"pristine" Oedipal Complex

[AllieAnne]

My psychiatrist told me at our last session that my Oedipal Complex (or Negative Oedipal Complex, or Electra Complex - I'm a woman, so I know the right term isn't "Oedipal Complex") was "pristine".

What do you think he meant by that?

What happened was he used the word "seductive" to describe my mother (she had come to a family session) and I told him that that had disturbed me. It's bad enough that my father finds her seductive, I said to him. He said that he didn't mean it in a sexual way, then he asked me, "Did that make you feel that I love your mother more than I love you?" I knew what he was getting at - that I need my father to love me more than he loves my mother, so I said, "Maybe". Still, it creeped me out a little. I love my psychiatrist but I know that he doesn't love me (and he certainly doesn't love my mother.)

He said, "Your father loves you in a different way than he loves your mother". I said, "I understand that (and I do), but I still need him (my father) to love me more." I said, "Is that very abnormal?" That's when he brought up Freud and the Oedipal Complex, which he said was very normal. However (and here's the kicker), he said that he had never seen an example of the Oedipal Complex (mine) so "pristine" before. My psych does have a beautiful way with words, so maybe he was just flourishing.

So - does pristine equal hopeless?

What do you think?

Thanks (BTW - Sorry for rambling -- my psych is on vacation for a week and I'm a little stressed.

[emmalina]

I don't think it equals hopeless at all.

It sounds to me like he possibly meant it more to do with the way you could speak about it so clearly, without it being muddied or complicated by other issues.