The Oedipal Complex

The Oedipal Complex theory revolves around the idea that one has a subconscious feeling or idea of want for the parent of the opposite sex and to eliminate the parent of the same sex. This complex was founded by Sigmund Freud using the relationship based off of Oedipus’s marriage to his mother, Jacosta after killing his biological father, King Laius. 1
Although Oedipus is unaware of Jocasta being is mother at the beginning of the play, the truth is revealed quickly after learning clues about the murder of King Laius.   Now, to his dismay the prophecy he is destined for is completed by his marriage to Jocasta. Due to this new information, a deep guilt seems to linger in Oedipus.
The tension between Jocasta and Oedipus heightens when it occurs to Jocasta of the true identity of Oedipus. When Oedipus begins questioning Jocasta, she puts up a defense saying,  
“Why ask of whom he spoke? Do not regard it…Do not waste a thought on what he said…It is futile.” (pg. 138)2
Jocasta’s   sudden grasp of who Oedipus is causes her to avoid any questioning relate to the herdsman. The shame and humiliation from Jocasta marrying her own son is a heavy burden for not only her, but for Oedipus as well.
Dramatic Irony
How would you feel if you were Oedipus, finding out that you’ve married your mother, killed your father, and doomed to become blind after becoming king of your father’s kingdom? It would quite ironic, one might even say dramatic. As Oedipus, you would become known as one of the greatest tragedies ever told.
In the Greek tragedy, Oedipus the King, a great deal of irony is expressed through the story line, thus, making the play one of the model examples of tragedies and dramatic irony. As the play leads the reader from beginning to end, many clues and details are described to expose the irony hidden behind the words said by the main characters. And, as the story unfolds before our leading man, Oedipus must face the dramatic events that have built up to his status as... [continues]

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