Belonging to entirely different cultures and addressing quite different social and psychological issues, “Oedipus, the King” and “Hamlet” might seem quite distant from each other. However, with the advent of psychoanalysis and the development of the psychoanalytical theory, parallels can be drawn between the emotions by which Hamlet and Oedipus were driven. Since both characters have highly complex relationships with their parents, primarily, their stepmother and mother respectively, the motivations of both Hamlet and Oedipus can be viewed from the Freudian perspective.
The presence of the elements of the Freudian insight into the Oedipus Complex become clearly visible when analyzing the complicated relationships between Hamlet and his stepmother. For instance, Hamlet’s connection to his uncle, who represents the father figure in the play, is driven by vengeance and suppressed anger: “With such dexterity to incestuous sheets! It is not, nor it cannot come to good” (Shakespeare). In turn, Oedipus’ emotional rapport with his parents is also highly convoluted, being colored by guilt extensively after the revelation of the prophecy (Rotstein 649; Bain 17). As the play states, “But now who is there whose story/is more terrible to hear? Whose life/ has been so changed by trouble,/by such ferocious agonies?” (Sophocles). The presence of the traces of the Oedipus Complex in the relationships between the lead characters and their parents has been explored and supported vastly. For example, Hossain confirms that the connection to the Oedipus Complex in Hamlet was deliberate and quite evident (Hossain 41). Likewise, Lombardi makes the same assumption, specifying that the relationships between hamlet and his parents clearly contained Oedipal characteristics (Lombardi 3).
Due to the complexity of the relationships with his parents and the conflicted emotions that he had toward them, Hamlet displayed the behaviors and attitudes similar to those of Oedipus toward the latter’s parents. The specified observation aligns with the main premises of Sigmund Freud’s theory and specifically with the concept of the Oedipus Complex. While the specified manner of looking at Hamlet’s relationships with his parents is not the only possible one, it adds a new layer of analysis and allows viewing his motivations from a very personal standpoint.
Works Cited
Bain, David Gordon. “Trauma Theory, Attachment-Detachment Theory, Defensive-Fantasy Theory, and How Freud Got the Oedipal Complex Partly Wrong.” Journal of Hospital & Medical Management, vol. 3, no. 2, 2017. pp. 17.
Hossain, Md Mahroof. “Psychoanalytic Theory used in English Literature: A Descriptive Study.” Global Journal of Human-Social Science Research, vol. 17, no. 1, 2017, pp. 40-46.
Hossain, Md Mahroof. “Psychoanalytic Theory used in English Literature: A Descriptive Study.” Global Journal of Human-Social Science Research, vol. 17, no. 1, 2017, pp. 40-46.
Rotstein, Sarah. “Hamlet and Psychiatry Intertwined.” Australasian Psychiatry, vol. 26, no. 6, 2018, pp. 648-650.
Sophocles. “Oedipux Rex.” SLPS.org, ca. 441 B. C.
Shakespeare, William. “The Tragedy of Hamlet, Prince of Denmark.” Shakespeare.MIT.edu, 1599. Web.