Various works of literature contain characters who embody the elements of the classic Oedipus Complex, that of a son with an undue and unhealthy attachment to his mother. D.H Lawrence’s Sons and Lovers, along with other early modernist works, shows how a son’s bond to his mother can lead to that character’s major downfall. Even earlier than works of the late 19th Century does the Oedipus Complex appear, in this case, William Shakespeare’s Hamlet. Shakespeare’s play about the Prince of Denmark shows the beginning of an Oedipal Complex, with Hamlet’s jealousy of his uncle Claudius for marrying his mother Gertrude and the rage that Hamlet’s emulation causes.
The story behind the Oedipus Complex derives from Sophocles story of Oedipus Rex, King of Thebes. Oedipus, crazed by his love for his mother and envy of his father, plots to kill his father and marry his mother. He succeeds in the murder of his father and marriage to his mother, and later his mother bears children to Oedipus, making a full incestuous cycle. Oedipus’ act on envy and rage leads to the character’s downfall, where his mother commits suicide and Oedipus himself gouges out his own eyes and suffers banishment from his country. The Oedipal Complex involves the indecorous and harmful attachment of a son to his mother, which ultimately leads to the son becoming morbidly suppressed and suffering mental impotence.
Shakespeare’s Hamlet evolves around the title character, Hamlet, and his obsession with correcting a wrong against his father, committed by his father’s brother Claudius. After the King’s death, Claudius marries Gertrude, Hamlet’s mother, and takes the throne. Enraged, Hamlet seeks vengeance for his father, whose spirit appears before Hamlet to speak of the unrest he (the King) endures. His depression, caused by the marriage, first shows in his soliloquy after the departure of the others when the whole “family'; gathers for the first time. “O that this too too sallied flesh would melt,/Thaw, and resolve itself into a dew!'; begins the explanation that Hamlet despair is great enough to lead to suicide, however, canon law and religious injunction kept him from “self-slaughter,...
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...ing to his Oedipal Complex, but he and his mother both die before he has the chance to form union with his mother. He succeeds in the slaying of Claudius, but only after his mother has died by Claudius’ hands, rendering the incestuous goal virtually unobtainable.
Shakespeare’s character Hamlet incorporates the spirit of the Oedipus Complex in his revenge against his father’s brother. Many critics have disagreed with the Freudian view, but the textual evidence from Act 3 provides enough support for Hamlet’s incestuous love for his mother, Queen Gertrude. Claudius replaces Hamlet’s father, both as King and as Gertrude’s husband, and Hamlet desires nothing more than to have Claudius die by his hand, which would enable Hamlet to have his mother’s love all to himself. Unfortunately for Hamlet, a tragic, death-ridden turn of events leads to his goal’s incompletion, but he still had the same ideas and views as did Oedipus Rex in relation to his mother. Hamlet may not have completed the full Oedipal cycle, but he endured enough to classify him as suffering from an Oedipus Complex.
William Shakespeare’s play Hamlet is the dramatic story of a son who felt betrayed by both his mother, and the woman that he loved. Written in the Elizabethan era, around 1600, “Shakespeare's focus on Hamlet's intellectual conflicts was a significant departure from contemporary revenge tragedies… which tended to dramatize violent acts graphically on stage” (Hamlet). The play depicts Hamlet, the Prince of Denmark, who it visited by the ghost of his father, King Hamlet. The ghost reveals how he was murdered by his brother Claudius, who then claimed the title of King, and married Hamlet’s mother, Gertrude. Hamlet vows to avenge his father’s untimely death. Hamlet is in love with Ophelia, but her brother, Laertes, and father, Polonius, warn her that Hamlet can never really love her. Ophelia, following her father’s wishes, is unwittingly enlisted to spy on Hamlet, which leaves him feeling betrayed. Hamlet rejects Ophelia, accidently stabs and kills Polonius, and then hides the body. Ophelia becomes so distraught over her father’s death, that she ultimately drowns herself. Hamlet is devastated when he learns of Ophelia’s death. The play culminates with a sword fight between Hamlet and Laertes. Hamlet’s mother dies from inadvertently drinking poisoned wine that was intended to kill Hamlet. Laertes and Hamlet are both stabbed with a poison-tipped sword, but before dying, Laertes confesses that Claudius was the mastermind behind everything. Hamlet forces Claudius to also drink the wine and the irony is that everyone dies in the end. One of the most controversial topics in history is the relationship between Hamlet and Ophelia. Hamlet’s letters express his sincere feelings, and reveal that he was very much in love with Ophe...
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
C., C. "The Oedipus Complex Theory Explained in Hamlet." Gather. N.p., 19 June 2009. Web. 26 Nov. 2013.
Hamlet’s hatred is increased by the thought of his mother sleeping with his uncle, this is another example. of the Oedipus complex,. “It is not nor it cannot come to good”. But break, my heart; for I must hold my tongue.”
Sigmund Freud introduced the Oedipus complex, and his theory states that the individual suffers from a repressed sexual desire for the parent of the opposite sex while having a rivalry with the parent of the same sex. Many people see a connection between Hamlet and Oedipus. They insist Hamlet is in love with his mother and this is why he wants to kill Claudius, Hamlet's uncle and Gertrude's new husband. They contend that Hamlet's "madness" is actually his repressed longing for his mother. Although Hamlet and Oedipus both kill their fathers, their actions are for different reasons. Hamlet loves his mother, but he is not in love with her or desire her sexually. The reason behind his anger towards Claudius is not due to feelings of jealousy, but because Claudius killed Hamlet's father, whom he loved dearly. Hamlet does not suffer from an Oedipal complex.
From the death of his father, the late King Hamlet, he is often faced with thoughts of suicide, sin, and life after death. Through his first soliloquy, Hamlet contemplates suicide because he cannot deal with the pain from his father’s death and the new marriage of his mother, Queen Gertrude and his uncle Claudius. Following Christian values, he goes on to say that it would be sin to do so, “O, that this too too solid flesh would melt, Thaw and resolve itself into a dew! Or that the Everlasting had not fixed His canon ‘gainst self-slaughter!” (Act I, Scene II, line 129-132). He continues to keep this “Christian value” till the end of the play, but further contemplates his ow...
Hamlet is left so distraught by his father 's death and his mother’s quick remarriage of his father’s brother that he wishes to die. Hamlet begins his soliloquy with a metaphor that shows his desire for death: “Oh, that this too, too sullied flesh would melt, / Thaw,
Oddly, it appears that Gertrude possess more significance to Hamlet than one first anticipates. Her swift call to matrimony leads Hamlet into a spiraling quarry of depression and grieving. This mirrors the Oedipus complex. Gertrude sexually commits herself to Claudius causing Hamlet to feel a sense of jealousy and disappointment. In retaliation, he expresses his repressed desire of love through his unruly comments. He even goes as far as to say that the love is incestuous. Furthermore, in Act 3 scene 4, Hamlet confronts his mother directly in a closet. Addressing concern over her sexual actions, he exclaims “In the rank sweat of an enseamèd bed, / Stewed in corruption, honeying and making love / Over the nasty sty” (III.iv.104-106). Not only does this quote show that Hamlet disapproves his mother’s marriage, but also that he believes Claudius is a wicked criminal. Aligning with the Oedipus complex, Hamlet strangely obsesses over his mother’s love life while viewing his uncle in
The Oedipus complex is an interesting psychological concept. Sigmund Freud first started using the term “Oedipus complex” around 1910 referencing Oedipus Rex by ancient Greek tragedian Sophocles (Wikipedia.org). When introduced to society, the Oedipus complex was greeted by many people as somewhat controversial. The theory was expanded upon by Freud to include female children, as the original Oedipus complex only related to the male sex, by creating the term “feminine Oedipus attitude”, but the term would be forgotten for the most part since Carl Jung’s “Electra complex” was better received. (Wikipedia.org). Jung’s theory was eventually grouped together with
...e murder of his father, Hamlet Sr. After Hamlet killed Polonius, and stored his body, when first asked of him the location of Polonius' body, and Hamlet replied with a riddle; "The body is with the King, but the King is not / with the body. The King is a thing-" (Hamlet - 4.2.27-28). This riddle strange in itself was evidence to Rosencrantz and Guildenstern of Hamlet's insanity. Once the King banished him to his death in England, Hamlet replied with "Farewell, dear mother." (Hamlet - 4.4.58). Shocking to the King, being his father and or uncle, and Hamlet forgave an explanation to the King of why he called him his mother; "My mother. Father and mother is man and wife, / Man and wife is one flesh, and so, my mother" (Hamlet - 4.4.60-61). Hamlet's mask of insanity had fooled the King, the Queen, Ophelia, Polonius, Rosencrantz and Guildenstern. Though he had fooled these people he always kept a full grasp of reality and his true convictions.
Another way Hamlet can be approached is from a Freudian psychoanalytic approach. This psychoanalytic viewpoint is specifically derived from Freud’s theories regarding the human mind. Freud was a psychologist who introduced the concept of the oedipus complex, which presents humans as sexual creatures whose entire life revolves around sexual desires. Freud argued that people’s lives revolved around sex from the day they were born, which causes children to resent the parent of the same sex because they are jealous of their relationship with the opposite sex. This can be seen in Hamlet from Hamlet’s spite of Claudius and the desire to kill him even if he has no proof that Claudius killed his father. From a Freudian viewpoint, this anger and hate arises from the oedipus complex. Hamlet repeatedly
Hamlet’s attachment to his mother was quickly made evident within the first act of the famous tragedy. Hamlet, who sulks around wearing black clothing to mourn the death of his father, first speaks in the play to insult his stepfather. He voices his distaste at his new relationship with his uncle by criticizing that they are, “A little more than kin and less than kind” (I.ii.65). He believes that it is unnatural for his uncle to also be his father, and eagerly jumps at an opportunity to offend Claudius. However, Hamlet acts entirely different towards his mother, despite his poor attitude....
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’s anger and grief- primarily stemming from his mother’s marriage to Claudius- brings him to thoughts of suicide, which only subside as a result of it being a mortal and religious sin. The fact that he wants to take his own life demonstrates a weakness in his character; a sense of cowarness, his decision not to kill himself because of religious beliefs shows that this weakness is balanced with some sense of morality. Such an obvious paradox is only one example of the inner conflict and turmoil that will eventually lead to Hamlet’s downfall.
Oedipus Rex, an ancient Greek tragedy authored by the playwright Sophocles, includes many types of psychological phenomena. Most prominently, the myth is the source of the well-known term Oedipal complex, coined by psychologist Sigmund Freud in the late 1800s. In psychology, “complex” refers to a developmental stage. In this case the stage involves the desire of males, usually ages three to five, to sexually or romantically posses their mother, and the consequential resentment of their fathers. In the play, a prince named Oedipus tries to escape a prophecy that says he will kill his father and marry his mother, and coincidentally saves the Thebes from a monster known as the Sphinx. Having unknowingly killed his true father Laius during his escape, he marries the widowed queen of Thebes, his mother Jocasta. Many events in the story should lead to suspicion of their marriage, but out of pride and ignorance Oedipus stubbornly refuses to accept his fate. Together, these sins represent the highest taboos of Greek society, revealed by Socphocles’s depiction of the already pervasive story. Before the Thebian plays, the myth centered more around Oedipus’s journey of self-awareness; meanwhile, Sophocles shows Oedipus’s struggles with his inevitable desire toward his mother throughout these stages of psychological development.