Oedipus Rex Complex

The Oedipus Complex, which, as defined by Freud, is the inner conflict of a boy’s conscious and unconscious sexual attraction towards his mother, and his jealousy towards his father. This Complex is, as Freud suggests, a phase that every boy passes through. The failure to do so will ultimately result in his eventual downfall. Such is the case with Paul, the protagonist of D.H. Lawrence’s short story “The Rocking Horse Winner”, who in an effort to appease his mother’s want for money, rocks himself to death on a rocking horse.
Though some may dispute Paul’s Oedipus Complex, it is confirmed by many a scholar, that he does indeed have one, and when critically reading “The Rocking Horse Winner”, it is easy to see why. Paul’s father is unable to satisfy his wife with his income as he can never satisfy her ever-growing thirst for money; as such, Paul feels the need to step in in order to gain money and satisfy her (Lawrence 236). As a key characteristic of the Oedipus Complex is to replace the father, the fact that Paul desires to satisfy his mother the way his father cannot supports this point all too well. Furthermore, Paul constantly seeks his mother’s approval and confirmation of his luck. He often tells her that he is “a lucky person”, however, his mother simply brushes it off, neither disagreeing nor agreeing with him, which deeply aggravates him (Lawrence 238). His need of confirmation is a result of making up for what his father lacks. Finally, in what is the most obvious confirmation of the Oedipus Complex is Paul’s action of riding his horse. “Scholars have noted that the descriptions of Paul riding his rocking-horse have an erotic quality” which is often construed as masturbation (quoty quteot equte). As he “rides the horse”, he is trying to please his mother by showing that he has what his father lacks: luck. This sexual reference only contributes to his unconscious sexual attraction towards his mother, reinforcing, once again, his Oedipus Complex.
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