My Oedipus Complex by Frank O'Connor
"My Oedipus Complex" by Frank O'Connor is a short story that explores the complex emotional landscape of childhood, familial relationships, and the impact of war on family dynamics. The narrative is presented through the eyes of Larry, a young boy who cherishes the undivided attention of his mother during his father's absence in World War I. This idyllic existence is shattered when Larry’s father returns home, resulting in a painful shift in attention from Larry to his father. The story delves into Larry’s feelings of jealousy, confusion, and resentment as he struggles with his father's perceived intrusion into his close bond with his mother.
As tensions rise between Larry and his father, their relationship evolves from animosity to a surprising reconciliation, highlighting themes of displacement and empathy. Larry's journey reflects the often tumultuous emotions of childhood as he navigates his evolving family dynamics. Ultimately, the story captures the complexities of love, rivalry, and forgiveness within the family context, making it a poignant exploration of the psychological effects of parental relationships on a child's development.
On this Page
My Oedipus Complex by Frank O'Connor
First published: 1950
Type of plot: Psychological
Time of work: 1918
Locale: Cork, Ireland
Principal Characters:
Larry Delaney , the narrator and protagonist, who, as a young boy, was home with his mother while his father was away at warMick Delaney , his father, who returns home after the warMrs. Delaney , Larry's motherSonny , Larry's newborn baby brother
The Story
The story begins in retrospection. The adult Larry remembers his idyllic and blissful early childhood at home with his mother while his father was away during World War I. Larry, confident of his mother's full attention, accompanied her throughout each day, prayed unfailingly for his father's safe return, and urged his mother to brighten up the house by bringing home a baby. This Edenic existence is abruptly lost when his father returns home from the war. Suddenly, Larry finds that he has been demoted: His mother is attentive to his father and inattentive to him. He is repeatedly asked to be quiet while his father speaks and to be careful not to wake him up in the morning. In short, he finds that he must at all times play second fiddle to a rude and monstrous stranger whom his mother seems to favor for some reason mysteriously related, Larry concludes, to "that unhealthy habit of sleeping together." Larry regrets his many prayers for his father's safe return. "I couldn't help feeling that if this was how God answered prayers, he couldn't listen to them very attentively."
One morning, when Larry awakens his father by screaming, his father tells him to shut up. Larry is so shocked by this presumptuousness that he yells back, whereupon his father slaps him. Thereafter, the two of them are "enemies, open and avowed." They engage in a series of skirmishes: In one of these, Larry announces to his mother that he will one day marry her and they will have lots of babies. When she tells him that she will have one soon, he interprets her response as a sign of favor to him.
Just when Larry concludes that he has turned the tide, he is besieged by the noisy arrival of his brother, Sonny, who proves as much of a disappointment to him as his father was on his return. One day, his father overhears him muttering to himself that he plans to leave if another baby arrives. Thereafter, his father treats him more kindly. One evening, when Sonny is crying louder and longer than usual, his father seeks refuge in Larry's bed. Larry understands that now it is his father's turn to be dispossessed. "I couldn't help feeling sorry for Father. I had been through it all myself, and even at that age I was magnanimous." He attempts to comfort his father, asks him for a hug, and concludes that, it was "better than nothing." Thus, in their common displacement, Larry and his father are reconciled.