Mary recently divorced with the husband, a painful encounter. Oflate she has been devoted to her children vehemently. She redirected all her attention and affection to her kids.Â
Mary’s situation points to a psychological complex referred to as The jocasta syndrome or Complex.
The Jocasta Complex is a psychological complex where an adult facing hardships in their relationships or life redirect their attention to kids to obtain erotic satisfaction.
Origin.of the Jocasta Complex.
The complex stems from Theodor Relk, a Freud’s student who defined the Jocasta Mother, a woman who had her unfulfilled adult relationships hence over concerned for child instead as a prime ‘source of neurosis ‘.
Later, one Eric Berne expanded it applying it to related familly dynamics dramas where a woman sleeps with the daughter’s boyfriend when she has no son to play Jocasta with.
On rare occasion, the Jocasta mother might sexually be involved with her kids.
The Jocasta complex is named after Jocasta, the Queen of Thebes who unknowingly married her son, Oedipus before commiting suicide.
The term is a bit of an extrapolation, since in the original story Oedipus and Jocasta were unaware that they were mother and son when they married. The usage in modern contexts involves a son with full knowledge of who his mother is. It’s usage has however transcended from the definite definition of sexual affairs to general emotional attachment between mother and son.
The Jocasta Complex and contemporary Art.Â
The jocasta complex has been used in arts such as movies and applied by authors for instance; The 19690 movie, the psycho, The house that screamed and the popular 2014/3 tv series The Bastes Motel which feature it.
Jocasta Complex as a Displacement Defense mechanism.Â
In psychology, the displacement defense mechanism is demonstrated where an individual redirects impulses, fantasies and wishes to safer outlets.
The single mother who redirects her affectionate feelings towards her kids finds it more safer than the cognitive dissonance that might arise if she redirected them to the husband or men who she dearly resents out of frustration.
The Jocasta Complex as a Compensation Defense mechanism.
A defeat, perceived defeat in one area of life might see one compensate in a different arena with hope to gain victory and overwrite the initial defeat.
The redirection of affection after divorce might be a desire of gaining control after the initial defeat that left one feel powerless.