Oedipus Complex in Hamlet

Psychoanalytic criticism is a form of literary criticism which uses some of the techniques of psychoanalysis in the interpretation of literature.

Psychoanalysis is a form of therapy which aims to cure mental disorders “by investing the interaction of conscious and unconscious elements in the mind.” (Oxford Dictionary)

For psychoanalytic critics, works of literature are simply another manifestation of the mind’s unconscious desires and processes. Much like in dreams, repressed messages are hidden beneath the surface of these texts. By examining a work’s symbolism and the words that the author uses, psychoanalytic critic delves into the mind of an author or a fictional character.

There are several prominent points of psychoanalytic criticism such as Unconscious, Oedipus complex, dilemma, dream, symbolism and state of mind.

Sigmund Freud was the first psychoanalyst and the pioneer in the recognition of the importance of Unconscious mental activity. His theories on the inner workings of the human mind which seemed so revolutionary at the turn of the century are now widely accepted by most schools of psychological thought. French psychoanalyst Jacque Lacan contributes to the later development of psychoanalytic criticism bringing a brand of non- traditional psychoanalytic theory.

Now, in the light of these concepts of psychoanalytic criticism we are going to analyze the text of Shakespeare’s Hamlet.

Unconscious Dominant over the Conscious

An important aspect of psychoanalysis is the fragmentation of human mind between Conscious and Unconscious. All of Freud’s work depends upon the notion of the Unconscious, which is the part of the mind beyond consciousness. Most of the duration of our life is Unconscious which has a strong influence upon our action. In his Iceberg Theory Freud compares human psyche with an iceberg. According to him human mind is like a floating iceberg, its major part that 11/12 remains under the water and only a small portion that is 1/12 can be visible. So, the invisible part which remains under the water is like the Unconscious of psyche. Naturally our life is subjected to domination by it. Freud’s formulation again that psychologically we are “not master in our own house”.

Unconscious is the reservoir of primitive desires and instincts; store house of hateful, shameful, and sorrowful experiences. The components of the Unconscious are so unsocial, sinful, hateful, and painful that even the person feels ashamed while thinking about them. Again human mind is also divided into three parts: Id, Ego, and Super-Ego. Id is actually guided by the pleasure instincts; it is completely irrational and not ideal. It resides completely in Unconscious and is biased by animalistic instincts. Ego is a part of Id being reformed by the touch of reality, mainly resides in the Conscious and guided by reality principle. It is rational and real. Finally, Super-Ego is the part of Ego constructed by social rules and morality, guided by morality principle. It is partly conscious and partly unconscious. It is extremely ideal. These are different state of fragmented mind. Therefore, we can say that from psychoanalytical point of view Hamlet’s mental state is also fragmented. We are willing to peep into the psyche of Hamlet to clarify the domination of Unconscious upon him.

Apparently it is seen that Hamlet is well aware about his action. He is a responsible character and reflective about past and future. But as we are to evaluate his psyche we have to go beyond the reality and to sort out what happening in his Unconscious mind. Hamlet has Unconsciousness about the external world and his ego is hindering him to create any chaos. So when he is informed by the Ghost that his uncle Claudius is his father’s murderer consciously he does not take any attempt to kill him. It can be because of his responsibility as a prince, as a well educated fellow and a responsible son. Again we can say that another idealistic part of mind is Super-Ego. Hamlet is also influenced by the ideal state of mind because he does not kill Claudius at prayer. It is because of his perception of religion which influences him for not taking any step. Now it is seen that the sides of Ego and Super-Ego of Hamlet are driven by reality principle and he feels the necessity of being Conscious before taking any step.

Sometimes it is argued that Hamlet is Conscious enough as he makes the script of the play “The Murder of Gonzago” and stages it. Obviously he is Conscious about his decision what he should take in which moment. Psychoanalytical criticism does not deny his Consciousness about reality. But it wants to say that Hamlet is mostly driven by his Unconscious desires. It is his Unconscious desire to save his mother. Though he becomes able to identify his father’s murderer ultimately he fails to kill him. He delays this incident in different excuse and it is only because of his Unconscious mind which is in favor of his mother.

Now, the desire of his Unconscious mind or the libidinal Id is presented by the Freudian idea of Oedipus complex as a form of mother fixation.

Oedipus Complex

The idea Oedipus Complex comes from Sophocles’ Oedipus Tyrranius. Oedipus Complex is described as a state of psychosexual development and awareness of the male child. In this process, the male child feels attraction for its mother and repulsion for the father. When a male child becomes fixated on its mother he will fail to establish a successful relationship with other woman in a natural way .If the male child can not develop his childhood smoothly he will suffer different kinds of psychical problems.

 In Hamlet’s character, the problem of Oedipus Complex was first sketched out by famous psychiatrist Sigmund Freud in his book The Interpretation of Dreams. Hamlet’s father is murdered by his uncle, Hamlets uncle who then marries Hamlet’s mother. The ghost of Hamlet’s father appears to Hamlet and tells him to avenge the murder by killing his uncle. But Hamlet spends most of the play delaying and making excuses, though he gathers some concrete evidences after playing The Murder of Gonzago. It proves that Hamlet has an Oedipus Complex, a repressed sexual desire for his mother. Thus, the uncle has done what Hamlet himself wished to do. So it is the difficulty for him of being avenger. In the bedroom scene, Hamlet shows the awareness of his mother’s sexuality. Most of the time we see Hamlet is very much jealous about his mother’s hasty marriage with his uncle than his father’s death. Hamlet’s scold and jealousy make him crazy. And he speaks with his mother like a failure beloved not like a son. Out of his jealousy he tells his mother directly that –“go not to my uncle’s bed” (Act -III). It is evident that Hamlet is obsessed with his mother’s sexuality.  Hamlet cannot tolerate that his loving mother is captured by another man. Again another explanation we can set that hamlet’s delay is caused by his own-self. Taking revenge on Claudius is considered revenge on Hamlet’s own psyche. Unconsciously he wants not to take revenge .Though he takes revenge for conscious ego , it is the tragedy of Hamlet who fixated towards his mother.

Hamlets deep Oedipus feelings make him fixated towards his mother. As a result, he fails to establish a good relationship with Ophelia. His fixated motherly image is reflected in Ophelia. As a result Hamlet judges Ophelia through the hateful act of his mother and behaves cruelly. Actually Hamlet has no direct attraction or stable feeling for Ophelia. His actual attachment is with his mother who hurts him through the hasty marriage with his uncle. From the psychoanalytical view we can say that Hamlet’s treatment of Ophelia shows an unconscious desire to play with her off against his mother. For instances, in the play scene he replies to his mother’s request sit by Ophelia with the words: “No good mother, here’s mental more attractive”. [Act –III, scene –ii] Before Hamlet died he says good bye to the “wretched queen” which suggests that Hamlet never resolves his father issues and maternal fixation. Oedipus complex results in various mental predicaments in Hamlet.