Oedipus complex from the infantile clitoris to the adult vagina. Freud thus considered a girl's negative Oedipus complex to be more emotionally intense than that of a boy, resulting, potentially, in a woman of submissive, insecure personality; thus might an unresolved Electra complex, daughter–mother competition for psychosexual possession of father, lead to a phallic-stage fixation conducive to a girl becoming a woman who continually strives to dominate men (viz. penis envy), either as an unusually seductive woman (high self-esteem) or as an unusually submissive woman (low self-esteem). Therefore, the satisfactory parental handling and resolution of the Electra complex are most important in
Oedipus complex are not meant to rid or discredit the foundation of psychoanalysis, but rather aim to reestablish psychoanalysis for modern times. In the case of newer family structures that refute the traditional Oedipus complex, it may mean modifying or discarding the complex completely. Shenkman suggests that a loose interpretation of the Oedipus complex in which the child seeks sexual satisfaction from any parent regardless of gender or sex, would be helpful: “From this perspective, any parental authority, or institution for that matter, may represent the taboo that gives rise to the complex”. Psychoanalyst Melanie Kline, proposed a theory which broke gender