BethanyHutira

Bethany Hutira
Literary Criticism
Dr. Michael Arnzen
Independent Project
May 11, 2005

Oedipus File: An Annotated Bibliography

Badcock, C.R. The Psychoanalysis of Culture. Oxford: Basil Blackwell, 1980.

Balmary, Marie. Psychoanalyzing Psychoanalysis: Freud and the Hidden Fault of the Father. Baltimore: The John Hopkins University Press, 1979.

Marie Balmary’s work reviews Freud’s psychoanalytic theories and exposes it’s faults as evidence from excessive sexuality, historical and biological concepts, and language found within the Oedipus complex. Through her various questions and reevaluations regarding the myth and theory, Balmary dismisses Freud’s castration theories by respectively calling attention to Oedipus Rex’s origins, symbolic and symptomatic names, and parallels between the male characters while incorporating Lacan theory into the legend. The introduction and first chapter successfully challenge the reader to re-examine the questions stirred from Oedipus and present newly expanded theories found underneath the myth’s surface.

Buchanan, Brad. “Oedipus in Dystopia: Freud and Lawrence in Aldous Huxley’s Brave New World”. Journal of Modern Literature. 25.3/4 (2002): 15+. MLA International Bibliography. EBSCOhost. Reeves Lib., Greensburg, PA. April 13, 2005 .

Within Buchanan’s article, the writer presents a “casebook” on Aldous Huxley’s Brave New World and the Oedipus complex. As Freud’s theory discusses the incestuous and seemingly dangerous relationships that occur between child/parent, Buchanan reviews Huxley’s need to suppress or exert these desires created by the Oedipus complex in order to maintain social stability. Incestuous love, as the writer notes, is the "only love" found in Brave New World’s futuristic world—John Savage represents that Oedipal figure whose obsession regarding his mother drives this conflicting relationship. The article benefits the reader seeking critical reviews which apply Freud’s Oedipal terms.

Freud, Sigmund. The Sexual Enlightenment of Children. New York: Collier Books, 1963.

Freud’s first chapter of The Sexual Enlightenment of Children begins by introducing the child’s “sexual journey” from the infancy stage then immediately to the pre-puberty stage. As in most psychology courses, the chapter reviews and examines the sexual sensations (oral, anal, and genital) that occur amongst infants and adolescents throughout life’s beginning stages. Yet, the most interesting aspect of the piece reveals the advanced mental capabilities children possess when defining sexual terms and organs. Although child may not have physically reached their sexual peak, Freud states that they mentally understand sexual characteristics as evident through frequent need to ask questions and seek answers.

Fromm, Erich. Introduction. Oedipus Myth and Complex: A Review of Psychoanalytic Theory. By Patrick Mullahy. New York: Hermitage Press, Inc., 1948.

Erich Fromm presents a clear, understandable summary to Mullahy’s discussion and study of Freud’s psychoanalytic terms. The introduction refreshes the reader’s memory regarding the Oedipus myth and complex while diving into intricate historical attributes of science and man. The writer notes that despite the changes that may have occurred throughout the generations, we are all interconnected. All concepts and symbols have and will manifest themselves into the theories and practices of today and tomorrow. Fromm alludes that psychoanalysis and the Oedipus complex will continue on into the future and possible that past theories aren’t as foreign as they may seem.

Harrington, Thea. “The Speaking Abject in Kristeva’s Powers of Horror”. Hypatia. 13.1 (1998): 20+. MLA International Bibliography. EBSCOhost. Reeves Lib., Greensburg, PA. April 13, 2005 .

Primarily her own critical analysis, Thea Harrington analyzes various aspects found within Julia Kristeva's Powers of Horror and compare Kristeva’s work to several other books the author produced. The essay presents the reader with a “taste” of the “abject theory” (an analysis of the horror found within the female- which Oedipus myth frequently portrayed as the Sphinx) and tempts its audience to learn more about Kristeva’s practices and works. Most notable about this review or critic lies within Kristeva’s constant re-examination of Freud’s theories and her inclusion of a feminist overview of a “male-dominated” theory.

Moore, Kathleen. “Jason Compson and the Mother Complex”. Mississippi Quarterly. 53.4 (2000): 18+. MLA International Bibliography. EBSCOhost. Reeves Lib., Greensburg, PA. April 13, 2005 .

Acknowledging the vast audience of William Faulkner’s The Sound and the Fury, Moore presents an excellent analysis on the relationship between Jason Compson and his mother. Deemed the “mother-fixation complex” by the writer, Jason Compson plays the role of the Oedipal figure unable to escape his child fantasies and connection to his mother. While exploring Jason’s other relations with the novel’s female characters, Moore provides the reader with a second strong example of literary criticism and her application of Freudian and Oedipal theory onto classical literature.

Morgenstern, Naomi. “The Oedipus Complex Made Simple.” University of Toronto Quarterly: A Canadian Journal of the Humanities. 72.4 (2003): 12+. MLA International Bibliography. EBSCOhost. Reeves Lib., Greensburg, PA. March 13, 2005 .

Morgenstern’s essay performs the task of explaining the Oedipus theory exactly as her title suggests—Freud’s theory is “made simple.” However, the writer not only focuses on the theory its self; she also discusses the changes that occurred within Freud's Oedipus complex and concepts as psychoanalysis developed throughout the remaining 20th century. Included within the piece are early references or evidence of Oedipus complex while focusing its attention towards Oedipus’s importance to psychoanalysis. Morgenstern essay capably clarifies some of the feminist theories encountered later within this Oedipus file and defines connections and relationships feminist critics have formed with the Oedipus complex.

Mullahy, Patrick. Oedipus Myth and Complex: A Review of Psychoanalytic Theory. New York: Hermitage Press, Inc., 1948.

Within his text, Patrick Mullahy provides the audience with direct psychoanalytic definitions from Freud and Jung. These “crash course” chapters and sections leave the reader with a concrete understanding of the issues and information they’ll encounter while plummeting in psychoanalysis, particularly the Oedipus complex. Although several other articles may appear confusing, Mullahy’s Oedipus Myth and Complex: A Review of Psychoanalytic Theory offers students and theories a solid start to their further inquiries on Freudian and Jungian theory.

Rieff, Philip. Introduction. The Sexual Enlightenment of Children. By Sigmund Freud. New York: Collier Books, 1963.

While introducing Freud’s The Sexual Enlightenment of Children, Philip Rieff
discusses the “Little Hans” case that Freud occasionally resorts to throughout the duration
of his work. Using Rieff’s account of the case, the reader can undoubtedly apply their
knowledge regarding various Oedipal terms and practices. The introduction acts as an
excellent critical exercise for the reader to investigate the desires and complexities which
occur in the parent/child relationship.

Searle, Leroy F. “The Conscience of the King: Oedipus, Hamlet, and the Problem of Reading”. Comparative Literature. 49.4 (1997): 25+. MLA International Bibliography. EBSCOhost. Reeves Lib., Greensburg, PA. April 13, 2005 .

Searle’s piece acts as an advisory piece by presenting the numerous dilemmas a reader can encounter while critical reading. Held within the piece, the writer dives into the “common reading mistakes,” “the quality of those reading mistakes,” and provides various definitions regarding literary meanings.” Aside from discussing Sophocles' Oedipus Rex, the essay overview other classical works from Dickens and Shakespeare; thus, possibly to correct the traps readers face while setting up carefully analyzed plot events as exemplified examples to follow.

Smith, J.C., and Carla Ferstman. The Castration of Oedipus: Feminism, Psychoanalysis, and the Will to Power. New York: New York University Press, 1996.

Stephens, William N. The Oedipus Complex: Cross-Cultural Evidence. New York: The Free Press of Glencoe, 1962.