Psychoanalysis
Psychoanalysis is a set of theories and techniques used to diagnose and treat psychological disorders. Based on the work of Sigmund Freud, psychoanalysis has been expanded, revised, and developed in various directions since--particularly by Freud's disciples. In literary theory, psychoanalysis is the lens that focuses on how unconscious desires affect people's actions without their knowledge. Freud himself employed his theory in this way when he analyzed the play Oedipus Rex, using Oedipus' unconscious desire for his mother Jocasta to illustrate his point. A son's unconscious desire for his mother is thus known as the Oedipus Complex.
Psychoanalysis is a set of theories and techniques used to diagnose and treat psychological disorders. Based on the work of Sigmund Freud, psychoanalysis has been expanded, revised, and developed in various directions since--particularly by Freud's disciples. In literary theory, psychoanalysis is the lens that focuses on how unconscious desires affect people's actions without their knowledge. Freud himself employed his theory in this way when he analyzed the play Oedipus Rex, using Oedipus' unconscious desire for his mother Jocasta to illustrate his point. A son's unconscious desire for his mother is thus known as the Oedipus Complex.