Oedipus complex

n. In psychoanalysis, the third phase of development, in which primary pleasure is derived from immature genital play. In little boys this typically leads to desire to have sex with the mother, feelings of rejection when she does not comply, and feelings of envy and hatred toward the father, who is seen as the a rival for the mother. The little boy wishes to kill and castrate his father and projects these desires onto his father, leading to fear of castration. Eventually this set of conflicts is repressed and the energy redirected into becoming what the culture defines a man to be so the little boy can grow up and marry a girl like the girl who married his father. Little girls typically fall in love with their mother and want to have sex with her and are frustrated by the mother's rejection of sexual advances and so they envy their father and particularly his possession of a penis, which seems to have the power to make the mother love him. The little girl then resents her mother as she believes her father has castrated her and the mother should have prevented this and has betrayed her for love of the father. This set of conflicts is repressed at the end of the period, and the energy goes into fulfilling what the culture defines as a woman's role, and the little girl grows up with the unconscious intention of marrying a man so as to gain possession of the power of his penis.