Ahmed, Sofe (2012). Sigmund Freud’s psychoanalytic theory Oedipus complex: A critical study with reference to D. H. Lawrence’s “Sons and Lovers”, Internal journal of English and literature Vol. 3(3), pp. 60-70.
Summary Annotation
One of the most often argued critical and debatable questions of modern psychology and literature is definitely Sigmund Freud and his Oedipus complex. Introducing his theory in the field of modern psychology and literature trend, Freud initiated the confrontation of opinions. However, there exist a lot of other valuators, according to which, Freud’s concept of Oedipus complex should be treated with great respect. Outstanding English novelist, D.H. Lawrence, is one of modern writers who tended to be the most influenced by Freudian theories and who attempted to advocate Freud’s notions in his literary works, especially in his contentious novel Sons and Lovers. The first and foremost purpose of the chosen journal article was to censoriously analyze the facts concerning the hallucination of Oedipus complex, taking into consideration its presentation in Sons and Lovers. Drawing a parallel between the central characters of Lawrence’s Sons and Lovers and Sophocles’ King Oedipus, a research study managed to provide a liberal and quite objective evaluation. In addition, this journal article could also be seen as a successful judgment of the all-purposeness of Freud’s claim, in particular his sexual theory through the use of modern biological experiments, as well as the findings of appropriate laboratory tests, conducted by distinguished psychologists and psychiatrists (Ahmed, 2012).
The objectives of the research study described in the article are really significant and relevant for psychology. The thorough analysis of Lawrence’s Sons and Lovers demonstrated that the omnitude of Freudian concept and the universal connection between modern and ancient world the writer wanted to prove, had to be cast doubts on along with the eternal popularity and originality of Oedipus complex. The protagonist of the mentioned novel, Paul Morel, is a good example of the most serious Oedipus complex. Though the boy showed quite unusual romantic feelings to her mother, their relation should be perceived as a result of a lot of usual and abnormal reasons that in most cases tend to be exceptional and individual but never universal ones (Ahmed, 2012). The research study described in the article thus, paid attention to the loss of appeal and acceptance of Freudian sex theories and particularly to his Oedipus complex which had always shaken thoughts and beliefs of the majority of readers by its immense controversy.
Critique: Methods
In order to give readers better understanding of the described topic, the article under consideration put great emphasis on the base of Freudian psychology or psycho analysis. Freud’s sex theories originated from the neurologist’s treatment of hysteria which was his presupposition about psychological diseases. Freud was considered to be a strong adherent of the idea of conscious versus unconscious mind (Ahmed, 2012). Different memories, fantasies, perceptions and feelings which people used to possess at a particulate moment, Freud attributed to the conscious mind. To the unconscious mind accordingly, could be ascribed all the memories that were not consciously present but could easily be transformed into conscious ones. According to Freud, that unconscious level of mind served to be the main source of person’s motivations, including desires for sex and food (Ahmed, 2012).
Speaking about the term of Oedipus complex, it was introduced by Sigmund Freud to show a desire for sexual involvement, especially of young boys, with the parent of the opposite sex (Ahmed, 2012). The neurologist was sure that such feeling would implicitly give rise to competition with the parent of the same sex and would change the normal developmental process. The concept of Oedipus complex was designed by Freud after Oedipus, Greek mythical figure who about the age of three to five used to have special sexual complexity with his mother. In Freud’s view, the behavior of all human beings is motivated by sex or by the instincts which should be seen as the neurological representations of physical needs (Ahmed, 2012).
The experimental methods of the described research study similarly to other modern biological experiments and tests, aimed to illustrate that man was not born with such feelings and sentiments as sexual desire and propensity. On the contrary, there existed a suggestion that every sentiment emerged from separate nerve and that sex producer nerve proved incapable of producing other feelings, the way other nerves did not take part in producing sex (Ahmed, 2012). As a result, at the moment of birth sex producer nerves were completely immature and could produce sexual feelings at a particular stage of age, not earlier than before blooming youth. The experimental design and methods in such manner proved absolutely appropriate for the research question.
As for the target sample population chosen for that study, it was properly selected as well. In order to check out Freud’s view of child sexuality, the participants of the observation were exceptionally children aged up to six. The experiment acknowledged the fallibility of Freud’s claim, regarding the imbalance attraction neither between daughter and father nor between son and mother (Ahmed, 2012). Through there might be some oscillation of attraction or affection of children towards their parents, neither male nor female children feel any avangeful longing towards their parent opposite of sex. The sample of this study could definitely allow for generalizability of outcomes.
Such methods as objective tests were utilized during the experiment with the purpose of assessing personality. To our mind, obtained measurements proved to be quite valid and reliable. In order to investigate some inner aspects of an individual’s personality, we recommend utilizing various projective measures. In general, the overall procedure of the experiment seems to be very clear, appropriate and relevant. The structure of the mentioned journal article is organized in such a way that readers do not have to think about each small detail but could only concentrate on the key elements of the question. The first part of the article thus, is dedicated to the personality of Sigmund Freud and the basis of his theory of psychoanalysis. The author mentioned some facts of Freud’s life, so that the readers understood his role in the world of the psychology. They were not only introduced to Freud’s imaginative division of brain and the story of the emergence of the notion of Oedipus complex, but had an opportunity to learn some ideas of supporters and censurers of the neurologist. This part of the article is rich on details as it provides thorough evaluation of Freud’s working path in the field of psychoanalysis along with the description of several experiments conducted with the purpose of disproving his widely popular theory.
Speaking about the second part of the article, it dealt with the concept of Oedipus complex, the way it was presented in D. H. Lawrence’s masterpiece Sons and Lovers. Here we do not have any experiments conducted or special statistical methods introduced. The author simply demonstrated the interpretation of Freud’s Oedipus complex written in a popular novel of modern literature. The article focused attention on the concept of Oedipus complex as the dominant theme of Lawrence’s writing and presented some interesting ideas of other scientists, concerning this topic.
Hu Junjie, for example, suggested that Freud theory failed to be a universal one in Sons and Lovers due to the fact that Lawrence himself depicted Mrs. Morel’s attitude towards her son as a result of some unusual causes. The most common among different existed factors is definitely Mrs. Morel’s shifting of attraction and affection from her husband to son. The discrepancy between that woman and her husband, concerning family status, education, intellect and character proved to be the main reason of the appearance of the notion of Oedipus complex (Ahmed, 2012). This part of the article though not appropriately provided with details presented a comparison of different characters of the story with its analysis and aimed at disproving the universal phenomenon of Paul’s Oedipus complex.
Critique: Results & Conclusions
The statistical methods of the experiment proved very significant for the data and research design. They showed that Freudian sex theories were gradually losing their appeal and acceptance and that Freud’s Oedipus complex was more often referred to as an ambiguous and inadequate concept. The findings, regarding the observation of the attraction of children to the parent of opposite sex at different stages of age may be slightly generalized but it was necessary to illustrate the fallibility of Freud’s theory. Great attention had to be paid to more detailed explanation of the root or origin of Freud’s Oedipus complex, as well as its individual rather than universal character in the novel Sons and Lovers, particularly in Paul’ relation with his mother. Conclusions clearly illustrated the principal findings of the conducted experiment.
Conclusion: Overall Value
The key strength of this study is its properly organized structure and relevant evidences used to support the question under consideration. The insufficient use of experimental methods is probably main weakness of the research. The described investigation showed that each personality was a unique one and deserved to be treated in an individual way. The general impression of the written journal article is satisfactory. The research study deserved to be highly valued, as it attempted to find out a veridical solution for the controversies, caused by Oedipus complex, with the aid of logic, fact and scientific researches.
References
Ahmed, Sofe (2012). Sigmund Freud’s psychoanalytic theory Oedipus complex: A critical study with reference to D. H. Lawrence’s “Sons and Lovers”, Internal journal of English and literature Vol. 3(3), pp. 60-70.
