Reigning with a wounded heart

He whom I killed
Had sought to kill
me first
Acquits me innocent,
as ignorant
Of what I did
Oedipus by Sophocles

Throughout time there has existed a constant struggle between fathers and sons, almost as a rite of passage into manhood. In literature it is usual to find the father presented in a negative light focusing on his authoritarian aspect or on him as an abuser.

Many literary works have addressed this very issue either directly or as a methodology to assist in the development of a story or to establish literary techniques such as theme and plot setting. The problematic relationship between father and son is therefore timeless and although there are differences between the various struggles, similarities also exist.

The Mahavansa chronicle of Sinhabahu tells about an early account of father-son rivalry. Its stage adaptation, Ediriweera Sarachchandra’s Sinhabahu has been considered as an excellent piece of work which reflects parental affection towards their children as well as concept of freedom.

Again Mahawansa presents the ‘cold war’ between King Kavantissa and his rebellious son Gamini. Kasyapa murdered his father king Dhatusena by walling him alive and then usurping the throne which rightfully belonged to his brother Mogallana, Dhatusena’s son by the true queen.

 There is Oedipus, of course, who unknowingly kills his father, thereby bringing a curse upon Thebes. There is The Odyssey, where the son is just beginning to find his own way when his famous father returns, starts running the show again, and saves the day.

In a contrasting story in Henry IV, there is Prince Hal, a source of grief to his father who removes the crown before his father is even dead (although, in his defense, Hal thinks Henry is dead) and then goes on to become a greater man than his father. And there is Hamlet, taking grim marching orders from a father who returns from the grave. 

In Freudian criticism/psychoanalytic criticism, this concept of father-son rivalry is broadly discussed. Applying his own principles of psychoanalysis, Sigmund Freud contributed some fascinating interpretative essays.

In them he discussed the characters of Oedipus and Hamlet and presented the concept of the Oedipus complex. The Oedipus complex is a group of largely unconscious ideas and feelings which concentrate on the desire to possess the parent of the opposite sex and eliminate the parent of the same sex.

Psychoanalysis and Oedipus complex are often taken into account when discussing D.H. Lawrence novel, Sons and Lovers. The incomplete and imperfect relationships of Sons and Lovers are among the most analysed in English Literature.

Paul Morel’s imprisoning relationship with his mother cripples all his other relationships. Early on it is evident that Mrs. Morel substitutes attachment for her sons for the broken connection with her husband, and what results is her certain domination over Paul in particular.

What begins as a warm, wholesome attachment between mother and child later becomes shaded with incestuous overtones and ends as the controlling force in Paul’s life.

I was particularly struck, as I surveyed the literature, how often fathers are absent in literature. Dickens’ novels especially are marked by the absence of fathers, and many of his characters are orphans who must make their own way in the world (Oliver Twist, Nicholas Nickleby, David Copperfield, Pip in Great Expectations).

When Dickens does create a father, as he does most notably with Mr. Micawber in David Copperfield, the figure is irresponsible and ineffective, much like Dickens’ own father, who spent time in debtor’s prison and could not protect his son from child labor. Nick Cratchit in A Christmas Carol may be an idealised father, but Tiny Tim is not yet at an age where he must establish his own separate identity.

Father has a culturally determined role in each society. Literature is something that always tends to surpass or exaggerate the existing socio-cultural norms. Oedipus, Kasyapa or Sinhabahu are very rebellious yet successful characters which were penned by writers belong to the history.

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