Michael O"Donovan, better known as Frank O"Connor, was born in Cork City, Ireland on September 17, 1903. As a young boy, he developed a special bond with his mother as a result of his father's abusiveness. He served as a member of the Irish Republican Army during the Irish Civil war. He later went on to become short story author and lecturer. His works often reflected his childhood as a poor Irish boy. Most notably, he was a lecturer and teacher in the United States at Harvard, Stanford and Northwestern Universities. Michael O"Donovan returned home in Ireland and died on March 10, 1966 (Tomory).
There are a great many arguments as to the existence of Oedipus. Believed to be a mythological figure of the Greeks, Oedipus has become a common term used in psychology. His mother and father abandoned Oedipus shortly after birth because of the prophecy that he would kill his father and marry his mother. Adopted by a shepherd after abandonment, Oedipus was raised a simple man. One day, while traveling to town, Oedipus killed a strange man at a crossing. Unannounced to him, he began fulfilling the prophesy. He found love with a great woman whom bore him four children. After a desperate search for the killers of a man outside of town, Oedipus realized that he himself became a victim of fate. He had killed his father and fell in love with his own mother. This phenomenon became known by the great philosopher, Sigmund Freud, as the Oedipus complex (Kobus).
The short story "My Oedipus Complex," by Frank O"Connor, vividly describes a young boy dealing with this complex. Larry, the boy, lives as an only child in what seems to be during The Great World War. His mother, a devoted wife and mother, struggles with the pressures of the time. While daddy is away at war, mother and son, religiously pray for his safe return and for normalcy to again return to their lives.
Larry establishes a daily routine with his mother.
