Freud’s Oedipus Complex in the #MeToo Era: A Discussion of the Validity of Psychoanalysis in Light of Contemporary Research

Abstract

The Oedipus complex is a child development construct developed by Sigmond Freud that asserts that all children experience sexual desire towards their opposite sex parent, and failure to accept this “truth” can lead to mental health issues. Freud also asserted that children are not harmed by acts of sexual violence. In contrast, the #MeToo movement is a global incentive aimed at creating an awareness of the harm that sexual violence can cause. In many regards, #MeToo is a reaction against a systemic failure to prevent sexual violence from occurring in the first place. By contrasting Freudian ideas with #MeToo, I argue that the enduring popularity of Freud and his psychoanalytic ideas is a negative influence on culture. In the light of contemporary research from cognitive psychology, psychosocial considerations, child development, and trauma-informed practices, Freudian ideas can be proven to be fallible. Moreover, dispelling misleading assumptions about sexual desires is a beneficial endeavour towards reducing the likelihood of future sexual violence. Additionally, I explore Freudian interpretations of mythology and propose that he misappropriated ancient belief systems.

Oedipus Complex Reflected through Edmund Pevensie’s Characters in C.S. Lewis’s The Lion, The Witch, and The Wardrobe

“…Edmund felt the loss and developed the need for a mother figure's love. Edmund's cruel intention to Peter could be explained psychoanalytically as the effect of rivalry feeling arousing from his unresolved Oedipus Complex [12]. As a child denied the attention as the extension of her mother's penis envy, Edmund projected the loss onto Peter as his rival who robbed him of the opportunity to be the first-born.…”

“…In this case, psychoanalysis can help understand why Edmund developed negative traits and why he chose to betray his siblings. In Freud's psychoanalysis, the understanding of human character is based on understanding children's sexual development from birth until they turn five [12]. According to Hossain, the oral, anal, and phallic stages determine the children's personalities, depending on how the children's needs for pleasure [11].…”

“…During the phallic stage, a child's pleasure moves from their mouth and their bowel in the previous stages to their genitals. At this stage, a child is considered to recognize the difference between male and female genitalia and starts to identify the parent of the opposite sex as their object of love [12]- [14]. For a boy like Edmund Pevensie in Lewis's Narnia, he would identify that he had a penis, started to identify similarities with his father, and like his father, established his mother as his object of love.…”