The Oedipal Complex in Portnoy’s Complaint Ryan Brady College

Alexander Portnoy, the narcissistic, sex-obsessed protagonist of Philip Roth’s 1969 novel Portnoy’s Complaint is a classic example of Sigmund Freud’s Oedipal Complex in action. The Oedipus Complex, as theorized by Freud, refers to a young boy’s unconscious sexual desire for the parent of the opposite sex and the wish to exclude the parent of the same sex. In the case of Portnoy’s Complaint, Alexander’s Oedipal Complex manifests itself early on and is further complicated by his parents’ gender subversion—his father is timid, docile, and submissive while his mother is brash, controlling, and domineering. This unusual situation inevitably contributes to and exacerbates Alexander’s abnormal sexual development.

In keeping with the criteria of the Oedipal Complex, Alexander often expresses intense sexual desire toward his mother. He recalls in great detail sitting and watching her get dressed as she praises him and allows him to feel her body. The scene is rife with sexual tension: “I am absolutely punchy with delight, and meanwhile follow in their tight, slow, agonizingly delicious journey up her legs the transparent stockings that give her flesh a hue of stirring dimensions” (45). He continues, “On my fingertips, even though she...