Bruno Bettelheim Oedipal Conflict Summary

Bruno Bettelheim dives deeply into the culture of oedipal conflicts, and the differences between a young girl and boys oedipal conflict. Bettelheim presents different scenarios that help the reader understand his concept. Throughout the reading it is apparent that Bettelheim’s opinion is that children have an inner conflict with their love for their parents that adapts as they grow older and mature. Bettelheim first presents a little boys oedipal conflict in the first paragraph. His oedipal conflict is about his relationship with his mother and the father. The child wants his mother's undivided attention, and his father is getting in the way. “The boy wants Mother to admire him as the greatest hero of all; that means he must get the Father out of the way.” (Bettelheim, Uses of Enchantment, 111) This creates conflict with his relationship with Father. A father protects, and …show more content…
The daughter separates these two into completely different people. One who cares for her, and loves her and one who is evil and prevents her from becoming close to her father. When talking with my friend, she said, “My sister once told me that when she thought of getting married someday, she thought of their father would be the man she married.” It’s interesting because both my friend and myself have never felt this way. I have noticed that the guys I am attracted to, have personalities that are like my dads. Both in the girl and the boy can experience the best of both worlds but only through fairy tales. “They can fully enjoy oedipal satisfactions in fantasy and keep good relations to both parents in reality.” (Bettelheim, Uses of Enchantment, 114) If the mom disappoints the boy, he always as the princess, for the girl if the father doesn’t pay enough attention to her she can always wait for her prince. In this section, it describes the maturing of the daughter and the