and 3. its role as a locus for the resolution or fixation of the "daughterly" existence.

Female↗
PubMed1975

A biological basis for the Oedipus complex: an evolutionary and ethological approach.

The authors propose that the Oedipus complex has a strong biological basis that is evident in observations of human prehistoric and nonhuman primate behavior. The groundwork for the oedipal phase is the peaking of human infantile sexuality at age five or six-a vestige of an earlier biological timetable. Other contributing factors include the high level of helplessness of human infants, the resulting high attachment needs, and the prolongation of development phases. Unsuccessful resolution of the oedipal phase may result when the mother's dominant status is lowered. The authors suggest that an understanding of the relationship between sex and rank and an wareness of ethological findings can broaden psychodynamic formulations and enrich the psychoanalytic therapy of sexual problems.

Adolescent↗
PubMed1990

["Archaic matrix of the oedipus complex"].

The clinical implication of Janine Chasseguet-Smirgel's concept of the "archaic matrix of the Oedipus complex" is examined, the resulting deeper understanding of the Oedipus myth is considered. A discussion follows of Chasseguet-Smirgel's way of using this concept in her historical evaluation of German Romantism with regard to the Nazi times and nowadays politics of the Westgerman Green Party.

Germany↗
PubMed1979

The Oedipus complex or hey, Mom. Where is Daddy?

After investigating as much literature as I could on the Oedipus Complex or whatever name is interspersed, such as sex-role differentiation, identification, etc. the following conclusions were significant. Possible disturbance in sex-role identification, child develops avoidance systems and rejects parents, homosexuality, emotional maladjustment, shyness, resentfulness, dependency, harder to train, not "manly enough", apprehension, immaturity, compensatory masculinity, anti-social behaviour such as truancy, damaging or destroying private or public property, having premarital and extra matital sex relations and theft of property. Father's presence then, is of the utmost importance in the rearing of their children, particularly sons. They are necessary in the sharing with mothers of all phases of child.

Cross-Cultural Comparison↗
PubMed1990

Common ground: the centrality of the Oedipus complex.

An attempt is made to relate the severe restriction in the patient's life and in her mode of functioning within a long and difficult analysis to the internalization of, and partial identification with, primitive and damaged versions of the parental couple, which she experienced as threatened by, and hostile towards any form of vitality or creativity. When the expression of these more disturbing versions of the oedipal configuration could be recognized, tolerated and interpreted within the sessions, the patient's longings, jealousy and sexual wishes indicative of a more mature Oedipus complex became more readily available. This change was manifested in a different quality to the transference and in the way the patient became better able to integrate and use her own intellectual and emotional resources.

Adult↗
PubMed1992

"Incest--see under Oedipus complex": the history of an error in psychoanalysis.

This paper is intended as a contribution to the understanding of errors in our field. The title refers to the index entries "incest" in several classic psychoanalytic texts. In a way that is analogous to the defenses utilized by survivors of incest, psychoanalysis has both known and not known, avowed and disavowed, the traumatic impact of actual incest. It is argued that psychoanalysis erred in (a) focusing too heavily on the implications of incest for the Oedipus complex instead of its implications for every stage of development, and (b) missing out on the full and detailed description of the clinical pictures of incest victims and of treatment issues, including transference and countertransference. The author presents an overview of the history prompted by Masson's original attack on Freud for abandoning the "seduction hypothesis." Topics covered are: Freud's early papers, the Freud-Ferenczi controversy (1932), and the state of psychoanalytic awareness in the 1960's of the importance of actual incest. Certain features of our field make it all too likely that new errors can be generated that may similarly take decades to recognize and undo. These include the politics of our discipline, and negative attitudes toward systematic gathering and assessment of evidence.

Austria↗