Freudian Femininity Freud describes femininity as a riddle, and explains that this riddle in unsolvable by either psychology or biology. He instead chooses to describe the development of girls into women, first detailing observations then offering psychoanalytical theories to explain what he sees. Freud views a woman as “Not Man,” more than as “A Woman.” As a result, his core beliefs surrounding childhood development are highly phallocentric. The vast majority of his beliefs about the development of women are based upon his theory of penis envy. Freud believes that femininity is characterized essentially by a “preference to achieve passive aims,” (115) and an internalized desire to have a penis, otherwise known as Penis Envy. When we discuss …show more content…
The oedipus complex as freud describes it is a child’s desire to have a sexual relationship with the parent of the opposite gender. It occurs in the phallic developmental stage (the third stage of five). In 1913, the female version of the Oedipus complex was renamed to the Electra complex. For little boys, the Oedipus complex places them in competition with their father and in love with the mother. For little girls, it pushes them away from the mother and towards the father. According to Freud, “The castration complex prepares for the Oedipus complex instead of destroying it; the girl is driven out of her attachment to her mother through the influence of her envy for the penis and she enters the Oedipus situation as though into a haven of refuge.” (129)
Once the little girl realizes that both she and her mother are castrated, she resents it and blames her castrated mother, then turns to the father for affection, fulfillment, and
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Whether he discusses envy of it, obsession with it, activity, passivity, sex, object-cathexes, or the Oedipus complex, Freud holds the phallocentric view that the penis is Most Desirable. He refers to the penis as “superior equipment,” (126) and thereby implies a superiority of phallus to vagina and clitoris. It is unfathomable to him that a girl could be without penis envy, not want a baby, or have a noncompetitive relationship with her mother. Though femininity is never explicitly defined by Freud, women are. He pointedly states that “In these circumstances [of feminine Oedipus complexes] the formation of the super-ego must suffer; it cannot attain the strength and independence which give it its cultural significance, and feminists are not pleased when we point out to them the effects of this factor upon the average feminine character.” Freud never expressed his view on the definition of femininity, but did express his distain for women and phallocentric beliefs which culminate in sexist generalizations about women, but without ever including
According to Freud's psychosexual stages of development, successful resolution of the Oedipus complex leads to _____
Oedipus complex stage is a child’s desire of a sexual gratification of the opposite sex of the parental figure. To resolve tis unconscious conflict of fear and erotic desire within one must characterize themselves with whom they want to be and what they desire. Sigmund Freud believed that little girls had penis envy. In later days men had higher rank than women. Girls were thought to first have a sexual attachment to their mother which eventually transferred to the father in hopes to somehow obtain a penis. According to Freud “Classic Theories and Modern
Differently to what is thought nowadays, the Oedipus complex described by Freud goes beyond just the son 's desire to have sex with his mother. The Oedipus complex includes the teenager 's psychosexual idea of feeling jealousy, anger, and above all, competing with his father. Besides, Freud’s theory emphasizes that boys select their mother as their principal object of desire, and subconsciously wish to usurp or even murder their fathers in order to gain exclusive possession of her and become their mothers ' lover.
Personality is a concept that will continue to studied and improved upon. Theories of Sigmund Freud, Carl G. Jung, Alfred Adler, Karen Horney, Anna Freud, and Heinz Hartmann and several others have contributed significant ideas to the study of personality and have had impacts on our current approaches. The purpose of this paper is to compare two sources of the motivations concerning why people behave the way they do. Sigmund Freud’s psychoanalytic approach will be discussed and compared to the approach of neo-analyst Karen Horney. Karen Horney claimed that psychoanalysis is not the only way to resolve inner conflicts and she offered a uniquely feminist perspective for her time that disputed the Freudian theory of penis envy.
Oedipus Rex, an ancient Greek tragedy authored by the playwright Sophocles, includes many types of psychological phenomena. Most prominently, the myth is the source of the well-known term Oedipal complex, coined by psychologist Sigmund Freud in the late 1800s. In psychology, “complex” refers to a developmental stage. In this case the stage involves the desire of males, usually ages three to five, to sexually or romantically posses their mother, and the consequential resentment of their fathers. In the play, a prince named Oedipus tries to escape a prophecy that says he will kill his father and marry his mother, and coincidentally saves the Thebes from a monster known as the Sphinx. Having unknowingly killed his true father Laius during his
In order to completely understand Oedipus and his actions, we must first understand the basics of Freud’s theories. One of the most well known aspects of Freudian theory is the Oedipus Complex. We can already see a relationship between the Oedipus
Freud’s theory of personality examined the interplay between the primitive, instinctual urges—the ‘id’; the practical and rational ‘ego’; and the morally attuned ‘superego’; ‘object relations’ refer to the "object" of an instinct”, which is “the agent through which the instinctual aim is achieved”—most often a person and, according to Freud, most often the mother (Ainsworth 1969, p. 1). The psychosexual development theory that Freud launched reduces our behaviour to mechanistic responses to an instinctive need for pleasure fueled by the ‘libido’ and barriers or distortions to the gratification of the libido at various delineated stages of development were responsible for later problems in life (Kail & Zolner 2012, p. 5). Erik Erikson later added depth to the approach by including more humanistic elements to Freud’s stages and including more periods of development (p.
The Oedipus complex refers to the thoughts some men have regarding their mother or maternal figures. Many scenes from the play can prove Hamlet did have these thoughts about his mother, such as acts one and three. If the reader knows what he or she is looking for, then these signs can be easily spotted. The story of Oedipus Rex is an
The Oedipus conflict or complex is a concept developed by Sigmund Freud to explain the origin of certain psychological disorders in childhood. It is defined as 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. Horney states that it is not a “biologically given phenomenon” but rather a response to the “provocation’s” of the outside world.(Horney)
The Oedipus complex otherwise called 'mother fixation' is a mental inclination of a man. This term is used by Sigmund Freud as a part of his hypothesis of 'Psychosexual Stages of Development' to depict a kid's emotions of yearning for his mother and jealousy and outrage towards his father. Basically, a kid feels like he is in rivalry with his father for possession of his mother. He sees his father as a rival for her considerations and affections.
Freud was known for having the inclinations to follow every mental issue back to sexual issues. Despite the fact that lone parts of his hypothesis of psychosexual advancement are being acknowledged by standard analysts, Freud's hypothesis of the Oedipal Complex has turned out to be extremely well known in the way of life. That hypothesis is the critical for sexual association with the parent of the inverse sex and a corresponding feeling of contention with the parent of a similar sex. Sigmund Freud acquainted us with the idea in his "Interpretation of Dreams" in 1899. Psychoanalysis is a system of psychological theory and therapy that aims to treat mental disorders by investigating the interaction of conscious and unconscious elements. Freud developed this theory all because of his study of the unconscious mind. And that the unconscious mind will govern your mind and behavior to a greater than anyone would ever think would be done. The whole purpose of of the psychoanalysis theory is to to turn the unconscious conscious. That's what psychoanalysis is and how it was developed (McLeod, 2014).
Oedipus and Electra complex in which the child unconsciously wishes to posses the parent of the opposite sex and rid themselves of the parent of the same sex. The result of this desire in boys would experience castration anxiety which would drive them to identify with their fathers. If there is no male figure in this stage of a child’s development it is thought that the child will have problems with authority figures later in life as he has never had the chance to conclude this stage. Freud’s explanation for the female development claiming that they would experience penis envy (a realisation they do not have a penis) they would eventually overcome by achieving motherhood and having their own baby. Latency stage from six years through puberty here the child will develop their confidence and mastery of the world around them. He believed that during this stage their experiences and excitations of previous stages are repressed and children develop infantile amnesia being unable to remember much of their earlier years. The Genital stage from twelve years upwards to adulthood is the culmination of the psychosexual development and the fixing of sexual energy in the genitals. This eventually directs humans towards sexual intercourse and the beginnings of the next cycle of life (Breger, 2009).
Sigmund Freud (1856-1939), was an influential Austrian psychologist and the founder of psychoanalysis. Freud went on to produce several theories, such as his theory on psychosexual development, which will be the focus of this assignment. Using the case study of a six-year-old patient, I will discuss the key principles of Freud’s theory on psychosexual development. Including, comprehensive definitions of the concepts used, and the stages of Freud’s psychosexual development. Lastly using Freud’s theory, I will explain how the patient’s current behaviour, could impact her behaviour in adulthood.
Oedipus complex is a psychoanalytic theory denotes the ideas that deals with a child’s sexual desire for the opposing sex parent. The Metamorphosis has many examples of Oedipus complex, however one example is dominant. In an
Freud’s theory is difficult to test scientifically as concepts like libido cannot be measured