Oedipus and Electra complex: differences and symptoms in adults

From the well-known historical legends of ancient Greece about the famous characters Electra and Oedipus, arise the names that psychoanalysis assigns to 2 of the most complicated and interesting complexes that take place in childhood. The Oedipus and Electra complexes arise at the unconscious level in the child around 3 or 4 years of age and describe feelings of love and tenderness they develop towards parents of the opposite sex, as well as feelings of rivalry towards the father of the same sex.

Boys generally tend to imitate their father and the girl her mother, so they pretend to adopt her way of acting and within the same imitation seduction and the desire to conquer the other also enter dad. 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.

Index

1. Oedipus complex in adults
2. Electra complex in women
3. Oedipus and Electra complex: differences and symptoms

The Oedipus complex is a concept created by the father of psychoanalysis Sigmund Freud and it has its origin in the legend of ancient Greece that talks about Oedipus, who is the son of the King of Thebes. This work tells us that how Oedipus ends up killing his own father in order to occupy 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 mentions that during the stage of psychosexual development of childhood, which as I mentioned before, takes place between 3 and 4 years old, children begin to feel attracted to their mother, for what they want get her all of her attention, let them know that they intend to want to be with her forever, among other things as if they were a infatuation.

For this reason, it is very common for children in this age range to start saying things to their mother such as: "When I grow up I want to marry you", "nobody loves you more than me", "you are mine", she can also give you gifts, drawings, etc. and make comments to the father challenging him, such as telling him that he is his mother's boyfriend and he is not, that his mother only belongs to him, among other things. So he develops a kind of rivalry and hostility towards the father since she perceives it as a threat.

In short, the child pretends to have the full attention of her mother and leave her father aside, that is why he can begin to have some hostile behavior towards him, get angry, throw tantrums, try to separate the father when he is around the mother, etc. demonstrating her jealousy and her need to want exclusivity.

The Electra complex, is a concept that created by Carl G. Jung from the Oedipus complex created by Sigmund Freud and used it to explain what It happened with girls during their psychomotor development between the same ages, between 3 and 4 years.

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 together with her brother, killing her mother since she, along with her lover, had been accomplices to kill her husband Agamemnon. Electra witnessing the complicity of her mother with her lover in the death of her father, she begins to experience hatred and resentment towards her mother, which led him to make that crude decision.

Unresolved Electra Complex Symptoms

Likewise, as with the Oedipus complex in boys, the exact same thing happens in girls, only 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 behaviors such as constantly getting angry with their mother, throwing tantrums when their father and mother show affection, to be jealous of the father, to show immense joy at seeing his father arrive by the door of the house, wanting to spend all the time with the father and say things such as: "you are my boyfriend", "I am going to marry you", "I do not want another but you", among other things .

The fact that it generates feelings of love in one and hostile feelings in another is because at this stage the child becomes begins to feel identified with the father of the same sex, for this same reason experiences feelings of rivalry towards the. Now that you know in depth the Oedipus and Electra complex, 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 Carl Gustav Jung.

Change in erotic object

• The Oedipus complex refers to the unconscious sexual desire you feel the male child towards the mother in the stage of psychosexual development. The child wants to capture all the attention of his mother, displacing his father, for whom he feels jealousy and hostility since he perceives him as a rival as 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, the girl feels great admiration for her father, whom she perceives as a superhero, for whom she feels protected and loved, so she wishes to always remain with hers. As with the boy, the girl also experiences jealousy and hostility towards the mother already that by identifying with her, he feels that he is her rival and is afraid that he will take away the love of his dad.

This article is merely informative, in 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.

If you want to read more articles similar to Oedipus and Electra complex: differences and symptoms, we recommend that you enter our category of Personality.

• Oedipus and Electra complex. (s.f.). Retrieved December 15, 2018, from https://es.scribd.com/document/322664623/Complejo-de-Edipo-y-de-Electra
• Serna, J. M. S. (2017, February 27). Oedipus complex. Retrieved December 15, 2018, from https://www.webconsultas.com/mente-y-emociones/familia-y-pareja/complejo-de-edipo-12852