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In what way is the Oedipus Complex relevant today? A male tale; the abandoned boy who kills his father and sleeps with his mother – what does this have to say about the female experience or anything beyond the heteronormative? Poul Rohleder, in this short introductory text – a recent entry in the growing series of ‘Routledge introductions to contemporary psychoanalysis’ – seeks to rehabilitate Freud’s ‘complete Oedipus Complex’, exploring its value for everyone: girls, not just boys; homosexual and bisexual, not just heterosexual orientations; same-sex as well as cross-sex families; non-Western as well as Western cultures. Rohleder champions a move beyond the more popular conception of an ‘Oedipus simplex’ where it is the female who lacks something and where homosexuality is negative and the subject of moralising. That Rohleder has produced such a compendious account of the Oedipus Complex, from Freud to the present day, with concision and mostly exemplary clarity is a tribute to this polished work, and its own recommendation. As such, it will be a valuable reference for both trainees and experienced practitioners.
Rohleder begins by describing a YouTube video of a little girl berating her mother for marrying the young girl’s father, therefore depriving her of the chance, complaining that ‘YOU married him! So now I can’t marry him’ (p. 1). Despite the many critiques of the Oedipus Complex, there are numerous anecdotal episodes such as this which most of us could reference as evidence of its enduring presence. Rohleder also cites the continuing popularity of various stage versions of the play in London’s West End. At a rather different point on the cultural spectrum one could also mention that in Pornhub’s worldwide top searches for 2025, ‘step mom’ resides at number one, with ‘step sis’ at number two (‘milf’ is number four, with ‘step dad’ a relatively lowly number 26, for those interested. Of course, the ‘step’ family reference is a fig leaf for the fantasies in pla