Shakespeare's Hamlet and King Lear both contain a multitude of driving forces at work behind the actions of the main characters, but there is something common to both works an obvious Freudian interpretation of what drives two of the most interesting characters in all of Shakespeare's canons, Hamlet and Edmund the Bastard. Shakespeare deals with two characters whose desires are such that they upset the accepted balance of nature. The Freudian drive at work in both characters is the famous “Oedipal complex”, which essentially boils down to a desire to kill the father and take his place alongside the mother. Both Hamlet and Edmund desire to perform actions that will destroy the patriarchal system currently in place, and both crave unhealthy relationships with a mother or motherly figures. If both Hamlet and Edmund succeed in their respective plots, the natural order of the world would be jeopardized, and this order is already upended by the two characters' simple attempt to fulfill their wish to have their father (figures) replaced by themselves. Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on “Why violent video games should not be banned”?Get the original essay The main aspect of the Oedipal complex lies in the son's desire to kill his father and take his place as head of governmental authority. , and Hamlet and Edmund are vigorously compelled to perform this act. This desire may well be natural within the circle of life, but the successful completion of this crime results in a most unnatural imbalance in the system. Killing the father usually results in chaos rather than the establishment of a new order of governance. The chaos resulting from the attempt to invoke this new order results in disorder in the worlds of Hamlet and Edmund even before they kill the father figure. Both Edmund and Hamlet clearly want their father or father figures to be overtaken by force and both adopt ruthless behavior in order to complete their missions and accomplish the deed of taking over the patriarchal system. The system, as the utter devastation wrought by their actions makes clear, cannot handle the rebellion and therefore fails miserably, resulting in death and disorder on a cosmological degree. Edmund undoubtedly wants to disrupt the hierarchical system that exists and therefore plans to do so. defeat and succeed his father. For Edmund, the question of the validity of primogeniture arises and he disputes why it should be the only system in place for the inheritance of land and power, especially since it is - at least c That's what he thinks - the more intelligent and sophisticated and, ultimately, worthy of the two brothers fighting for Gloucester's legacy. Edmund says that “You, Nature, are my goddess” (King Lear, I.ii.1), and he may have a case. Nothing is more natural in the world than the succession of the son to the father. But nature does not reign in the fixed world of man, especially within the limits of royal inheritance. The king exists as sovereign ruler over everything, without question. The father is only an imitation of the king, ruling over his family. The long-established hierarchical structure of human society expressly prohibits the killing of a parent. Around the world and throughout history, this action has been considered contrary to the established moral code under which we live. You don't kill those who gave you life. And yet, Edmund considers the death of his own father, even physically, at the hands of another, to be an integral part of the natural order of things. Edmund's excessive ambition calls into play all possible actions;no moral sense prevails over his choices. He happily leaves his father alone with his enemies, knowing full well that his father will be tortured. How far this torture goes, Edmund doesn't seem to care. After all, he has already achieved the title of Earl of Gloucester, symbolizing and foreshadowing the death of his father and Edmund's ascension to his place of honor. The hierarchical system has been tampered with and already chaos is beginning to overwhelm the room's inhabitants. For Hamlet, the question of killing the father and taking his place is a little more confusing than that of Edmund considering that his real biological father is already dead as the play opens, thus raising the question of who Hamlet what he is looking for in a father figure in his ambition to usurp. Since the elder King Hamlet has already been sidelined by the murder committed by his own brother, why does Hamlet not take his rightful place as the rightful heir to the throne? For some reason, Hamlet does not return to kingship and instead finds himself a prince under the rule of his uncle, who fulfilled the other desire Hamlet subconsciously wanted: to take his place as the husband of Hamlet's mother , Gertrude. . Claudius goes so far as to declare that he has assumed the role of Hamlet's true father when he describes Hamlet as "my cousin Hamlet and my son" (Hamlet, I.ii.63). The identification with the father is complete as Claudius envelops Hamlet in a closer familial bond. Thus, for Hamlet, Claudius becomes the father figure who must be ousted and Hamlet can thus idealize the memory of his true father and thus escape the guilt of wanting to push him aside. Claudius is a much more palatable victim for Hamlet, unlike what he is in Hamlet's mind with his almost divine biological father. Edmund not only wishes to unbalance the position of authority that his biological father represents; As the play progresses, a collection of father figures begin to take shape whom Edmund plots to overthrow or usurp or at the very least cuckold, which can be seen as a symbolic castration thus removing the source of power from these men. The Duke of Cornwall plays directly into the Oedipal mix when he tells Edmund “you will find a dearer father in my love” (King Lear, III.v.24). Cornwall and the Duke of Albany appear as paternal substitutes for Edmund in his voracious rise to power. They can be seen as potential enemies and obstacles in his true quest for power. They prevent him from finally assuming kingship, which seems to be his ultimate and final goal. It quickly becomes apparent that Edmund expressed sexual interest in the wives of Cornwall and Albany. Edmond thus realizes part of his Oedipal aspirations. Perhaps Edmund never even knew his biological mother and so his search for a mother figure is endless. It is more than likely that Goneril and Regan are older than Edmund and therefore can be considered mother figures. Edmund takes on the role of father/husband in his care of the two women. With Cornwall conveniently killed by another, he can easily replace Cornwall and assume his power and take Cornwall's wife as his own, thus achieving the goal of the Oedipal drives within him. As for Albany, things get a little complicated. To also take power from Albany, it is obvious that Albany itself must be treated in the harshest manner. Goneril and Edmund conspire to ensure that the father figure is actually dealt with in time. Unfortunately, for both of them, that moment didn't come soon enough. Edmund's final father figure is King Lear himself, the personification of the standard, accepted order of things in the universe. Nobody could be more.