Electra Complex essays

Electra Complex essays The Electra Complex refers to a girl's desire for her father and dislike for her mother. This Electra Complex actually derived from the male version of it, which is called the Oedipus Complex. The Oedipus Complex was first described by Sigmund Freud, whose theory suggested that a boy goes through a phallic stage between the ages of three and five. While going through this stage the boy feels sexual desire for his mother, sees the father as competition for this desire and so rejects or dislikes the father. At the same time though, the boy knows that he needs his father. This creates the conflict which the boy must resolve. This is generally resolved by the boy identifying with his father. In Freud's theory, this process leads to the child developing their gender identity. The Electra Complex was later added to the theory by Carl Jung, with the Electra Complex describing the female version of the same process. This refers to a girl feeling desire for her father and rejecting her mother, while also knowing that the needs her mother. This creates the conflict, which the girl resolves by identifying with her mother. The end result is that the girl comes to view herself as being female and develops Before continuing any further, it is worth noting that both Jung and Freud considered these processes to be subconscious ones. The girl's desire for her father is not a conscious desire, instead it is an unconscious one, as is the end result of developing her gender identity. While the process is considered unconscious, like many people, Jung had trouble accepting Freud's strong focus on sexuality and desire. This led Jung to eventually reject Freud's view of the Electra Complex. Jung noted that relationships for both boys and girls were not as straightforward as Freud suggested. Instead, Jung noted that some boys rejected their mothers and felt closer to thei...