Abstract
Richard von Krafft-Ebing, Jean-Martin Charot, and Havelock Ellis were a few antecedents to Sigmund Freud in identifying, defining, and theorizing the development of homosexuality. However, the majority subscribed to the thought that homosexuality was congenital, albeit unnatural. Havelock Ellis offered some psychological considerations to the condition of homosexuality and was said to have paved the way for more significant developmental explanations that began with Freud. According to Caprio (1954) the congenital theories prior to Freud became “obsolete” (p. 3). Because of the contributions of Freud, psychoanalysts that followed him such as Sandor Rado, Edmund Bergler, Irving Bieber, Lionel Ovesey, and Charles Socarides, to name a few, took on views that homosexuality was developmental in nature. During the phallic phase of development Freud made a pivotal discovery about the oedipal complex. This and other theories of psychosexual development are overviewed. It is important to get an understanding of the basic construct of theory given the rise of deconstruction and reconstruction undertakings.
Highlights
Oedipus Complex According to Freud, the oedipal triangle (child, mother, and father) is crucial to development (the phallic phase)
Oedipus Complex According to Freud, the oedipal triangle is crucial to development
Electra Complex/Penis Envy In terms of the girl, she too starts out life with her mother as the prime object of her interest and love
Summary
Oedipus Complex According to Freud, the oedipal triangle (child, mother, and father) is crucial to development (the phallic phase). In a normal course of development the boy repudiates his impulses towards the mother and identifies with the father (gives up the mother to the father and will have an ego strong enough to seek his own love object later in development) (Figure 1).
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