dblhelix

For all I know, Freud's Oedipus complex is the fundamental theory that describes the incestual-like attraction of a boy to his mother, and the resulting rivalry between the boy and his father, based on Oedipus myth. Also, Freud considered since his early work on the concept that there is a feminine Oedipus complex, parallel to the masculine one. However, the definition of the feminine Oedipus complex later evolved, and lost symmetry with the masculine one due to the different reaction of boys and girls to the castration anxiety. Girls, realising they have no phallus to conquer the mother, blame the mother for this, then turn to the father in hope for his phallus and love, therefore start acting like the mother to take her place by the father's side. Boys simply love their mother and fear their father will punish them for this, by castrating them. Finally, the Oedipus complex's principle is the desire for the opposite gender parent in both boys and girls case, simply the feminine version is a bit more tricky. Moreover, Freud's Oedipus complex is nowadays often considered as the primordial theory that describes the incest taboo, involving both genders. As for Jung's Electra complex, it is initially a new terminology to designate Freud's feminine Oedipus complex, as the Electra myth is more suitable for the daughter-father situation. This terminology has been rejected by Freud who considered that it was too ambiguous, because it could imply that masculine and feminine Oedipus complex follow the exact same process, perfectly mirrored, with no supplementary twisted stages in the feminine development. Electra complex is however used in neo-freudian theory where it designates the whole daughter-loves-the-father-and-hates-the-mother thing. Alors, the neo-freudian theory diverge from the original freudian one concerning the feminine Oedipus/Electra complex process. So it is true that Electra complex is specific to this anecdote. Nevertheless, Oedipus complex is still correct as it refers to both feminine and masculine issues with the opposite gender parental figure in Freud's work. N.b., I am not a native speaker, so please forgive me for the possible mistakes.