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Sigmund Freud: A Case Study Of Oedipus And Electra Complex

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I said at the beginning of this chapter that I was uneasy about talking about Freud and the above is one of the reasons. I do not understand the above theory, and probably this is why I do not agree with the idea of the Oedipus and Electra complex and consequently, I will not discuss the pro and against arguments here. However, those of you interested in this topic will find many websites addressing it. Let me now mention the Little Hans case study which is, again, is well described by Samuel McLeod (2008). Little Hans was a 5-year-old boy with a phobia of horses. Apparently, Freud’s therapeutic input in this case was minimal. His main aim was to explore what factors might have led to the phobia in the first place, and what factors led to …show more content…

Hans' father interpreted this as a reference to his moustache and spectacles. After many letters were exchanged, Freud concluded that the boy was afraid that his father would castrate him for desiring his mother, the horses in the phobia Freud saw as being symbolic of the father, and that Hans feared that the horse (father) would bite (castrate) him as punishment for the incestuous desires towards his mother. The end of Hans' phobia of horses was accompanied by two significant fantasies which he told to his father. In the first, Hans had several imaginary children. When asked who their mother was, Hans replied 'Why, mummy, and you're their Granddaddy'. In the second fantasy, which occurred the next day, Hans imagined that a plumber had come and first removed his bottom and widdler and then gave him another one of each, but larger. Freud interpreted Han’s phobia as an expression of the Oedipus complex. Horses, particularly horses with black harnesses, symbolized his father and they were particularly suitable father-symbols because of their large

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