The myth of Maui's death, a Polynesian hero, is a tale of incest and the punishment for this forbidden act. As well as the Oedipus complex, it expresses the problems of the pre-oedipal mother relationship. The myth represents the wish to return to the mother's womb through both oedipal and pre-oedipal fantasies. This return is equivalent to immortality and omnipotence, but such a return is always impossible and must lead to death.