My Oedipus Complex, written by the famousIrish short story writer, Frank O’Connor, in my opinion, is more a sacrednarration of the youth and growing-up problem than just a simple story told bya little story, let’s see the background of the text. The Oedipus Complexoriginated from a myth about Greek hero named Oedipus, written by Sophocles. Asit develops, it now refers to the positive libidinal feelings of a child to theparent of the opposite sex and hostile or jealous feelings toward the parent ofthe same sex that may be a source of adult personality disorder whenunresolved. It is a pattern of profound emotional ambivalence, a troublesome mixtureof love and hate. The Oedipus Complex occurs during the phallic stage, fromroughly ages 3-6 years. Freud believed that during that stage boys seek genitalstimulation and develop both unconscious desires for their mother and jealouslyand hated their father, whom they consider a rival. It was said that boys feltguilty and lurking fear that their father would punish them, such as bycastration. Freud also believed that conscience and gender identity form as thechild resolved the Oedipus Complex at age 5 or 6, but this actually happensearlier. A child tend to become strongly masculine or feminine without evenhaving the same sex parent.
Theprotagonist in this text,My Oedipus
Complex, is just in this stage. Then let’s see more details about the wholetext. There are four characters in the story: Larry- the protagonist, also thenarrator, his mother, his brother and his new born brother, Sonny. The story istold by the little child, Larry, who is 5 years old and who grows up in hispeaceful and safe world with just himself and his “beloved” mother. He is notready to share his mother’s attention with his father, who is returned fromWorld War I and his new born brother. It is because he has strongly connectedwith his mother during the past 5 years and wants her to belong only to him. Tounderstand the external conflicts of the story, I’d like to analyze the fourcharacters first: The protagonist, Larry, is a happy, creative, imaginative andkind-hearted young boy who thinks and cares a lot about his mother. Forexample, when he thought what his father said made his mother anxious, hebravely interrupted his father. Also, one day he said to his mother “I’m goingto marry you when I grow up”. His creation is reflected when he names his feetMrs. Right and Mrs. Left and makes them talk to each other about things he willdo with his mother.
Mothercan be said a mediator between son and husband. She will immediately mediatewhen the two persons seem to quarrel. Also, she tried to connect them, whichwas well proved first when she advised father to talk to the son for a walkwhen father just came back, hopping to better the relationship between them.What’s more, she said “You mustn’t play Dad’s toys until he lets you, Larry,Daddy doesn’t play yours” She didn’t say directly, but she implied that fathershould make a step into the son’s world, communicating with the son and showinghis love. In addition, mother is humorous. When the boy asked his mother whythey did not have a new baby, mother said that they couldn’t afford because ababy would cost them “seventeen and six”. Her “seventeen and six” showed mother’skind of humor
Fatherin the text has little words and does not know how to get along with others notshow love to his family especially at the beginning when he just returned fromthe war. But at last, he makes a change and forms the united front with his son
Inthe story, the author depicted with galore humor the boy’s “Oedipus Complex”.As far as I am concerned, maybe Oedipus Complex or the relative Electra Complexmay sound crazy and unbelievable, they, as Freud believed, are normal parts ofhuman psychological growth. And the experience of Larry seems to be therepresent action of our childhood stories. It reminds people the relationshipwith their family and stories happened when they were young, which is also thereason I like this text.
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