Electra complex

Electra complex is a term coined by Carl Jung to describe a girl's psychosexual competition with her mother for possession of her father. It is a counterpart to Sigmund Freud's concept of the Oedipus complex. In the course of her psychosexual development, the complex is the girl's phallic stage; a time when she has a sexual desire for her father.

Origin of the term[edit | edit source]

The term was named after the Greek mythological figure Electra, who plotted matricidal revenge with Orestes, her brother, against Clytemnestra, their mother, and Aegisthus, their stepfather, for their murder of Agamemnon, their father (Clytemnestra's husband), and who was later said to have suffered from melancholia (the mental illness which includes severe depression, extreme guilt, and suicide) as a result.

Freud's view[edit | edit source]

Sigmund Freud instead proposed that girls and boys resolved their complexes differently—she via penis envy, he via castration anxiety; and that unsuccessful resolutions might lead to neurosis. Hence, women and men who are fixated in the Electra and Oedipal stages of their psychosexual development might be considered "father-fixated" and "mother-fixated".

Jung's view[edit | edit source]

Carl Jung proposed that both males and females could have both an Oedipus complex and an Electra complex, and that such complexes might be either positive or negative.

Criticism[edit | edit source]

The Electra complex concept is criticized for assuming that girls’ psychosexual development must be defined in relation to boys’ psychology.

See also[edit | edit source]

Electra complex Resources
Need Help Finding a Doctor? Need help finding a doctor or specialist anywhere in the world? Explore our world directory. WikiMD's DocFinder can assist you in locating millions of physicians.	Medical Knowledge Access the latest research - Most recent articles Ongoing trials.