OBJECTIVES: Freud said that the Oedipus complex is universal. Some psychiatrists in Korea have tried to discover the presence of an Oedipus complex in their traditional society. They have identified evidence of sons' wish to kill the Oedipal Father and their desire for incest with mother. Therefore, the author not only puts forth a variety of evidence for the Oedipus complex, but also lays an emphasis on other aspects of the principle(Oedipal theme, preoedipal theme, etc.) by investigating new information in Korean society. METHODS: The authors looked into myths, shaman's folksongs, legends, butcher's folktales, folk drama, filial piety, and traditional family structures. The authors reestimated them from a calssical psychoanalytic point of view. RESULTS: The authors found castration anxiety, the desire for incest, identification with parents, and the dissolution of the Oedipus complex as the Oedipal theme. And the authors discovered dyadic realtionship, 'anal phallus', negative Oedipus complex, and the desire of being in fusion with primary object as the preoedipal theme. CONCLUSIONS: The authors found many themes and factors connected to Oedipus complex influencing our culture and life. Therefore, the authors believe that there is an Oedipus complex in traditional Korean society.
Anxiety, Castration ; Drama ; Fathers ; Humans ; Incest ; Korea ; Mothers ; Oedipus Complex* ; Parents ; Psychiatry

Erich Fromm said, "A man is fundamentally a lonely being, and he needs love to overcome the loneliness and the sense of emptiness." Marriage offers a resting place for the lonely man or woman, and satisfies a variety of their needs. Marriage is an arrangement where two sexually mature human beings live together because they love each other. It is a loving relationship which is established between the mature man and woman, who have formed their own identities and could understand each other. Infidelity is a mental disorder, which destroys the marital relationship, as well as one's mental health. This paper investigates the causes of infidelity from the evolutionary and psychoanalytic perspectives. Evolutionary psychology explains infidelity as a natural phenominon. A man commits infidelity according to his instinct for spreading his genes as much as possible, while a woman behaves according to her gene's design to receive a more superior gene, in order to produce a more superior offspring. The psychoanalytic approach explains infidelity as a phenomenon which occurs when one's identity lacks an ability to sublimate libido:an unresolved Oedipus complex could also be the cause. The Maria-Prostitute complex and the Don Juan character are presented as examples to illustrate these theories. As for the sex addicts who often weren't loved in their infantile life, they commit infidelity compulsively by confusing the sexual act with mother-like caring. The psychology of a person who tries to enact the primal scene by engaging a sexual act with a prostitute is presented. Someone who is often affected by depression and helplessness due to harsh superego tries to heal themselves by sexual stimulation. Infidelitys's influence on the partner is exaggerated by the parther's inner coflict. In the end, methods to overcome infidelity are investigated. Human instincts are not at all moral. To realize this fact is the first step to maintain one's married life without any infidelity problems.
Depression ; Female ; Humans ; Instinct ; Loneliness ; Love ; Marriage ; Mental Disorders ; Mental Health ; Mercuric Chloride ; Oedipus Complex ; Psychoanalysis ; Psychology ; Sex Workers ; Superego

Everyone frequently dreams of "losing ones' tooth". According to folk tradition, this tooth-loss dream has been regarded as bad dream which foretells the death of the dreamer's important relatives, and this is not different between oriental and occidental cultures. Freud related this dream to guilt about masturbation and fear of anxiety in the context of the Oedipus complex. However, there appears to be no difference between the frequency of this type of dream between males and females, as shown by reports from male and female internet portal users as well as previous reports in the literature. Considering other psychoanalytic interpretations, and the meaning of tooth in the folklore literature, or rituals about handling the lost tooth in the world-wide tradition, the tooth-loss dream seems to reflect a universal and archetypal anxiety over losing something important. At the most fundamental level, the tooth-losing may contain the most and first important losing or separating event, that is, separation from the mother's body. The loss of important body parts (castration) or body functions, or other personal losses, may be attached to the same line of memory and emotion. So, the full meaning of the tooth-loss dream can be uncovered by considering both the archetypal and personal layer of dreamers' experiences.
Anxiety ; Ceremonial Behavior ; Collodion ; Dreams ; Female ; Folklore ; Guilt ; Handling (Psychology) ; Human Body ; Humans ; Internet ; Male ; Masturbation ; Memory ; Oedipus Complex ; Psychoanalytic Interpretation ; Tooth