Synopses & Reviews
Whether or not the 'Oedipus complex' is universal has been the subject of controversy ever since Freud made it the centrepiece of psychoanalytic theory. Though the strict version of the Freudian oedipal story is not very common in world folk literature, a looser version is: the struggle between an older, father-like man and a younger man who stands in a son-like relationship to him, and an inappropriate closeness, often erotic, between the younger man and a motherly woman. Along with father-daughter and brother-sister incest tales, it is one of several varieties that the authors of this study call 'family complex folktales.' The authors re-examine the debate over the universality of the Oedipus complex through an analysis of the widespread occurrence of family complex folktales. In addition they provide a unique collection of 139 such stories taken from every world culture area and every level of social complexity.
Synopsis
A Stanford University Press classic.
Synopsis
Is the "Oedipus complex" universal? This book examines the controversial question in light of its collection of 139 family complex folktales from every world cultural area and every level of social complexity, the largest such collection ever made.
Synopsis
“This work is one of two books that won the 1997 Boyer Prize in psychoanalytic anthropology. The award is well deserved . . . this book makes major contributions to psychological and symbolic anthropology, folklore, evolutionary psychology, and psychonaysis.”—Dan W. Forsyth, University of Southern Colorado
Synopsis
Using evidence gathered form every world culture, the authors re-examine the debate over the universality of the Oedipus complex.
Synopsis
Providing a unique index of 139 folktales from every world culture and level of society, the authors re-examine the debate over the universality of the Oedipus complex.
Description
Includes bibliographical references (p. 321-332) and index.
Table of Contents
Part I. Analysis: 1. Introduction; 2. A brief history of research on family-complex tales; 3. The evidence from world folk literature; 4. The theory of the family complex in folk literature; 5. Conclusion; Part II. The Folktales: 1. Europe and Euro-America; 2. Middle East and Africa; 3. South and East Asia; 4. Oceania; 5. Native North America; 6. Native South America.