Book

Oedipus in the Trobriands

University of Chicago PressChicago, Ill.Published In 1982 • Pages:

By: Spiro, Melford E..

AbstractBrief abstract written by HRAF anthropologists who have done the subject indexing for the document
In this work, Spiro reanalyses Malinowski's interpretation of the Oedipus complex in the Trobriands (see 11: Malinowski) and argues '…that if the existence of the Oedipus complex is culturally variable, the Trobriands, at least, do not constitute evidence for such a thesis' (p. x). Chapters 1 and 2 examine Malinowski's interpretation. Chapters 3-5 present the Spiro's arguments for believing that the Oedipus complex does exist in the Trobriands. The final chapter of this work (chapter 6), discusses implications of the Trobriand findings, particularly in reference to the long controversies on the universality of the Oedipus complex.
SubjectsDocument-level OCM identifiers given by the anthropology subject indexers at HRAF
Theoretical orientation in research and its results
Adjustment processes
Personality development
Reviews and critiques
Family relationships
Avuncular and nepotic relatives
Kinship regulation of sex
Conception
cultureCulture name from the Outline of World Cultures (OWC)
Trobriands
HRAF PubDateThe date HRAF published the document
1995
RegionThe area the document pertains to
Oceania
Sub RegionThe more specific area the document pertains to, which is located within the Region
Melanesia
Document TypeMay include journal articles, essays, collections of essays, monographs, or chapters/parts of monographs
Book
Evaluation
Creator TypeThe type of person writing the document, e.g. Ethnographer, Missionary, Archaeologist, Folklorist, Linguist, Indigenous Person, and so on.
Ethnologist
Document Rating A ranking done by HRAF anthropologists based on the strength of the source material on a scale of 1 to 5, as follows: 1 - poor; 2 - fair; 3 - good, useful data, but not uniformly excellent; 4 - excellent secondary data; 5 - excellent primary data.
4: Excellent Secondary Data
AnalystThe HRAF anthropologist who subject indexed the document and prepared other materials for the eHRAF culture/tradition collection
John Beierle
Field DateThe date the researcher conducted the fieldwork or archival research that produced the document
no date
Coverage DateThe date or dates that the information in the document pertains to
not specified
Coverage PlaceLocation of the research culture or tradition (often a smaller unit such as a band, community, or archaeological site)
Papua New Guinea
NotesAdditional notes
[by] Melford E. Spiro
General psychoanalytic discussions on the Oedipus complex, when not directly related to the Trobrianders, has been indexed for Theoretical Orientation (121). Specific data on the complex when directly related to the Trobriand people, has been indexed for Personality Development (155).
Includes index.|Bibliography: p. 181-193
LCCNLibrary of Congress Control Number
82007032
LCSHLibrary of Congress Subject Headings
Trobriand Islanders/Oedipus complex/Ethnopsychology