Hamlet and the Oedipus Complex

When examining Hamlet through the lens of the Oedipus complex, it is

critical to first define and thoroughly explain the Oedipus complex,

then to apply it to Hamlet's relationships, before a final conclusion

is reached.

The Complexities of the Complex

Before one can understand the Oedipus complex, one must understand

Sigmund Freud's theory on infantile sexuality. The Internet

Encyclopedia of Philosophy points out that the roots of Freud's theory

can be found in the work of an older colleague of Freud's, Josef

Breuer. Breuer discovered that traumatic events in childhood could

have destructive repercussions in adulthood. Freud generalized

Breuer's discoveries and added that sexual experiences in early

childhood were the most important factors in shaping adult

personality. Freud believed that the male human is instinctively

driven to do whatever needed to receive bodily or sexual pleasure,

seen by Freud as the desire to release mental energy.

Freud divided the male child's early years of development, in which he

has the strongest attachment to his mother, into three separate

stages. Initially, from birth through two years, in the "oral" stage

of development, infants receive both pleasure and release this energy

through sucking, likely through breastfeeding (Myers 492). Later,

between ages two and three, the point of release of a child's energy

moves to the anus in what Freud called the "anal" stage of

development. Then, between the ages of three and five, the child's own

genitals will be the new center of pleasure and release, in the

"phallic" stage of development. During this stage, the young male

child realizes some ve...

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...is stages of early development, Hamlet

seems to be redoing them. The focus of his affection is still his

mother. The enemy, however, is no longer his father. He must have

passed through the stages correctly with no problems. His enemy now is

Claudius. He becomes fixated on ending Claudius's life, and being with

his mother. He succeeds, but only in part. She drinks the poisoned

wine meant for Hamlet and dies. Maybe Gertrude also had feelings for

her son. If swords weren't flying at the time, and a poisoned cup was

the only weapon around, Gertrude would have spared her son's life in a

last show of her love by taking the drink and sacrificing her own life

for his. Now that Claudius, Gertrude, both Hamlets, and Ophelia are in

the afterlife, another important question arises: Are there Oedipal

complexes in heaven (or hell)?