For this paper I have decided to include information about both readings we have covered. We read William Shakespeare's Hamlet and Sophocles' Oedipus the King. Through reading both stories and by doing outside research I learned something interesting. This was that a Freudian theory was named for a few of the scenes in Oedipus the King and that this theory was also connected to Hamlet. This theory is known as the "Oedipus Complex" and when explained can provide a lot of insight into the interpretation of these plays.
Its actual definition can be found in psychology books and even most encyclopedia. It is a concept used in psychoanalysis that shows a child's unconscious desire for the exclusive love of the parent of the opposite sex. This desire includes jealousy toward the parent of the same sex and the unconscious wish for that parent's death ("Oedipus Complex"). Freud talks of the complex in boys and how this leads to attachment to the mother. In most cases it is explained using a boy for the example. (It is also explained for females, as a related complex known as "Electra", Myers 464-65 and in Clark 168.) The child starts off as an infant being fed by the mothers' breast or even by bottle, but either
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In his ignorance he had just killed the man who turned out to be his real father, Laios. He stated that he thought Shakespeare even modeled his play after these feelings (Clark, 361). Thus the loathing which should drive him on to revenge is replaced in him by self-reproaches, by scruples of conscience, which remind him that he himself is literally no better than the sinner whom he is to punish" (qtd. This is closely linked to how the term "Oedipus Complex" came about. Not only has fate itself brought them back together but also, if you look at it through Freud's theory you see it is true once again. He stated that he thought Shakespeare even modeled his play after these feelings (Clark, 361). In the end, blinding himself with pins from Jocasta's dress punishes Oedipus. Oedipus grows up living a lie, the son to the King and Queen of nearby Corinth. By her care of the child's body she becomes its first seducer. He is ignorant to what was foretold. ) The child starts off as an infant being fed by the mothers' breast or even by bottle, but either way the mother assumes the role of nourishing the child. This in itself shows how Hamlet had drove himself mad with "Oedipal jealousy" (Masterplots). The most commonly used example I saw in Psychology
books talks of when a mother notices her child curiously playing with himself. The child now is forced to conceal his behavior or in a lot of cases is threatened with being told on or talked to by the father. Thus the loathing which should drive him on to revenge is replaced in him by self-reproaches, by scruples of conscience, which remind him that he himself is literally no better than the sinner whom he is to punish" (qtd.
Approximate Word count =
5548
Approximate Pages =
22 (250 words per page double spaced)
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