Johnston,A . "A triadic drama beyond the family: Freudian metapsychology in light of Lacan's object a." Journal for the psychoanalysis of culture & society [1088-0763] 4.2 (1999). 299-306. 

 

Discusses J. Lacan's interpretations of Freud's Oedipus complex. The majority of criticisms leveled against the Freudian Oedipus complex derive both their strength and their often high degree of moral indignation from this complex's apparent grounding in historically contingent, gender-determined, and biologically tinged factors. Lacan is widely recognized as reconciling many of the problematic nuances in Freud, particularly Freud's biologism and sometimes blatant sexism, using a form of structuralism. Lacan's registers of the real, the symbolic, and the imaginary form the structural groundwork within which the sociological particularities of the familial Oedipus complex take shape (that is, these registers are meant to provide something on the level of a priori principles for psychoanalytic theorization). 

Swan,J . "Mater and Nannie: Freud's two mothers and the discovery of the Oedipus complex." American imago [0065-860X] 31.1 (1974). 1-64. 

 

Discusses some personal, cultural, and historical factors contributing to Freud's discovery of the Oedipus complex. The contradictions of late 19th century European bourgeois society are reflected in Freud's theoretical concerns with unresolved conflicts over masculine and feminine identification. An analysis of dreams reported by Freud in correspondence with M. Fliess reveals his personal preoccupation with mother dependence, incestuous sexual wishes, and oral aggression. It is suggested that the discovery of the Oedipus complex grew from an attempt by Freud to solve his own neurosis, which resulted from the childrearing conditions in 19th century Vienna.