Electra complex freud
Definition, Freud, Examples, Symptoms, and More
The Electra complex is a term used to describe the female version of the Oedipus complex.
It involves a girl, aged between 3 and 6, becoming subconsciously sexually attached to her father and increasingly hostile toward her mother. Carl Jung developed the theory in 1913.
Sigmund Freud, who developed the Oedipus complex theory, first developed the idea that a young girl child competes with her mother for the sexual attention of her father.
However, it was Carl Jung — Freud’s contemporary — who first called this situation the “Electra complex” in 1913.
Just as the Oedipus complex was named after a Greek myth, so is the Electra complex.
According to Greek mythology, Electra was the daughter of Agamemnon and Clytemnestra. When Clytemnestra and her lover, Aegisthus, killed Agamemnon, Electra persuaded her brother Orestes to help her kill both her mother and her mother’s lover.
According to Freud, all people go through numerous stages of psychosexual development as children. The most important stage is the “phallic stage” between the ages of 3 and 6.
According to Freud, this is when both boys and girls become fixated on the penis. Freud argued that girls fixate on their lack of a penis and, in its absence, their clitoris.
In a girl’s psychosexual development, Freud proposed, she’s first attached to her mother until she realizes she doesn’t have a penis. This causes her to resent her mother for “castrating” her — a situation Freud referred to as “penis envy.” Because of this, she develops an attachment to her father.
Later, the girl identifies more strongly with her mother and emulates her behavior out of fear of losing her mother’s love. Freud called this a “feminine Oedipus attitude.”
Freud believed this was a crucial stage in a young girl’s development, as it leads her to accept gender roles and understand her own sexuality.
Freud proposed that the feminine Oedipus attitude was more emotionally intense than the Oedipus complex, so it was repressed more harshly by the young girl.
This, he believed, led to women being less self-confident and more subservient.
Carl Jung expanded on this theory by labeling it the “Electra complex.” However, this label was rejected by Freud, who said it was an attempt to analogize the Oedipus complex between the sexes.
Since Freud believed there were crucial differences between the Oedipus complex and the feminine Oedipus attitude, he didn’t believe they should be conflated.
Initially, the girl is attached to her mother.
Then, she realizes she doesn’t have a penis. She experiences “penis envy” and blames her mother for her “castration.”
Because she wants to sexually possess a parent and she can’t possess her mother without a penis, she tries to possess her father instead. At this stage, she develops subconscious sexual feelings toward her father.
She becomes hostile toward her mother and fixated on her father. She might push her mother away or focus all her attention on her father.
Eventually, she realizes she doesn’t want to lose her mother’s love, so she becomes attached to her mother again, emulating her mother’s actions.
By emulating her mother, she learns to follow traditional gender roles.
In puberty, she’ll then start becoming attracted to men who aren’t related to her, according to Freud.
Some adults, Jung noted, could regress to the phallic stage or never grow out of the phallic stage, leaving them sexually attached to their parent.
The Electra complex isn’t widely accepted in psychology nowadays. As with many of Freud’s theories, the feminine Oedipus attitude complex and the notion of “penis envy” is also widely criticized.
Very little data actually supports the idea that the Electra complex is real. It’s not an official diagnosis in the the new edition of the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM-5).
As a 2015 paper points out, Freud’s ideas about psychosexual development have been criticized as outdated because they rely on century-old gender roles.
The concept of “penis envy” has, in particular, been criticized as sexist. The Oedipus and Electra complexes also imply that a child needs two parents — a mother and a father — to develop properly, which has been criticized as heteronormative.
That said, it’s possible for young girls to experience sexual attraction toward their fathers. It’s just not as universal as Freud and Jung believed it to be, according to many in the field.
The Electra complex is no longer a widely accepted theory. Most psychologists don’t believe it’s real. It’s more a theory that’s become the subject of jokes.
If you’re concerned about your child’s mental or sexual development, reach out to a healthcare professional, such as a doctor or child psychologist. They can help guide you in a way that may settle your concerns.
Definition, Freud, Examples, Symptoms, and More
The Electra complex is a term used to describe the female version of the Oedipus complex.
It involves a girl, aged between 3 and 6, becoming subconsciously sexually attached to her father and increasingly hostile toward her mother. Carl Jung developed the theory in 1913.
Sigmund Freud, who developed the Oedipus complex theory, first developed the idea that a young girl child competes with her mother for the sexual attention of her father.
However, it was Carl Jung — Freud’s contemporary — who first called this situation the “Electra complex” in 1913.
Just as the Oedipus complex was named after a Greek myth, so is the Electra complex.
According to Greek mythology, Electra was the daughter of Agamemnon and Clytemnestra. When Clytemnestra and her lover, Aegisthus, killed Agamemnon, Electra persuaded her brother Orestes to help her kill both her mother and her mother’s lover.
According to Freud, all people go through numerous stages of psychosexual development as children. The most important stage is the “phallic stage” between the ages of 3 and 6.
According to Freud, this is when both boys and girls become fixated on the penis. Freud argued that girls fixate on their lack of a penis and, in its absence, their clitoris.
In a girl’s psychosexual development, Freud proposed, she’s first attached to her mother until she realizes she doesn’t have a penis. This causes her to resent her mother for “castrating” her — a situation Freud referred to as “penis envy.
” Because of this, she develops an attachment to her father.
Later, the girl identifies more strongly with her mother and emulates her behavior out of fear of losing her mother’s love. Freud called this a “feminine Oedipus attitude.”
Freud believed this was a crucial stage in a young girl’s development, as it leads her to accept gender roles and understand her own sexuality.
Freud proposed that the feminine Oedipus attitude was more emotionally intense than the Oedipus complex, so it was repressed more harshly by the young girl. This, he believed, led to women being less self-confident and more subservient.
Carl Jung expanded on this theory by labeling it the “Electra complex.” However, this label was rejected by Freud, who said it was an attempt to analogize the Oedipus complex between the sexes.
Since Freud believed there were crucial differences between the Oedipus complex and the feminine Oedipus attitude, he didn’t believe they should be conflated.
Initially, the girl is attached to her mother.
Then, she realizes she doesn’t have a penis. She experiences “penis envy” and blames her mother for her “castration.”
Because she wants to sexually possess a parent and she can’t possess her mother without a penis, she tries to possess her father instead. At this stage, she develops subconscious sexual feelings toward her father.
She becomes hostile toward her mother and fixated on her father. She might push her mother away or focus all her attention on her father.
Eventually, she realizes she doesn’t want to lose her mother’s love, so she becomes attached to her mother again, emulating her mother’s actions. By emulating her mother, she learns to follow traditional gender roles.
In puberty, she’ll then start becoming attracted to men who aren’t related to her, according to Freud.
Some adults, Jung noted, could regress to the phallic stage or never grow out of the phallic stage, leaving them sexually attached to their parent.
The Electra complex isn’t widely accepted in psychology nowadays.
As with many of Freud’s theories, the feminine Oedipus attitude complex and the notion of “penis envy” is also widely criticized.
Very little data actually supports the idea that the Electra complex is real. It’s not an official diagnosis in the the new edition of the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM-5).
As a 2015 paper points out, Freud’s ideas about psychosexual development have been criticized as outdated because they rely on century-old gender roles.
The concept of “penis envy” has, in particular, been criticized as sexist. The Oedipus and Electra complexes also imply that a child needs two parents — a mother and a father — to develop properly, which has been criticized as heteronormative.
That said, it’s possible for young girls to experience sexual attraction toward their fathers. It’s just not as universal as Freud and Jung believed it to be, according to many in the field.
The Electra complex is no longer a widely accepted theory.
Most psychologists don’t believe it’s real. It’s more a theory that’s become the subject of jokes.
If you’re concerned about your child’s mental or sexual development, reach out to a healthcare professional, such as a doctor or child psychologist. They can help guide you in a way that may settle your concerns.
Elektra Complex: Abandoned Girl Syndrome?
163,769
A girl who lost her father at an early age and unwittingly idealizes him for many years. A daughter who continues to rebel against her mother even after adolescence is over. A teenage girl who is more attracted to dreams of boys than real relationships. A woman who cannot realize herself in any way in the profession ...
Many of those girls and women who are close to such styles of behavior live the myth of Elektra in their lives - says Jungian psychologist Nancy Kater, author of the book "The Elektra Complex in the Psychology of Women." nine0003
What archetypal situations recognizable in modern families does this myth describe?
Psychological incest with father
The legends about Electra have different interpretations - first of all, the tragedies of Aeschylus, Euripides and Seneca.
The essence of the conflict can be represented as follows: first, Clytemnestra, the mother of Electra and Orestes, in alliance with her lover Aegisthus, kills Agamemnon, her husband.
Years pass, Orestes and Electra grow up and decide to avenge their father: Orestes, led by his sister, kills his mother and Aegisthus. nine0003
Looking more closely at this story, let's pay attention to the story of a girl who is acutely experiencing the loss of her beloved father.
Until about the age of six, Elektra lived as a princess in a palace at Mycenae with her father, Agamemnon, a powerful king. She grew up "daddy's daughter", a favorite. It can be assumed that little Elektra already idolized her father.
Later, during the ten-year absence of her father, who went to the Trojan War, her desire for idealization intensifies. nine0003
And the death of Agamemnon at the hands of Clytemnestra makes Elektra forever fix the ideal image of a courageous, loving, protective father - an image that can no longer be corrected in reality.
“If at first a positive fantasy about a father helps a woman by giving her a sense of hope,” explains Nancy Cater, “then over time it becomes destructive, because it does not allow her to continue to live her life.
A woman lives only in her imagination, without real relationships. She has no energy left to follow her own destiny.” nine0003
The disturbed image of the mother
The “Electra complex” is precisely a complex of feelings, internal conflicts and experiences that cannot be reduced only to the idealization of the father.
Another facet of it is a disturbed relationship with one's body and one's own sexuality, the reason for which is Elektra's difficult relationship with her domineering mother, Clytemnestra. The mother does not share the grief of her daughter who lost her father, moreover, she devalues her loss in every way.
“Clytemnestra embodies the negative aspects of Elektra's maternal archetype,” says Nancy Cater. The absorbing mother does not allow her daughter to grow, develop personally or experience joy, creativity, freedom.
nine0003
More generally, she denies the uniqueness and individuality of her daughter.” It is especially important that the negative maternal image breaks the connection of Electra with her female "I", with her sexuality.
Electra complex
The term "Electra complex" was coined by Carl Gustav Jung. In The Theory of Psychoanalysis, he suggested using it to describe the oedipal stage of development in girls, the stage in which a 3-6 year old daughter "develops a special affection for her father with a corresponding zeal for her mother." nine0003
Portrait of a modern Elektra
Portrait of Elektra from Nancy Kater's point of view is as follows. This woman is psychologically stuck in adolescence because of her unresolved relationship with her father. She continues to mourn for him many years later and cannot find her place in the outside world.
She identifies with the role of the victim, blaming her mother for all her problems. She projects her power onto men (primarily her father and brother, Orestes) and is unable to act: she simply waits for her brother to come and save her.
At the same time, she unconsciously has an inflated opinion of herself as a princess. nine0003
The myth of Electra is lived today by many women and girls. The loss of a father is not only about death, but about the departure of a father, divorce, is a common occurrence in our world. It becomes a trauma - for both the mother and the daughter.
A mother who cannot cope with the loss (becomes angry at her ex-husband, blames him, or represses love for him) will find it difficult to bear the behavior of her daughter, who continues to demonstrate her love for her father.
As a result, the mother becomes closed to her feelings. Their mutual misunderstanding strengthens the mother's new marriage, which the daughter may perceive as a betrayal of her father and her. nine0003
In the future, such a psychologically incestuous relationship with an ideal father can complicate her sexual relations with men.
Feeling isolated, the girl can go into a fantasy world populated by heroic male figures.
She will dream that one day one of these father-like heroes will come and save her from life with her mother.
In the future, such a psychologically incestuous relationship with an ideal father can complicate her sexual relations with men. nine0003
Having matured, the modern Elektra may also experience difficulties in finding her own professional path. And not only because of depression and unwillingness to act. If her domineering mother is successful in her career, the daughter may refuse to realize herself in the profession in order to avoid comparison with her mother.
Find your way out
The young women who recognize themselves in this story should not be trapped in the myth, insists Nancy Cater. It formulates tasks, the solution of which will help to go beyond the myth and become freer. Here are some of them:
1. Say goodbye to your father. In order to complete the grieving process, the modern Elektra must come into contact with her anger at her father for leaving her.
Anger plays an important role in the process of mourning, and the refusal to acknowledge it only prolongs this process. Once she can openly express the feelings of anger and abandonment that are repressed by her idealized father image, she will be able to accept her loss and move on.
2. Separate the real father from the ideal image. nine0068 Elektra may learn about her father's shadowy, negative traits after he leaves relatives, family friends or other people.
However, there is a possibility that she will still be attached to the idealized image of her father. Therefore, the modern Elektra can work out this issue indirectly through her subsequent relationships with men.
Modern Elektra will have to reconsider her relationship with her mother, admit that she and she are in many ways similar to each other
3. Reconnect with your animus. Electra women project their animus (the male part of the female psyche) onto men.
It is important to determine what these traits are - for example, the ability to set goals, make decisions, take actions - and develop them in yourself.
As soon as these projections are returned, the psychic energy will be released, and the woman will be able to become stronger, more responsible, ready to find her own way in life.
4. Discover your femininity. nine0068 The modern Elektra will have to reconsider her relationship with her mother, recognize that she and she are alike in many ways, try to see positive traits in her and reconnect.
What to do if the relationship is destroyed irretrievably? Fortunately, the positive mother archetype exists within our psyches. The Elektra woman can reconnect with him in a variety of ways.
Positive mother figures may appear in her dreams, she may also interact with him through her relationships with other female teachers and friends. nine0003
Nancy Kater is convinced that recognizing a myth allows us not only to understand our own experiences more deeply, but also to take the first steps towards liberation from its unconscious power.
Text: Alla Anufrieva Photo Source: Getty Images
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Electra Complex - Psychologos
October 01, 2022, 9:34 PM
The Electra complex is a psychological phenomenon similar in essence to the Oedipus complex, which manifests itself in girls at the phallic stage of development. It consists in the unconscious attraction of girls to their own father and rivalry with their mother for his attention.
The name of this complex is based on the Greek myth about Electra, who wanted to avenge the death of her father Agamemnon and incited her brother Orestes to kill her own mother Clytemnestra and her lover.
Carl Jung proposed the name "Electra complex" for Sigmund Freud's theory of the "female Oedipus complex". According to Freud, initially the girl is attached to her father and mother equally, but later, when she discovers that she does not have a penis, she develops a sexual attraction to her father, as well as a desire to become pregnant from him. At the same time, she becomes more hostile towards her mother, blaming her for her "inferiority". Such conclusions are based on the theory of "penis envy", according to which the girl is jealous of her father, who has a penis, and desires to master it so much that she even thinks about the birth of a child. She believes that pregnancy compensates for the absence of a penis and will allow her to gain equal status with her father. nine0003
A well-known term that is practically not used in psychoanalysis itself.
- Psychoanalysis
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