The invisible Oedipus complex

Abstract

The article provides O’Shaughnessy’s paper presented at the conference dedicated to Melanie Klein and the problem of the Oedipus complex (London, 1987). As a representative of a group of post-Kleinian analysts the author pays great attention to the study of unconscious fantasies, which in her opinion are the basis of all psychic processes. The author makes her mission to give a very clear interpretation of the unconscious fantasies that arise in the process of transference and countertransference.

Developing the ideas of Freud and Klein, the author shows that going through the oedipal period can be so threatening to a young child that he will try to avoid it. This might be caused, for example, by depression in early childhood. Even as an adult such patient seeks to protect himself and keep the Oedipus complex invisible, which significantly complicates the work of the analyst. The author emphasizes that this does not mean that the complex is absent, it is still present in the form of a threat against which the defense is made. The effect of the invisible Oedipus complex in clinical practice can be seen in two stories described in the article.