The Oedipus Complex in Galatea 2.2 :: Galatea 2.2 Essays

The Oedipus Complex in Galatea 2.2   Helen is in love with Powers Powers is in love with C. C. only wants to forget about Powers. This may sound like a soap opera, but in fact it is the love triangle present in Galatea 2.2. This love triangle mirrors Freuds Oedipal Complex almost perfectly. According to this theory, Richard Powers is Helens get under ones skin. Like a mother he created her and then taught her how to think for herself. Also in this role reversal of the Oedipal Complex, Helen assumes the role of Powers son, and C. portrays the absent father. The twisted version of the Oedipal Complex presented in Galatea 2.2 explains the interaction between Powers, Helen, and C. as that of a family, and finishedout this depiction the Dialogical Method enhances this image.In the story of Oedipus he kills his father and then marries his mother. Galatea 2.2 does not present Helen as committing such an offensive act. C.s absence in Helens life does mirror the absence of Oedip us father during Oedipus marriage to his mother. Helen never has one on one interaction with C. Her only knowledge of C. is through the love letters that Powers reads to her. It because of this that Helen begins to view C. as a hindrance to her own kin with Powers. According to Freud, the son wishes to dispose of the father in order to realise the attention of the mother solely to himself. This creates a very peculiar relationship to say the least.Of course, Powers relationship with Helen is anything but common. She is after all a computer. He begins their relationship as her teacher. He has a mothers love for Helen because in her he sees something that he has toiled to create. Powers sounds like a parent when he speaks of Helens singing. At one point he describes her voice as, ...an extraterrestrial warble, the way deaf people sing (198). This does not sound like a sweet sound. The words music to my ears are not present in any description of Helens singing. Powers knows that Hele n cannot carry a tune, but he cannot bear to convey this message to her. He says, I didnt have the flavor to tell her how unbearable this music sounded (235). There are very few parents that would actually inform their child about a lack of talent in a certain area.