From the already well-known historical legends of ancient Greece about the famous characters Electra and Oedipus, the names that psychoanalysis assigns to 2 of the most complicated and interesting complexes that take place in childhood arise. The Oedipus and Electra complexes They arise at an unconscious level in the child around 3 or 4 years of age and describe the feelings of love and tenderness that develop towards parents of the opposite sex, as well as feelings of rivalry towards the parent of the same sex.
Boys generally tend to imitate their father and girls their mother, so they try to adopt their way of acting and within the same imitation also enters seduction and the desire to conquer the other parent. But what exactly do these complexes refer to?how they manifest?,what is the difference between one and the other? In this Psychology-Online article, we will talk about Oedipus and Electra complex, their differences and symptoms in adults.
Oedipus complex in adults
It is a concept created by the father of psychoanalysis and has its origin in the ancient Greek legend that talks about Oedipus, who is the son of the King of Thebes. This work tells us that like Oedipus he ends up killing his own father in order to take the position of the King and finally ends up marrying his mother, Queen Jocasta.
The Oedipus complex according to Sigmund Freud
From this classic work, Freud developed this complex and tells us that during the childhood stage of psychosexual developmentwhich as I mentioned before, takes place between 3 and 4 years old, children begin to feel attracted to their mother, so they want to get all of her attention, they let her know that they intend to want to be with her forever , among other things as if they were in love.
For this reason, it is very common for children in this age range to begin to say things to their mother such as: “when I grow up I want to marry you”, “no one loves you more than me”, “you are mine”, You can also give him gifts, drawings, etc. and make comments to the father challenging him, such as telling him that he is his mother’s boyfriend and no, that his mother only belongs to his, among other things. So he develops a kind of rivalry and hostility towards the father since he perceives it as a threat.
In short, the child wants to have all the attention of his mother and leave his father aside, which is why he may begin to have some hostile behaviors towards him, get angry, throw tantrums, try to separate the father when he is near him. the mother, etc. demonstrating his jealousy and his need to want exclusivity.
Electra complex in women
is a concept created by Carl G. Jung from the Oedipus complex created by Sigmund Freud and he used it to explain what happened to girls during their psychomotor development between the same ages, between 3 and 4 years old. .
The Electra complex according to mythology
According to Greek mythology, Electra, one of the daughters of Agamemnon, who was the king of Mycenae, avenges the death of her father along with her brother, killing her mother since she, along with her lover, had been accomplices to kill her husband Agamemnon. Upon witnessing the complicity of her mother with her lover in the death of her father, Electra begins to experience hatred and resentment towards her mother, which led her to make that harsh decision.
Symptoms of unresolved Electra complex
Likewise, as happens with the Oedipus complex in boys, exactly the same thing happens in girls, except that their rival is now their mother and the object of desire is their father. Girls at these ages can engage in certain types of behavior such as constantly getting angry with their mother, throwing tantrums when their father and mother show affection, be jealous of the father, show immense joy when seeing his father arrive through the door of the house, wanting to spend all the time with the father and telling him things such as: “you are my boyfriend”, “I am going to marry you”, “I don’t want anyone else but you”, among other things .
Oedipus and Electra Complex: differences and symptoms
The fact that it generates feelings of love in one and feelings of hostility in another is because at this stage the child begins to feel identified with the parent of the same sex, for this same reason he experiences feelings of rivalry towards him. Now that you know the Oedipus and Electra complex in depth, we are going to share with you some
Basically the differences that exist between the Oedipus complex and the Electra complex are the following:
Different creator of each complex
- The Oedipus complex was created by the father of psychoanalysis, Sigmund Freud.
- The Electra complex was created by .
Change in the erotic object
- The Oedipus complex refers to the unconscious sexual desire you feel the male child towards the mother at the stage of psychosexual development. The child wants to monopolize all the attention of his mother, displacing his father, for whom he feels jealous and hostile since he perceives him as a rival because he also has the love of his mother.
- The Electra complex refers to the unconscious sexual desire that the girl feels towards her father. That is to say, the girl feels great admiration for her father, whom she perceives as a superhero, by whom she feels protected and loved, so she wants to always remain with him. As with the boy, the girl also experiences jealousy and hostility towards her mother since by identifying with her, she feels that she is her rival and is afraid that she will take away her father’s love.
This article is merely informative, at Psychology-Online we do not have the power to make a diagnosis or recommend a treatment. We invite you to go to a psychologist to treat your particular case.
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Bibliography
- Oedipus and Electra complex. (sf). Retrieved December 15, 2018, from https://es.scribd.com/document/322664623/Complejo-de-Edipo-y-de-Electra
- Serna, JMS (2017, February 27). Oedipus complex. Retrieved December 15, 2018, from https://www.webconsultas.com/mente-y-emociones/familia-y-pareja/complejo-de-edipo-12852