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KMID : 0385320070180020138
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Journal of Korean Psychoanalytic Society
2007 Volume.18 No. 2 p.138 ~ p.145
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Sphinx and Oedipus
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Lee Byung-Wook
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Abstract
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While Freud paid close attention to Oedipus, he paid little attention to the Sphinx because he believed that it was too charming to think that there could be libidinal triangular structures between the parents and their son. The reason why Freud did not thoroughly explore the importance of early mother-child relationships seemed to be his unconscious desire to escape from his own hidden conflicts that originated during the primitive stages of his development. He held fast to the Oedipus conflict as an explanation for what lies at the core of all neuroses, and he has received a lot of criticism for this. However, British object relations theorists have recently characterized the basic nature of early mother-child relationships and, in doing so, have paid very close attention to the pre-oedipal issues. Therefore, this paper describes the symbolic meaning of the Sphinx, which has been relatively ignored in the bulk of psychoanalytic literature, and dares to equate the symbolic nature of the Sphinx to primitive mother images as a type of split existence. In the Oedipus myth, the Sphinx has a very enigmatic existence and is depicted as being a half-serpent, half maiden. She posed a riddle to Oedipus, who was a lame person, and killed herself just after he answered the question. Just after her death, Oedipus went to Thebes and reunited with Jocasta. In terms of object relations, Oedipus has two kinds of mothers. Jocasta is the oedipal neurotic mother, and the Sphinx is the pre-oedipal primitive mother. Oedipus selected the tragic neurotic course as a lame person trapped in the oedipal triangle just after he was successfully separated from his dualistic primitive mother within the dyadic relationship. However, he was not free from the psychological effects of his betrayal and guilt towards his forgotten primitive mother. In my view, modern psychoanalysis is in a similar state as it faces the dilemma of having to make a choice between the two kinds of mothers, Jocasta and the Sphinx, because we have to march on with the oedipal and preoedipal issues at the same time.
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KEYWORD
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Sphinx, Oedipus, Jocasta
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