In Greek mythology, Electra, the daughter of the king of Mycenae, outlines a precise plan, along with her brother Orestes, to avenge the death of her father by killing her own mother and lover. one of the best-known theories about girls’ psychosexual development: the Electra complex.
It is curious to know first and foremosm the etymological meaning of the word Electra: does that mean?Amber? And
- “The balance of the mind alternates between meaning and insignificance.
- Not between good and evil.
- “Carl Gustav Jung.
Carl Gustav Jung was the first to use this mythological figure, which he used in 1912 to define the early fixation of girls by his parents, was the counterpart of the Oedipus Complex, developed by Sigmund Freud at the time and extracted from the myth of Oedipus of Sophocles, belonging to classical Greek mythology. For this complex, the famous father of psychoanalysis kept the idea that each child was going through a stage of desire for his mother, sensing his father as a rival.
This type of emotional attraction (rare to all of us) is part of the psychoanalysis of normal psychological development that each child would spend between the age of 3 and 6. After this age, this fixation or preference dissolves naturally. Let’s take a closer look at this article.
To understand the Electra complex and its formulation, we must put ourselves in the right context, we are at the center of psychoanalysis, and one aspect to which Sigmund Freud dedicated much of his work was psychosexual development and the way this sexuality is handled during the first stage of our lives. This was one of the great revolutions of Freudian thought, since until then psychology had not considered that children could have sexuality.
“To be a father you have to stop being a son” – Carl Gustav Jung-
The way we handle these sexual impulses in early childhood will undoubtedly determine a more complete maturity and a more comprehensive, balanced and healthy psychoafective development, however, in the case of the maintenance of certain bindings, mental disorders and certain neurosis or problems that Sigmund Freud himself did not hesitate to call “aberrations” can occur.
Carl Gustav Jung, for his part, has always kept some differences about it. What he realized, first of all, was that Freud’s theory had a serious “theoretical vacuum. “The Oedipus complex focused solely on men and the physical and the physical. emotional bond between children and their mothers during the first 6 years of life, he did not hesitate to develop his electra complex theory in 1912 to fill that void, offer this perspective to the field of women’s development and not leave it in the shadows.
Here are the main features
Carl Gustav Jung was sure that the emotional bond between his daughter and his mother was much more intense than that of a child with his mother during the first three years of his life Will this first attachment later?The return? And the daughter’s need to identify with her mother to incorporate some of the maternal characteristics into her personality and even internalize her morality in the “superme”.
At 3 or 4 years old, the girl no longer has this predilection so her mother begins to show a certain behavior of fixation or passion for her father.
The Electra complex has its supposed starting point when girls discover that they do not have a penis and, in turn, feel the desire to achieve what this sexual organ symbolizes. Psychoanalysts also affirm that this closeness to the father figure generates a certain rivalry and distance from the mother.
They can develop jealousy and show behaviors ranging from possessive affection for the father to some hostility if at some point the girl does not get what she wants from the maternal figure.
At 6 or 7, the girl again felt the need for closeness and identification with her mother, that is where they begin to show imitation behaviors and curiosity about the female world, where the girl installs her gender role.
Jung emphasized with his theory that this entire phase is part of the normal development of the girl, in which the first building blocks of her emotional, social and psychological behavior are placed, which will continue to mature in later years. It is necessary that all frictions dissolve and that girls no longer see their mothers as enemies, as rivals, thus avoiding possible dynamics that can later create walls within the family.
There are many girls who have a preference for their father at some point in life, that is true, however, it should be mentioned here that modern psychology sees these edenic and electronic theories as very outdated approaches, as well as the classical stages of psychosex marked. for an oral and factual phase; in fact, there are several renowned psychoanalysts who do not share this view and this theory, such as Germany’s Karen Horney, who said that claiming that girls go through a stage where envying their parents’ penises was a crime for women.
However, if at some point a girl shows common behaviors such as seeking the affection of the father before that of the mother, choosing to spend most of her time with him or saying aloud that she “wants to marry Dad”, it must be understood that there is nothing wrong or pathological about it. In the end, the father is his closest male figure and his reference in many ways. This type of fantasy, play and behavior will naturally disappear as socialization with peers becomes more important.
In conclusion, even psychologist Carl Jung did not give this a completely biological or universal value. This is just behavior that can occur in some girls and usually resolves in a short period of time.