Oedipus the King: Quest for Self-Knowledge

  • Siyu Chen School of Foreign Languages, Ocean University of China
Keywords: Oedipus the King, Self-knowledge, Sophocles

Abstract

The theme of Oedipus the King is the conflict between Oedipus’ desire to know himself and his opposing desire to conceal the truth that will bring disaster. It’s his complex character and conflict over self-knowledge that makes the tragedy a rich source of inspiration for psychoanalytic concept formation and provides a deeper understanding of emotional and cognitive development.

References

[1] Aristotle. Poetics. Hutton J, editor and translator. New York, NY: Norton. 1982.

[2] Bion, W, R. “On arrogance.” International Journal of Psycho-Analysis 39 (1958): 144-146.

[3] Bion, Wilfred R. Learning from experience. Routledge, 2021.

[4] Bjørneboe J. Moment of freedom, Muhrer EG, translator. Norwich: Norvik Press, 1999.

[5] Blass, Rachel B. “A psychoanalytic understanding of the desire for knowledge as reflected in Freud’s Leonardo da Vinci and a memory of his childhood 1.”The International Journal of Psychoanalysis 87.5 (2006): 1259-1276.

[6] Enckell, Henrik. “Reflection in psychoanalysis: On symbols and metaphors.” The International Journal of Psychoanalysis 91.5 (2010): 1093-1114.

[7] Fisher, James V. “The emotional experience of K.” The International Journal of Psychoanalysis 87.5 (2006): 1221-1237.

Published
2022-06-20
Section
Articles