Throughout William Shakespeare's Hamlet, Hamlet's behaviors and frustrations become increasely evident that he suffers from the Oedipus Complex. The Freudian theory defines the Oedipus Complex as the complex of emotions that are aroused in a person when they are young by an unconscious sexual desire for the parent of the opposite sex, and to exclude the parent of the same sex. Freud's theory suggested that dreams were a mechanism of the brain trying to understand its unconscious desires. With this in mind, it brings to question our unconscious mind and its true desire. Although these thoughts are repressed by our conscious mind, it doesn't mean that these feelings won't find another way to surface hidden in another wistful desire.
It's apparent that Hamlet desires to avenge his father's murder by killing Claudius for his betrayal, but considering the idea that there is also a hidden intent in doing so, there could have been another reason such as his unconscious longing for Gertrude, his mother.
Hyperion to a satyr: so to my loving mother,
That he might not beteem the winds of heaven
Visit her too roughly. Heaven and earth!
Must I remember? Why she would hang on him,
As if increase of appetite had grown
By what it fed on: an yet, within a month-
Let me not think on’t; -frailty thy name is woman! (Act 1, Scene 2)
Hamlet's innocent love for his mother exists, whether he chooses to realize it or not. Put simply, it's like when a young boy wants to spend more time with his mother rather than the father. The boy tries to push the father away, trying to attract the mother's attention. Hamlet's subconscious desires for his mother lie hidden under his intention of avenging his father's death because having feelings for one's o...
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...x. As said before, this psychological complex is repressed in individuals and acts on a subconscious level. In the end, Hamlet represses his subconscious reasoning and because of this, the obvious becomes more apparent; that he must avenge his father's murder. Considering the definition of an Oedipus complex, Freud's theory becomes more apparent as the play progresses. When Hamlet puts on the play, his jealously is shown through his concern for his mother preferring to be beside Ophelia instead. This challenges the idea of her sleeping with other men and as a result, it seems as though Hamlet not only envies Claudius for being with his mother, but also having the guts to go as far as killing his brother to be with her himself. Hamlet's actions are due to the subconscious repressions of feeling towards his mother, and as a result, defines what an Oedipus Complex is.
In this play, it is clear that Hamlet's father was killed for greed of the kingdom and Gertrude and Hamlet should have been his father's successor. Out of greed and a feeling of entitlement to the throne, both Claudius and Hamlet felt justified in their actions. Entitlement is not a behavior that would have been accepted during this time and no honorable person would have acted the way that they
The life of Hamlet is without a doubt very interesting, he suffers from unfortunate events in his time that are often major blows to his ego. His father dies while he’s away at college, Hamlet is next in line to be king until his “uncle-father” steals it from him; but it is to be known his “uncle-father” would not have stolen it if his “aunt-mother” hadn’t allowed it. It’s very apparent from the beginning of the play that he is very well obsessed with his mother and her doings. He harasses, humiliates, and abuses her because she has done such an unforgivable act by marrying Claudius. His thoughts and feelings towards his mother are very strong and well known, he even describes the odd pair as “little more than kin and less than kind.” That’s not all with Hamlet; his mother remarrying is just the tip of the iceberg so deeply rooted in the ocean of his emotions. His relationship with Ophelia is twisted, Hamlet goes through episodes of
The Oedipus complex theory proposes that Hamlet desires his mother and wishes to kill his father because he is jealous of their closeness. This is not the case in Hamlet. Hamlet's actions which follow the Oedipus complex are for completely different reasons than Freud's theory states. Hamlet is not secretly in love with Gertrude, nor does he desire her physically. He also does not feel jealous of Claudius. Hamlet does not suffer from the Oedipus complex because he does not follow the pattern of this theory.
He starts with a bitter hatred for her incestuous actions with Claudius but he sees that she really still does care for him after her showing sympathy for him after his vicious argument. It seems as though Hamlet realizes that his mother knew her mistake and felt bad for her after she seems to be so sad by him being upset with her. All of this anger he had could also be proof that they actually had a really good relationship together and that he simply felt betrayed by the one person that he would least likely expect it from. This may be the most accurate view of their true relationship due to him not just leaving after his father died and attending the University of Wittenburg. Instead, he chose to listen to his mother and stay in boring Denmark where he lived his whole life. His talks of wanting to give his father the credit he deserved by getting revenge on those who treated him wrong is also why he may have felt the need to yell at his mother for what she did wrong. From the interactions that Hamlet and Gertrude have throughout Shakespeare’s Hamlet, it can be concluded that they had a strong relationship that was temporarily harmed by Gertrude’s incestuous actions but later mended due to Gertrude still caring for her dear
Hamlet's reasons for revenge against Claudius are fairly straightforward. The ghost of Hamlet Sr. informed Hamlet that Claudius killed Hamlet Sr. In doing so, he weakened Hamlet by robbing him of his central role model of masculinity, his father. He also committed the moral sin of killing is own brother and taking his wife. Claudius also deprived Hamlet of his rightful kingship. In addition, Hamlet now knows that his love of his mother is corrupted since she is affectionate towards his enemy.
Hamlet has a strong love for his parents and is hurt to see them either die, or fall into the scheme of Old Hamlet’s brother-in-law. Without love in our lives, we would feel almost neglected by the world. After Hamlet’s father dies, he desires his father’s love and comfort that he is unable to get. He turns to his mother after his father’s death and is turned away by her because she has other things to focus on rather than the grieving of Hamlet. Hamlet feels hurt by his mother’s actions and is jealous that she appears to love Claudius and not her own son.
Hamlet is seen as one of the most complex literary character of all time. The relationship between Hamlet and Gertrude can be interpreted in many ways. Hamlet’s motivation for killing Claudius is not to avenge his father’s death, but because of his love for his mother Gertrude. This is where the Oedipus complex comes into play in Hamlet by William Shakespeare.
Ophelia ignored him when he would’ve really needed some one to talk to about his future actions on a personal level; she later committed suicide which made him feel more emotional. Claudius was really the reason for everything happening; he killed his brother, King Hamlet Sr. in a plot to marry Gertrude quickly enough that he could steal the throne from Hamlet and become king. When Hamlet finds this out it causes him to become more emotionally distressed and many people are killed in the end. Although his mother and father were mostly the reason why he became emotional and a vengeful killer, there were other people that play a smaller part in his actions as well.
Not being able to kill Claudius haunts Hamlet because he believes he is letting his father down. Hamlet’s complex personality plays a part in his hesitation to kill. On one hand, Hamlet knows that after killing his uncle, he will only loath himself as well as his fate to come from committing the crime, but there’s also avenging his father to honor him. Hamlet does not think it is fair for his uncle to live the life he stole from his father, but
Sigmund Freud, a brilliant psychologist, once theorized that a child will wish to kill one parent and sleep with the other of the opposite sex. This notion, known as the “Oedipus Complex”, is incredibly common in children, and often suppressed as an adult. It even plays a large part in shaping Shakespeare’s tragic character Hamlet. For centuries, scholars have studied Hamlet’s fascinating and sophisticated character in order to answer the question; what is stopping him from killing the uncle that murdered Hamlet’s father and now is married to his mother? Throughout the remarkably truthful play Hamlet, Hamlet’s desire for his mother can be explained easily by the Oedipus Complex, which causes him to hesitate when told to kill King Claudius.
Hamlet's character lends itself to a possible motivation for his unwillingness to kill Claudius. He is a scholar, and a student of theology. It is a moral dilemma for Hamlet to kill without a just cause, or kill at all. He wants proof of the part his uncle and his mother played in his father's death. His royal birth leads him to consider his responsibilities to his country, which is Hamlet's internal conflict throughout the play.
Hamlet is often seen as one of the most well known examples of an Oedipus Complex presented in literature. The reasons for this is probably because of the plot that resolves around the revenge that Hamlet has against his step-father Claudius and because of the relationship that Hamlet has with his mother that is loaded with sexual energy. Hamlet's love for his mother is especially exemplified by the Mel Gibson's interpretation of the infamous closet scene.
Hamlet is able to do anything except avenge his own father’s death and took his own father’s place to be with his own mother. Hamlet conscience makes him feel no better than his own sins of wanting it be with his own mother. Dreams are overly-interpreted in Oedipus the fantasy is brought into the open as it would be in a dream. In Hamlet the fantasy is repressed and we learn from the consequences.
The connection among all of Hamlet's actions is merely himself. He certainly mourns his father, but mainly he feels sorry for himself because he lost his mother and his crown the day his father died. It is possible that he misses Gertrude and Denmark more than his father the king. Also, Hamlet cannot accept the ghost's word for Claudius' guilt, he arranges a situation where he can watch Claudius condemn himself. Again, this is a reaction from his self-centered motives-he requires the feeling of hatred that is only achieved when he is the victim of a crime. Although the play shows him a first-hand picture of Claudius' guilt, it is still not enough provocation for murder.
William Shakespeare's play Hamlet contains very similar elements to Sophocles' Greek Myth, Oedipus Rex. In the late 1800s through early 1900s, a Doctor based out of Vienna, named Sigmund Freud, developed a theory based on the events of the play Oedipus Rex, which has since been coined the "Oedipus Complex." Ernest Jones also applied his knowledge of Freudian psychology and wrote a persuasive paper suggesting that Hamlet cannot kill his uncle Claudius because of his repressed feelings for his mother. In the story of Oedipus Rex, Oedipus fulfills a prophecy given to him, by killing his father Laius and by sleeping with his mother Jocasta. When Oedipus realizes he has fulfilled the prophecy he gouges his eyes out, causing blindness. In Shakespeare's masterpiece Hamlet, the Prince of Denmark finds himself stuck in the Oedipus stage (Uncle instead of his father.) As the play progresses, Hamlet seems unable to cope with his repressed childhood feelings, leaving him in a state of confusion and melancholy. Hamlet struggles to find truth amongst the people he once trusted. He appears disturbed because of his lustful, feelings for his mother Gertrude, while his hate for his uncle Claudius seems to grow deeper.