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Freudian Analyses Of Sophocles

Innumerable writers, philosophers, and critics have interpreted the story of Sophocles’ Oedipus the King in countless ways. The methods of interpreting the play vary from mad rages and blind accusations, to perverse acts and predestined fate ordained by the gods. One of the most famous psychoanalysts, Sigmund Freud, theorized that Oedipus' story was applicable to all (Sheleff 1976:1). The myth’s popularity is a direct consequence of Freud’s use of its central theme of a son’s incestuous love for his mother, as one of his key elements in his theory of psychoanalysis. Freud explains that when a boy is young, he begin to develop incestuous feelings for his mother, and feelings of hatred and resentment towards his father (Shaffer et al. 2005:43). This hatred eventually develops into an unconscious desire to murder the father. Freud describes these behaviours as the Oedipus Complex. Freud incorporated references to the Oedipus myth in much of his writings, and by observing the character Oedipus and his behaviours, it is obvious to see the similarities between the myth, and Freud’s theories.
One of the most well known aspects of Freudian theory is the Oedipus Complex. The Oedipus Complex is a characteristic of young boys in which they experience a strong attachment toward their mother and feelings of hatred and jealousy toward their father (Shaffer et al. 2005:43). The Oedipus Complex occurs during the ages of three to six years old. Freud believed that during this stage boys develop both unconscious desires for their mother and feelings of jealousy and hatred for their father, whom they consider a rival. Freud explained that because of these sentiments, boys felt guilt and fear of their father. In addition, a boy’s jealousy manifests itself into an unconscious desire to kill their fathers. The Oedipus Compex explains that it is only the male child that expresses the combination of love for the one parent and simultaneous hatred for the other as a rival....

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