MOURNING BECOMES ELECTRA

EUGENE O’NEIL

ELECTRA COMPLEX AS MANIFESTED IN

LAVINIA
(HOMECOMING)
Especially, in view of,
Lavinia, Adam Brant, Ezra and Christine
Mannon
 Threading through Freud’s lexicon of love and
sexuality

Glancing through a century’s worth of the

aftermath of Freudian influence

Dissecting the characters and tying together the

former revelations with them
 Threading through Freud’s lexicon of love and
sexuality
(Particularly in Context of the Characters in the
Present Circumstance)

• Female sexuality alongside the Oedipal Complex in Early

Childhood
• The Conscious, Unconscious and Dreams
• Repression and Repressed Thoughts
• Object-choice and its Manifestation
Female sexuality and the Oedipal Complex in Early
Childhood
Discovering, bridging and associating the agony of the
chronically melancholic people with the essence of
their memories, deeply embedded within a framework
of sexuality, Freud conceived his theories of childhood
sexual inclinations; the male and female Oedipal
Complexes.

Our main concern, in this instance, is the ‘Female Oedipal

Complex’.
Female sexuality and the Oedipal Complex in Early
Childhood
The “affectionate and sensual currents”, in Freud’s jargon of love and
sexuality correspond to a connectedness between the earliest
childhood experiences of affection and the later adult consciousness of
love and sensuality.
“The affectionate current is the older of the two. It springs
from the earliest years of childhood; it is formed on the basis
of the interests of the self-preservative instinct and is
directed to the members of the family and those who look
after the child. From the very beginning, it carries along with
it contributions from the sexual instincts – components of
erotic interests.”
Female sexuality and the Oedipal Complex in Early
Childhood
However, when the affectionate and sensual currents in individuals fail
to reconcile through transitioning into maturity, the conception of ‘love’
becomes flawed.
“The whole sphere of love in such people remains divided in
the two directions personified in art as sacred and profane
love. Where they love, they cannot desire and where they
desire, they cannot love. They seek objects which they do not
need to love, in order to keep their sensuality away from the
objects they love; and, in accordance…the return of the
repressed.”
Female sexuality and the Oedipal Complex in Early
Childhood
The relation between “passivity” and “activity” during early
childhood development, perhaps explains the flawed image of
love, especially in this particular instance. (Lavinia and
Christine)
“It can easily be observed that in every field of mental
experience, not merely that of sexuality, when a child receives
a passive impression, it has a tendency to produce an active
reaction. It tries to do to itself what has just been done to it.”
 The Conscious, Unconscious and Dreams

The enormity of human instinct, thought and

behavior exist within and navigate between the
conscious and unconscious mind. However, the
entirety of human experience may not find a
translation from the conscious to the
unconscious processes. The normal waking
consciousness is therefore only a fragment of
the realm of being and existence.
 The Conscious, Unconscious and Dreams
“At any given moment, consciousness includes only a
small content, so that the greater part of what we call
conscious knowledge must in any case be for very
considerable periods of time in a state of latency, that
is to say, of being psychically unconscious. When all our
latent memories are taken into consideration, it
becomes totally incomprehensible how the existence of
the unconscious can be denied.”
 The Conscious, Unconscious and Dreams
On dreams;

“One of the most common types of dream formation maybe

described as follows; a train of thoughts has been aroused by the
working of the mind in the daytime, and retained some of its
activity escaping from the general inhibition of interests which
introduces sleep and constitutes the psychical preparation for
sleeping. During the night, this train of thoughts succeeds in
finding connections with one of the unconscious tendencies
present ever since his childhood in the mind of the dreamer, but
ordinarily repressed and excluded from his conscious life. By the
borrowed force of this unconscious help, the thoughts, the
residue of the day’s work now become active again, and emerge
into consciousness in the shape of the dream.”
 Repression and Repressed Thoughts

Repression is a kind of veiled solace for the conscious mind; an

unpleasant memory, fear, regretful or shameful feeling towards an
object finds concealment within the unconscious deliberately. In this
manner, it does not appear on the forefront of conscious thought
process, saving human mind, the pain of remembrance.
“Repression is a preliminary stage of condemnation… Why
should an instinctual impulse undergo a vicissitude like this? A
necessary condition of its happening must clearly be that the
instinct’s attainment of its aim should produce displeasure
instead of pleasure.”
 Repression and Repressed Thoughts
And;
“The mobility of repression, incidentally, also finds
expression in the psychical characteristics of the state
of sleep, which alone renders possible the formation of
dreams. With a return to waking life, the repressive
cathexes which have been drawn in are once more sent
out.”
 Object-choice and its Manifestation

In commenting on the relationship dynamic of Brant and Christine;

“I will begin here with a description of one such type of object
choice-which occurs in men…It may be termed the precondition
that there should be an “injured third party”; it stipulates that the
person in question shall never choose as his love-object a woman
who is disengaged…but only one to whom another man can claim
right of possession as her husband… In some cases, this
precondition proves so cogent that a woman can be ignored, or
even rejected, so long as she does not belong to any man.”
 Object-choice and its Manifestation
And;

“The first precondition provides an opportunity

for gratifying impulses of rivalry and hostility
directed towards a man from whom the loved
woman is wrested.”
Glancing through a century’s worth of the
aftermath of Freudian influence
 Background history of
Electra complex and Electra at the
Oedipus complex Tomb
Both theories of of Agamemnon
psychoanalysis, Electra
complex and Oedipus complex
are based on ancient Greek
mythologies, on a piece of
literature.
 Oedipus complex
Oedipus was a mythical Greek king. A tragic hero in Greek
mythology who accidentally fulfilled a prophecy by killing his
father and marrying his mother unconsciously. According to
the belief of writer and people of that time, this incident was
because of fate. However, According to Sigmund Freud this
incident happened because of sexual complexity between
Oedipus and his mother. And on the basis of this story he
invented the concept of Oedipus complex.
 Electra Complex
Greek Mythology;
Is about a girl named Electra, whose father Agamemnon was
murdered by her mother and her mother’s lover Aegisthus.
Hating her mother, she decided to take revenge on them. In
the end, she together with her brother Orestes killed them.

A Term by CARL JUNG:

he proposed this theory as the counterpart to the Oedipus
complex but Freud rejected this term and called it negative
Oedipus complex.
 Electra by
Sophocles
A literature from
which the very
name of the theory
has emerged, A
Greek myth.
 Freud’s work effects on
modern era and
contemporary literature

There are many

modern writers who
are greatly influenced
by Freudian theories
and have been
promoting Freud's
notions through their
work.
 Examples
Electra complex in a poem “Daddy” by Sylvia Plath :
In this autobiographical poem poet expressed her emotions particularly
her anger about her fathers death.
“Here is a poem “Daddy” spoken by a girl with an Electra complex” _Sylvia
Plath.
The Poet herself, has said that the daddy of this poem is her own daddy
when she was eight years old her father died.
Her biographers says that her spouse was her substitute father.
In this poem she addresses him (the spouse) as the “vampire father”.
 “I was ten when they
buried you.

At twenty I tried to die

And get back, back, back

to you.

I thought even the bones

would do.”
But they pulled me out of the
sack,
Sigmund Freud explained this
And they stuck me together situation as that girls who don’t
with glue.
have much love from Dad in their
And then I knew what to do. childhood might fall in love with
men whose ages or personalities
I made a model of you,”
are similar to their father, and it
“If I’ve killed one man, I’ve is the one aspect of Electra
killed two—— complex which can be seen in this
The vampire who said he was poetry.
you ”
Sons and lovers by
D. H. Lawrence
The first psychoanalytical novel
in English language.
It expresses author’s personal
experience through the
protagonist, Paul Morel

Freud's Oedipus complex is the

central theme .
Paul Morel exemplifies the
Oedipus complex by being so
emotionally invested in his
mother that he is unable to
develop satisfactory
relationships with other women.
He also hates his father.
It follows this idea: a woman of character and refinement goes into the lower class,
and has no satisfaction in her own life. She has had a passion for her husband, so
her children are born of passion, and have heaps of vitality. But as her sons grow
up she selects them as lovers — first the eldest, then the second. These sons
are urged into life by their reciprocal love of their mother — urged on and on. But
when they come to manhood, they can't love, because their mother is the strongest
power in their lives, and holds them. It's rather like Goethe and his mother and Frau
von Stein and Christiana — As soon as the young men come into contact with
women, there's a split. William gives his sex to a friable, and his mother holds his
soul. But the split kills him, because he doesn't know where he is. The next son gets
a woman who fights for his soul – fights his mother. The son loves his mother – all
the sons hate and are jealous of the father. The battle goes on between the mother
and the girl, with the son as object. The mother gradually proves stronger, because
of the ties of blood. The son decides to leave his soul in his mother's hands, and,
like his elder brother go for passion. He gets passion. Then the split begins to tell
again. But, almost unconsciously, the mother realizes what is the matter, and
begins to die. The son casts off his mistress, attends to his mother dying. He is left
in the end naked of everything, with the drift towards death.
Dissecting the characters and tying together
the former revelations with them
SELECTED QUOTES FROM THE
TEXT

Lavinia: I don’t know anything about love! I don’t

want to know anything! I hate love!
(ACT 1)

Lavinia: I cant marry anyone, Peter. I’ve got to

stay home. Father needs me.
(ACT 1)
 Lavinia and Christine
Lavinia: I had gone to bed.
Christine: …………. I was sure you were
intentionally avoiding me. But Annie said you had a
headache.

Lavinia: No, I wanted to be alone –to think over

things
(ACT 1)
 Adam Brant and Lavinia
Brant: Yes, you must be very happy at the prospect of
seeing your father again. Your mother has told me how
close you’ve always been to him.
Lavinia: Did she? I love father better than anyone in the
world. There is nothing I wouldn’t do- to protect him
from hurt! (act 1)
Brant: You care more for him then for your mother?
Lavinia: Yes.
 Lavinia to brant

‘’ I’m not a bit like her! Everybody knows I

take after Father!’’
(act 2)
 Christine to Lavinia
Christine: You would understand if you were the wife of a man you
hated!.
Lavinia: Don’t! Don’t say that- before him! I won’t listen!
(act 2)
Christine: I’m talking to you as a woman now, not as mother to
daughter, that relation has no meaning between us. You’re called
me vile and shameless! I want you to know that’s what I felt about
myself for twenty years, giving my body to a man I —.’’
(act 2)
 Christine: But marriage soon turned his romance into –
disgust!.
Lavinia: So I was born of your disgust!.
(act 2).
Christine: I know Vinnie! I’ve watched you ever since you were
little, trying to do exactly what you’re doing now! You’ve tried
to become the wife of your father and the mother of Orin!
You’ve always schemed to steal my place!
(ACT 2)
Lavinia: No! it’s you who have stolen all love from me since
the time I was born!
 Lavinia: You ought to see it’s your duty to Father, not
my orders- if you had any honor or decency!. Brant is
waiting outside. You can tell him what you’ve got to do-
and tell him if he ever dares come here again!
Lavinia: oh, I’m so happy you’re here! Don’t let mother
make you believe I – you’re the only man I’ll ever love!
I’m going to stay with you.
(act 3)
Lavinia:……………. ‘’I’m not marrying anyone. I’ve got my
duty to Father. (act 3)
Christine: You think he might come tonight?
So he’s the beau you’re waiting for in the
spring moonlight! But the night train got in
long ago.
(act 3)
 EZRA MANNON

Mannon: ……… May be you didn’t love me. I call to

mind Mexican War. I could see you wanted me to
go. I had a feeling you’d grown to hate me. Did
you? That was why I went. I was hoping I might get
killed. May be you were hoping that too. Were you?
(act 4)
Afifa Abbasi
Bisma Ali
Humna Kazi