Oedipus in the Trobriands

by Melford E. Spiro

Overview

Spiro challenges the argument of Bronislaw Malinowski that the matrilineal society of the Trobriand Islands produced a psychological constellation -- a matrilineal complex -- different from Freud's Oedipus complex and the generalization regarding the restrictive provenance of the Oepidus complex to which it gave rise. Spiro undertakes a reanalysis of Malinowski's data and shows that there is enough to suggest the presence of a strong Oedipus complex.

Melford E. Spiro is professor emeritus of anthropology at the University of California, San Diego, where he founded the Anthropology Department in 1968. His other works include Gender and Culture, Oedipus in the Trobriands, and Culture and Human Nature.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781351502474
Publisher:	Taylor & Francis
Publication date:	07/12/2017
Sold by:	Barnes & Noble
Format:	eBook
Pages:	204
File size:	456 KB

About the Author

Melford E. Spiro

Table of Contents

1: The Problem Posed; 2: The Trobriand Matrilineal Complex: A Critique; 3: The Trobriand Oedipus Complex: A Hypothesis; 4: Testing the Trobriand Oedipal Hypothesis: Predicted Ontogenetic Determinants; 5: Testing the Trobriand Oedipal Hypothesis: Predicted Psychological Concomitants; 6: Is the Oedipus Complex Universal?