GroupB2+Psychologists

Allan Stott, Hilary Quinn, Brianna Erdman, Madhu Mahesh 4/12/13

__ Task 1, Books I-IV __ As a __ troubled teenage ____ r __ growing up without his father, Telemachos has been coming to you for counseling. For months, you have been observing his actions and listening to him talk about his family and home life. Most recently, along his journey, Telemachos has been sending you letters, sharing the details of his experiences with you. As a result of all of these sessions with your patient, what can you conclude about Telemachos’ character? Can you diagnose Telemachos? In your psychological report, list Telemachos’ behaviors, beliefs, or statements and your conclusions about him.

P: Hi Telemachos. How are you doing? T: Hello. I’ve been kind of troubled lately. P: Why is that? T: Well, as you know, my father left to fight in the Trojan War before I was born. I have never met him, but I hear that he was a very noble man. Without his guidance, his house has fallen into turmoil. Suitors are constantly eating our food and destroying our property as they wait to gain the hand of my mother. I have faith that my father lives, and I have recently embarked on a journey to find him, restoring order to the house, saving my mother from choosing a suitor, and finally getting to meet my noble father. P: Has it been difficult growing up without a father in your life? T: Growing up without a father has caused me to take more responsibility for my actions. I have had to look out for my mother to make sure the family retains its high honor throughout Ithaca. It is often difficult to act with authority, even in my own household, for I was young when my father left, and the suitors had taken control and ravished my house from before I was able to defend it. Now, I am curious for the reason my father has not returned all these many years, and I feel I must find him to restore a patriarch to the house. P: You seem to be very protective over your mother. Explain that to me? T: My mother has been being bothered for years to take a new husband, but until this time she has delayed such action. Recently, however, she has lost faith in my father. Still, she dreads his replacing with an unworthy suitor, and I feel that it is my duty as the man of the house to see her interests protected. The only way to stop the inevitable is to find my father. Also, recently it has come to my attention that the suitors Antinoos and Eurymachos, who have been asking for my mother’s hand my marriage for over three years, have done so out of lust for the power and riches that the position holds. If these men are able to gain my mother’s hand, I will lose my inheritance and my say in the houses affairs P: And how does that make you feel? T: I feel upset that people are trying to take advantage of the situation, and I wish that my father would just return home. Most of the elders in our town have lost all hope in him, but I still feel that he is somewhere out there. P: Is this the reason you have embarked on your journey? T: Yes. With the guidance of the Goddess Athena, I have decided to find the reason my father has been kept so long. I hope to find him and bring him back to Ithaca, so he can fix the current state of his home. If he is alive, I would also hope to get to know the amazing and noble man my father is known to be. P: Well, after much consideration and uncovering some past memories, I have decided that you have atypically progressed through your psychosexual development as understood through Freud’s Oedipus complex. The absence of you father, Odysseus, caused a lack of competition for the possession of your mother, which may have caused further progression of sexual feelings for your mother which eventually evolved into the protectiveness that you feel towards her today. This void was then filled with the suitors, which nurtured your competitiveness with them. Because your father was not present while you were developing, you were unable to identify with him and mirror his characteristics, which would put you ahead of the suitors in finding the favor with your mother. This gave rise in you a strong sense of individuality and pride. As you grew up, the competition for your mother resulted in a complicated shared patriarchy between you and the suitors. Because the suitors hold no concrete authority in the house and pose to you no physical threat, there was an opportunity for you to win your mothers favor. However, the social power of these suitors prevented your pursuance of that goal, causing you to bend to societal laws and reconciling the development of your super-ego with the lack of identification with your father. Because your father is not the object of your murderous feelings, but the suitors, you have come to disassociate him with sexual interaction with your mother, easing tensions that would have been present. Despite the fact that his return would end the pursuit of your mother’s affection, your super-ego has been able to convince you that restoring order to the house and protecting your mother is of primary concern. In this way your father has become not the source of competition, but the immediate solution to it. Overall, it could be said that the absence of your father has caused you to become very independent and head strong, as well as protective of your mother, resulting in animosity towards those who try to force her hand. Unseen complications that could have arisen from your development include vague sexual identity, an undeveloped sense of morality, and excess maternal lust. Also, if you do find your father on your journey, this could lead to further complications as he assumes authority over the house and possesses your mother. T: Wow. How did you come to these conclusions? P: Freud, the man who revolutionized psychology and psychoanalysis, developed the generally accepted theory that in early development all children are sexually attracted to their mothers, and as a result want to kill their fathers. T: Ok. Thank you for your time and service. P: No, thank you. Bye Telemachos. Hope you find your dad! T: Good bye.