ABSTRACT
But Michels does not extend this valuable exploration of the preoedipal realm to a consideration ofthe motif of birth in the play. In the discussion that follows I shall proceed on the assumption that the analysis of a myth or literary text may disclose intricacies as subtle as those met with in any clinical case. I thus disagree with the contention of Stanley Leavy (1985) that the Oedipus complex must undergo a "demythologizing" in order for its conceptual richness to be appreciated. On the contrary, Sophocles' tragedy qualifies as a classic because it will invariably be found to anticipate and contain the insights painstakingly elaborated by theory. According to Leavy, "Freud's supplementary doctrine of the 'complete' Oedipus complex is, in effect, his own early demythologizing of the concept. He did not allow the myth to restrict his vision" (451). But as I have previously argued (1987, 25759), it is precisely by portraying Oedipus as a man who loves and identifies with his father (his predecessor on the throne of Thebes) and seeks to kill his mother (upon learning that it was she who exposed him in infancy) that Sophocles shows his grasp of the complete Oedipus complex, and in a manner that strikingly replicates not only the theory but also the life of Freud. 1 Far from "restricting our vision," literary texts and artistic images offer inexhaustible sources of inspiration for the inward gaze needed in clinical work (Spitz 1988).
