Abstract

Psychoanalysis evolved before its birth to touch and blend with literature in all its details. The story of the Oedipus complex was and remains the first spark for its declaration as an independent theory by Edmund Freud. Frank O’Connor’s story, “My Oedipus Complex,” once again recaptures the fragrance and depth of the theory. This article aims to shed light on the absence and presence of the father and its impact on the psychological state of the male child during the period of his father’s presence and absence, and how these two binary oppositions shape Larry’s personality, his view of his father, and his relationship with his mother. The article argues that the father’s presence and absence have a direct impact on the development of the equal, symmetrical, and competitive relationship between the male child and his father. The article arrives at the conclusion that the father’s absence gives the male child a sense of possession, control, and dominance over the mother’s space and the home. The father’s presence also disrupts the male child’s state of mind and makes him feel that he is a competitor to his mother and the home. This creates a tense psychological atmosphere that spawns domestic wars whose events take place within the framework of the male child’s psychological conflict during the story of the father-son relationship.