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NEON GENESIS
EVANGELION DATABASE
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PSYCHOLOGICAL ANALYSIS - OEDIPUS AND ELECTRA COMPLEX (basic)
In Evangelion there is a concept that repeats many times throughout; that of the
complex of Oedipus or Electra. Within this complex, the child is in love with
his mother (if a boy), or in love with her father (if a girl), but at the same
time hates the parent of the same sex. This reaches its maximum expression in
the series in the case of Shinji, who is attracted to his mother's clone (Rei),
and yet deeply hates his father. Misato admits that she looks for her father in
men; also connected with this is Asuka's love for Kaji; Kaji represents a paternal
figure who has been with her since she was a child, helping her in her training
to become an Evangelion pilot. Rei could also enter this category for obvious
reasons, as she is the clone of Gendou's wife, but at the same time she is his
"daughter". So, their relationship is quite complex from that persepective.
The importance of this phase (which is developed between three to six years
of age) is that it marks in the individual the capacity to believe and accept
that they are loved (Shinji). The individuals that cannot overcome this stage
will always have difficulties in their future relationships, because they are
unable to feel that they are worthy of the affection of another person (Shinji).
Many times they also close themselves off from the idea of loving because they
realize that they are looking for their father or mother in the other person
(as Misato that recognizes her father's features in Kaji and separates from him).
Another result is that they simply fall in love with greater people that
themselves, trying to compensate for their inability to surmount that stage
(Asuka). The natural thing would be to confront that the parent of the same
sex is superior, and to abandon the ideas of hate and conflict; to identify
and understand each other, and become better and more attractive to the parent
that is loved (if you can't beat them, join them). Shinji definitively doesn't
seems to have passed to the following stage since he continues to hate his
father, and also because he abandoned him. A paternal figure in this case is
fundamental in the development of one's future identity, particularly because
he (Shinji) has lost his mother before overcoming the Oedipus stage. I don't
believe in the idea of Shinji being loved; things broke his self-esteem, giving
the insecure and depressed boy of the series as a result.
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