adjective
- of, relating to, or resembling the situation or complex described in the Oedipus myth, especially involving unconscious desire for a parent or unresolved childhood conflicts
Usage: often capitalized; psychology and literature; derived from Greek mythology
Examples
- The therapist explored oedipean themes in the patient's relationship with authority figures.
- Literary critics identified oedipean undertones in the protagonist's conflict with his father.
- Freud's theory of oedipean development remains influential in psychoanalysis.
- The novel contains oedipean elements that drive the central narrative tension.
- Some scholars debate whether oedipean interpretations apply universally across cultures.