A Textbook Case of Epic Fail

I think the rationale behind the naming of Freud’s Oedipus Complex has completely escaped the editors of my literary theory book. Observe (emphasis mine):

“As befitted his time, Freud was primarily concerned with the Oedipal trajectory of the male child (hence Oedipus rather than, say, Clytemnestra or Medea).”

(Literary Theory, Second Edition, edited by Julie Rivkin and Michael Ryan, Blackwell Publishing, Malden, MA, 2004.)

Did they just totally miss the point of naming a complex after Oedipus? I think it looks like they did. *headdesk*

A Textbook Case of Epic Fail

I think the rationale behind the naming of Freud’s Oedipus Complex has completely escaped the editors of my literary theory book. Observe (emphasis mine):

“As befitted his time, Freud was primarily concerned with the Oedipal trajectory of the male child (hence Oedipus rather than, say, Clytemnestra or Medea).”

(Literary Theory, Second Edition, edited by Julie Rivkin and Michael Ryan, Blackwell Publishing, Malden, MA, 2004.)

Did they just totally miss the point of naming a complex after Oedipus? I think it looks like they did. *headdesk*