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Essay On Oedipus Complex

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Oedipal Oedipus?
One of the greatest playwrights in Greek history was Sophocles with his renowned play Oedipus Rex, which has been the central topic of innumerous psychological debates. Sigmund Freud, also called the father of psychology and the founder of psychoanalysis constructed a theory called the Oedipus complex, eponymous of Sophocles’ Oedipus Rex. These aforementioned debates largely surround whether or not the play and theory are directly related. It is fair to state that the basis of Freud’s complex can be detected in the story. However, to say that the play was deluged with the idea that the Oedipus complex represent is more than an overstatement. Within the tragedy, readers can see the narcissistic ways of Oedipus manifested …show more content…

(Medical Dictionary) Therefore, if Oedipus was Oedipal, he would have killed not abandon his “father”, instead of a stranger he met while traveling. He in his conscious state was trying to change his destiny and in his blinded attempt to change his destiny he walks into it. While some individuals use this aspect of the play to debate that the unconscious in this scenario was Divine intervention, (Miller, 2006) it could also represent as Rubin describes our humanity. (Rubin, 2012) Also, it is almost ridiculous to examine a character in a fictional work arguing his psychoanalytic state of mind. The character is fictional and his story does not necessarily need to converge. Consequently, although the play does present to some extent Freud’s Oedipal complex it is riddled with various other lessons that are more evident and likely to be the message the play intended to bring

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