Forms of the Oedipus Complex

In whatever way one chooses to regard the oedipus complex, it remains central in psychoanalytical theory. Its importance for the structuring of the mind cannot be overestimated. In the analytic process, the oedipal drama emerges in different forms which are subject to transformations. Looking closer at these forms, one finds that they mirror different developmental phases which each exert influence on the structuring of the oedipus complex. I would like to present a model of this structuring influence. In my model building, I have let myself become influenced by different psychoanalytical schools as I am of the opinion that each school illuminates the psychoanalytic object from a different angle. I am convinced that in the future, we will be able to integrate these seemingly contradictory school.

Many authors have stressed the importance of deeper strata in the oedipal conflict. These strata might be regarded as “pre-oedipal”. The first to point this out was M Klein (1952). She spoke of the “early oedipus complex” which she felt arises during the oral phase. According to this view, the traumatic effect of the primal scene on the oedipal child has its roots in the baby's feeling of being excluded from the parental couple and abandoned. Fain (1971) has put forth approximately the same view, but he regards the problem from a different theoretical angle. He describes how the eight-month-old baby, in a sensual-sexual way, experiences that the parents have a unity from which it is excluded. This leads to the insight that symbiosis with the mother is impossible. According to Fain, this insight