A collection of papers focusing on the Kleinian conception of the Oedipus complex, how this is now understood, and what effect it has had on clinical practice. The papers by the authors which form the greater part of The Oedipus Complex Today were originally given at the Melanie Klein Conference on the Oedipus Complex in September 1987 at University College, London. The conference, jointly organized by Professor J. Sandler of the Psychoanalysis Unit at University College and Mrs. Ruth Riesenberg-Malcolm on behalf of the Melanie Klein Trust, was considered such a successful statement of modern Kleinian views on the subject that the Trust has decided to present the papers in book form, together with an expanded version of the introduction by Dr Hanna Segal, and also a reprint of Melanie Klein's 1945 paper 'The Oedipus Complex in the Light of Early Anxieties'.The three papers, writes Dr Segal, 'are based on central concepts first put forward by Mrs Klein.

"A collection of papers focusing on the Kleinian conception of the Oedipus complex, how this is now understood, and what effect it has had on clinical practice.The papers by Ronald Britton, Michael Feldman and Edna O'Shaughnessy which form the greater part of The Oedipus Complex Today were originally given at the Melanie Klein Conference on the Oedipus Complex in September 1987 at University College, London. The conference, jointly organized by Professor J. Sandler of the Psychoanalysis Unit at University College and Mrs. Ruth Riesenberg-Malcolm on behalf of the Melanie Klein Trust, was considered such a successful statement of modern Kleinian views on the subject that the Trust has decided to present the papers in book form, together with an expanded version of the introduction by Dr Hanna Segal, and also a reprint of Melanie Klein's 1945 paper 'The Oedipus Complex in the Light of Early Anxieties'.The three papers, writes Dr Segal, 'are based on central concepts first put forward by Mrs Klein. They show, however a considerable development and elaboration of her basic ideas. For instance, though Mrs Klein established the existence of primitive and psychotic forms of the Oedipus Complex, the chapters presented show how much work has been done in studying those early phenomena clinically. They also show a considerable advance in understanding the effect of those early processes and phantasies on such mental functions as perception and thinking.'All the chapters are also concerned with technique, and it is in this area that developments since Mrs Klein are possibly most striking. They are concerned with the effect of primitive acting in the psychoanalytic session. They describe the constant pressure on the analyst to play a role in the primitive Oedipal drama and the potentially disruptive effects on the analyst's own thinking. In psychoanalysis, theory and technique are closely interrelated. It is the clinical and technical challenge that leads the psychoanalyst to modify and refine his theoretical framework, and this is the way psychoanalytic theory grows. I think the chapters presented here are evidence of the continuing vitality and development of Freud's and Klein's ideas.'"--Provided by publisher.

The story is famous; its interpretation unsettling and controversial. It has retained its power to shock and is today, albeit in an adapted form, a recurrent tool for therapy.

In contemporary psychoanalytic thought, Freud's concept of the Oedipus complex is inclined to overshadow the interpretation of the myths surrounding Oedipus. The authors counter this situation by reversing it, utilizing the Oedipus myths to interpret the Oedipus complex. In so doing they expose it as a sheer cover story. They unmask the Oedipus complex, revealing it to be a drama staged not by Oedipus but by Jocasta, the mother, and Laius, the father. For neither Sophocles' drama nor the Oedipus myths give any indication that Oedipus is enamoured of Jocasta and born with the intention of killing his father Laius. What the myths do mention are Jocaste's passion for Oedipus whom she loves more than his father and Laius' desire to eliminate Oedipus as his rival from birth. Freud neglected these aspects of the Oedipal myths. In uncovering them the authors come to the conclusion that Oedipus did not have an Oedipus complex.

This book focuses upon theories of the Oedipus complex beginning with the theory that Freud gradually developed, starting with his recognition that it is "an integral constituent of the neuroses". It explores the main theories of the Oedipus complex in accessible languages.

Murdered Father, Dead Father: Revisiting the Oedipus Complex examines the progressive construction of the notion of paternal function and its central relevance in psychoanalysis. The distinction between the murdered (narcissistic) father and the dead father is seen as providing a paradigm for the understanding of different types of psychopathologies, as well as works of literature, anthropology and historical events. New concepts are introduced, such as "a father is being beaten", and a distinction between the descriptive après coup and the dynamic après coup that provides a model for a psychoanalytic understanding of temporality. The book includes a reflection on how the concepts of the death instinct and the negative, in their connection with that which is at the limits of representability, are an aid to an understanding of Auschwitz, a moment of rupture in European culture that the author characterizes as " the murder of the dead father". Perelberg’s book is an important clinical and intellectual marker, and will be required reading for psychoanalysts, psychotherapists, anthropologists, and historians, as well as students in all these disciplines.

This small text is a study of the Oedipus Complex in the work of Sigmund Freud, creator of psychoanalysis. The Oedipus Complex is a theory about the mental life of the child. Briefly summarized, it postulates that in early childhood between the ages of two to six, the child develops two emotional ties with its parents, a tie that is purely affectionate with the parent of the opposite sex and a hostile tie to the parent of the same sex, who is perceived as a rival. At the end of his career, Freud made the dramatic statement: "if psychoanalysis could not claim any other achievement beside the discovery of the repressed Oedipus Complex, this alone would give it the right to a place among the new and precious conquests of humanity."