Comments on My Oedipus Complex

Comments on My Oedipus Complex Michael O'Donovan was of Irish blood, and in the Irish culture, it was common to have a stronger bond with the mother than the father. Michael O' Donovan's life is the epitome of this statement. In fact, O'Donovan had a great hatred for his father, and it was only suppressed because it enraged his mother. His pen name was O'Connor particularly because O'Connor was her mother's maiden name (Minnie O'Connor). Furthermore, many have speculated that Frank's bond with his mother hindered many of his sexual relationships as a teenager, and possibly may have destroyed his first marriage. The changing dynamics within family relationships is the theme of 'My Oedipus Complex' by Frank O'Connor [b. Michael Francis O'Connor O'Donovan, September 17, 1903-March 10, 1966]. The short story looks at the close relationship that develops between O'Connor and his mother while his father is away for wartime military service. It continues with the author's having to learn to share his mother's attention with the return of his father from the war and with the birth of a baby brother. The relationships are viewed in terms of the necessary change in influence over normal male development from that of the mother in childhood to that of the father in adolescence. Based on the history given about Frank O’Connor, the author of “My Oedipus Complex”, O’Connor seems to be able to relate to the story that he wrote. His father was drunk and debt ridden, which means that his father probably did not play a major role in his life while growing up, which is similar to Larry’s father not being a part of his life while he was first growing up. “Father was in the army all through the war-the first I mean- so up to the age five, I never saw much of him”(O’Connor, page 5). Another similarity between O’Connor and Larry is the disagreement the two of them have with their fathers over their mothers. Larry felt like he had to compete with his father for his mothers