Toward a Unitary Theory on the Passing of the Oedipal Conflict

This paper is concerned with some factors which unduly prolong the oedipal struggle in both sexes—i.e., those forces which keep the oedipal wish alive. An attempt will be made to examine these factors in both sexes and to arrive at a unitary theory regarding the mechanism of the passing of the oedipal conflict. Clinical material will be presented to support this theoretical formulation.

In 1924 Freud wrote:3 “The significance of the Oedipus-complex as the central phenomenon of the sexual period in early childhood reveals itself more and more. After this it disappears; it succumbs to repression, as we say, and is followed by the latency period. But it is not yet clear to us what occasions its decay; analyses seem to show that the painful disappointments experienced bring this about. The little girl who wants to believe herself her father's beloved and partner in love must one day endure a harsh punishment at his hands, and finds herself hurled to earth from her cloud-castles. The boy who regards his mother as his own property finds that her love and care for him are transferred to a new arrival. Reflection deepens the effect of these impessions by insisting that painful experiences of this kind, antagonistic to the content of the complex, are inevitable. Even when no special events such as those mentioned occur, the absence of the hoped-for gratification, and the continual frustration of the wish for a child, causes the lovelorn little one to turn from its hopeless longing. According to this, the Oedipus-complex becomes extinguished by its lack of success, the result of its inherent impossibility.” In the same article Freud goes on to say (of the boy): “If the gratification desired