Psychoanalysis Of Hamlet And Oedipus - Essay Example

Psychoanalysis of Hamlet and Oedipus Psychoanalysis of Hamlet and Oedipus Introduction Sigmund Freud developed the concept of analyzing literature psychologically after he undertook psychoanalysis of the play Oedipus in his text “Interpretation of Dreams”. He identified Oedipus complex, which he described in depth as an attraction exhibited by sons to their mothers. After Sigmund Freud published his text, many literary critics emerged and went further to analyze other texts. The play Hamlet was also analyzed psychologically and a similar trend of the Oedipus complex described. In the play Hamlet, the main character Hamlet seeks to avenge his father’s death after his brother Claudius murdered him. However, Hamlet’s rage is not only because Claudius murdered his father, but because he also married his mother. He seems to be jealous of Claudius marriage to his mother. On the other hand, in the play Oedipus, Oedipus is condemned by fate to kill his father and marry his mother. This paper will compare the play Oedipus and Hamlet and describe how the Oedipus complex depicted itself in the relationship between the main characters and their mothers. According to Freud, the Oedipus complex occurs between sons and their mothers and is defined by boys having a fantasy of sexual relations with their mothers. Notably, boys in their young age associate closely with their mothers. Freud highlights that this happens because of the repressed sexual attraction between boys and mothers. Since societies consider incest as a taboo, the conscious minds of people lead them on the right track, explaining why they find romance in other people, and not parents of the opposite sex (Robson, 2009). However, being morally upright and seeking romance in other people only serves to repress the sexual attraction to the parents of the opposite sex in the subconscious mind. It happens that at times, this attraction may cause a form of tension when it becomes too strong to be ignored. This is what happens between some characters in the plays Hamlet and Oedipus. According to Freud, sometimes the attraction reveals itself without the intention of the boys. Just like a neural disorder, the repressed attraction may develop into a strong obsession (Olry & Haines, 2007). From the plot of the Oedipus play, a son ended up marrying a mother without their knowledge. Sigmund Freud considered this a manifestation of the Oedipus complex. Evidently, there was a sexual attachment between Oedipus and his mother. In his book entitled, Interpretation of Dreams, Freud highlights those events in the Oedipus play happened in the exact way that they would in dreams. He had a conviction that the mystery surrounding the Hamlet story by Shakespeare was brought about by the Oedipus complex (Zachrisson, 2013). Although Oedipus struggled his entire life to escape the fate that awaited him, his efforts had no positive outcomes. The initial attempt by his parents to sacrifice him failed. Moreover, he ran away from Corinth fearing to kill his adopted parents, whom he thought were real parents. When the soothsayer mentioned that a terrible fate awaited him, Oedipus was bothered. However, as the play illustrates, he faced the fate and ended up with his mother for a wife. According to the description of Freud, the repressed sexual attraction to mothers may often present itself as an abnormal occurrence. In the case of Oedipus, the literary work defines it as a fate from the oracles (Bernstein, 2001). Without doubt, the Oedipus complex has strong effects on characters in literary works. Oedipus was determined to escape the reality of his fate. Throughout his entire life, the fate determined by the oracles was his greatest fear (Levy, 2011). However, this fear materializes in his life without his knowledge. This reflects a battle between the unconscious mind and the conscious mind. The conscious mind of Oedipus was well aware that he had to avoid the fate (Sophocles, 1970). Unfortunately, a sexual attraction harbored and repressed in the unconscious mind seems to outdo his conscious mind. Subsequent events eventually lead to the reality of the fate predicted, marking Oedipus worst dream, and fear (Bergmann, 2010). On the other hand, Hamlet faced a personal conflict regarding the mission to avenge his father’s death. Although he had many opportunities to do it, it proved impossible to kill his uncle. Freud highlighted that Hamlet was a victim of the Oedipus complex. Since his attraction towards his mother had been growing stronger over time, he was jealous of Laius because he had married his mother. His anger and desire to revenge were barred by the guilt he felt because of his attraction to his mother. In different instances, he demonstrated that he was jealous of the fact that his mother had agreed to marry the king (Yan & Chencheng, 2011). Without doubt, there is something that holds back Hamlet from avenging his father’s death. This can be nothing else apart from an existing unconscious repulsion. This means that Hamlet cannot carry out the conscious consideration of revenge because of a reason hidden deep within him. The Oedipus complex is a perfect explanation for Hamlets situation. In one clear instance, Hamlet confronted his mother Gertrude and condemned her for having married his uncle. From his anger and the fact that he spoke plainly, while addressing his mother reveals that there was an evident sexual fantasy, which had become his obsession. Evidently, Hamlet would later become insane and leave his girlfriend Ophelia. Hamlet’s insanity was a clear depiction of a deep mental conflict. Many psychoanalysts have linked intents mental conflicts with sexual problems. In the case of Hamlet, the Oedipus complex fits perfectly as an explanation for his sexual problem, which caused his insanity. Hamlet faces a compelling situation whereby his sexual desires towards his mother need to be expressed consciously. However, Hamlet must use his mental energy to ensure that they remain repressed. His internal conflict is reflected in the resulting mental state. Such behaviors depicted by Hamlet convince Freud that the Oedipus complex had affected him (Sophocles, 1970). In addition, Hamlet’s insanity is a clear indication that something peculiar had taken over his sanity. In his soliloquies, he highlighted that the marriage of his mother to Claudius was the most depressing aspect of the entire tragedy. He failed to understand why his mother has rushed to marrying his uncle. Without doubt, he was disappointed in her to the point that the happening took away his sanity. The queen realized that Hamlet had become insane because she had married Claudius. This is the case because she mentioned that she was certain that Hamlet was unhappy because of her hasty marriage. A closer analysis of these two scenarios reveals the effects of the Oedipus complex (Jarazo & Domínguez, 2011). Sigmund Freud mentions that the repressed attraction may cause a form of psychodrama. Evidently, this psychodrama has affected Hamlet to the point of losing his senses. Moreover, Hamlet had lost interest in his girlfriend Ophelia indicating that his sexual attraction had shifted to his mother. Notably, Sigmund Freud highlighted that sons attracted to their mothers do not seek for love from other members of the society. They have a conviction that their mother is the best. However, this does not happen consciously (Shakespeare, 2011). The unconscious mind, which bears these thoughts, exerts influence on the conscious mind. Hamlet’s obsession with the issues surrounding his mother’s remarriage compelled him to leave Ophelia completely prompting her to commit suicide. The fact that Hamlet exhibited extreme anger towards his mother who had married Claudius, instead of focusing on the revenge mission, prompted Freud to see the effects of the Oedipus complex. Conclusion Evidently, Sigmund Freud received criticism for his theory of the Oedipus complex. Many scholars focused on conducting psychoanalysis of the play after Freud associated what had happened to Oedipus with the mysteries surrounding the play Hamlet. The Oedipus complex is a repressed attraction in the unconscious mind. However, there are instances when it gets too strong and reveals itself. Boys are likely to be jealous of their fathers because of the repressed attraction. As highlighted above, both Hamlet and Oedipus depicted behaviors that served to ascertain that they were victims of the Oedipus complex. References Bergmann, M. S. (2010). The Oedipus Complex and Psychoanalytic Technique. Psychoanalytic Inquiry, 30(6), 535-540. doi:10.1080/07351690.2010.518538 Bernstein, A. (2001). Freud and Oedipus: A New Look at the Oedipus Complex in the light of Freuds life. Modern Psychoanalysis, 26(2), 269. Jarazo, R. R., & Domínguez, E. E. 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Journal of Language Teaching & Research, 2(6), 1420-1424. doi:10.4304/jltr.2.6.1420-1424. Zachrisson, A. (2013). Oedipus the King: quest for self-knowledge--denial of reality. Sophocles vision of man and psychoanalytic concept formation. The International Journal of Psycho-Analysis, 94(2), 313-331. doi:10.1111/j.1745-8315.2012.00655.x. Read More