An Overview of the Oedipus and Electra Complexes

An Introduction to Freud's Concept of the Phallic Stage in Children

May 5, 2009

Sigmund Freud argued that adult characteristics were caused by childhood development, especially those in the Phallic stage, namely, the Oedipus and Electra complexes.

In the early days of psychology, Sigmund Freud developed a unique conception of how the child’s personality develops.

Freud theorized that child development occurs in three distinct phases: the oral stage, the anal stage and the phallic stage. The Oedipus and Electra complexes occur at a subconscious level within boys and girls respectively, during the phallic stage of development.

The Oedipus Complex

The Oedipus complex argues that the young boy desires his mother as a love interest.

According to Freud, "Unfortunately for the boy, his father stands in the way of his love. The boy therefore feels aggression and envy towards this rival, his father, and also feels fear that the father will strike back at him." The boy expects that he will punished by his father, for his desire, by being castrated.

This anxiety is exacerbated when the boy realises that girls have no penis; he assumes that they have had their penis removed as a punishment. The boy realises that he cannot posses his mother and place himself opposite his father as a rival; instead he learns that he must posses another female and identify with his father.

The Electra Complex

The Electra complex acts as the female equivalent of the Oedipus complex states that the young girl is attached to the mother, like the young boy. This is not surprising, as the mother tends to be the primary caregiver and object of desire.

Upon realising that the she, as all women, has no penis and subsequently she suffers "penis envy." Like the boy in the Oedipus complex, "the girl learns her role by identifying with her mother in an attempt to posses her father vicariously."

As with the other stages in the child’s development, fixation that occurs at the phallic stage may produce certain characteristics, in this case: "a phallic character, who is reckless, resolute, self-assured, and narcissistic – excessively vain and proud." The failure to resolve the conflict can also cause a person to be afraid or incapable of close love.

Freud postulated that fixation at the phallic stage could be a root cause of homosexuality.

Although both the Oedipus and Electra complexes have been subjected to harsh criticism, especially from feminists, Freud’s influence does seem to echo throughout adult life in terms of male and female characteristics and behaviours.

Boys learn that they must become like their father, who is stereotypically aggressive, ambitious, powerful, and in direct contrast to his mother, who is stereotypically passive, obedient and nurturing.

As the boy learns to identify with his father, the girl learns to identify with the mother. As such, the way that both the boy and the girl come to relate to their mother and father, by way of the Oedipus and Electra complexes, will determine their behaviours and affect their relationships in later life.

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