Sérgio Rodrigues de Souza
Post-Doctorate in Social Psychology. Psychoanalyst.
Scientific Consultant. Bachelor's Degree in Pedagogy. Email:
srgrodriguesdesouza@gmail.com.
Marli Rodrigues de Oliveira
Psychology student at Faculdade Doctum Serra - ES.
Email: marli.olv@hotmail.com.
ABSTRACT
This article addresses the theme 'The Phaedra Complex'. Its scientific
relevance lies in the fact that it contributes to the enrichment of scientific
annals about the phenomena that affect human beings in their bonds of affection
and development of psychosexuality, both in childhood and adulthood. Its social
relevance lies in the scope of clarifying to the lay public that the most
varied desires are part of human life and can manifest themselves in different
directions without there being a loss of the sense of character and virtue,
since many of these manifestations are outside the sphere of individual
conscious control. This is a bibliographical, descriptive and explanatory
research. The objective is to deepen studies on the subject and expand
knowledge about the functioning of the human psyche. The Phaedra complex is a
subject little studied by the psychoanalytic community, treated as a
manifestation of desire of a generally obsessive and neuropathic nature of the
stepmother for her stepson. Phaedra's passion for the young Hippolytus is
something that goes beyond the limits of erotic desire; it is a cathartic
expression of the ego dominated by the Oedipus Complex, in which the barrier of
phylogenetic prohibition imposed by incest does not exist, and the path is free
to advance on a terrain that proves to be fruitful, because between them a
relationship of affection and care precedes. This feeling is the product of the
latent mnemonic action that does the work of inverting the latent libidinal
desire in relation to the unattained object and when the lines cross at a
certain moment in time it erupts with enormous violence, not allowing a
conjunctural analysis of the facts, which ends in a neurotic manifestation on
the part of those involved, since public opinion and social sanctions will
weigh on their shoulders. It is observed that there was a phenomenal inversion
of values and expectations: Theseus saw in Phaedra the image of his
adolescent passion, Ariadne; but the young woman saw an old man, no longer the
young and charming warrior with whom she had fallen in love; However, when she
saw Hippolytus, she imagined she was seeing the Love of her memory.
Keywords: Phaedra complex. Theseus. Hippolytus. Obsessive-compulsive neurosis. Female sexuality.
Reviewed by Current Scientific Journal
on
fevereiro 13, 2026
Rating:
