An Oedipus Complex

       It is has been suggested that Hamlet's actions show the he has an Oedipus complex, a sexual desire for the parent of the opposite sex. Freud states the Oedipus complex develops between the ages of three and six, and after either disappears or remains dormant in the mind of the individual. During this developmental time period, the sexual identity of the child takes shape. In boys, sexual desire is directed towards the mother, and the father has now become a rival for the possession of the mother. The child now hates the parent of the same sex. 

       It is easy to understand the suggestion of an Oedipus complex existing in Hamlet, as he grows angry at mother and uncle for wedding. After King Hamlet's death, Prince Hamlet would have been able to take his mother, but Claudius took her away. Hamlet is obsessed by the idea of his mother and uncle making love. Someone without an Oedipus would feel disgusted at the thought of his mother having sex, but Hamlet even goes to discuss with his mother in her closet. During their discussion, Hamlet forbids Gertrude from having sex with Claudius, which definitely suggests an Oedipus complex. Hamlet is not just angry at his mother for betraying his father, but he is also jealous of his uncle for bedding his mother. Hamlet berates his mother: Nay, but to live in the rank sweat of an unseamed bed, stew'd in corruption, honeying and making love over the nasty sty-- (Hamlet, 3.4.91-94). A normal son would be disgusted at the topic, but Hamlet abuses his mother in the very bed the vile acts occurred.