Dec 31 Oedpius Complex

A section in Chapter 10 that I found very interesting and strange at the same time was on Freud's theory that boys secretly want to kill their fathers and marry their mothers. Freud said that these unconscious feelings start during the phallic stage, from ages three to six. The phallic stage is Freud's third stage of development, when the penis becomes the focus of concern and pleasure. Boys at this age, from about three to four years, start maturing and become aware of their sexual organs. They also start to develop their unconscious sexual desires for their mother. Freud called this desire for their mothers the Oedipus Complex. Freud gave it its name after a story in Greek mythology. In the story a son of a Greek god grows up away from his parents in another kingdom. When the son returns he kills his father and marries his mother, unaware of who they actually are. When the son finds out what he did, the son becomes overwhelmed with guilt and shame. Freud says that all boys feels this way about their parents, love and hate and the same time. In an attempt to cover up their feelings Freud says that boys develop the superego. The superego is the judgmental part of the personality that internalizes moral standards of the parents. Freud also says that when boys are drawn to playing with guns, have a fascination for superheroes, and playing 'good guys vs. bad guys' this is an unconscious attempt to cover up their true feelings. They fear that if their father finds out with they really think, they will be punishment. This idea sounds kind of crazy to me. Of course it is difficult to say what someone this thinking unconsciously, but I can say that I notice that young boys are more loving toward their mothers, and young girls are more loving toward their fathers.