Electra complex in Turkish novels

Psychoanalysis, which Sigmund Freud introduced to the scientific world in the 20th century with his exploration of the human unconscious and transformed into a discipline, is based on the analysis of human psychology and behavior. Freud's emphasis on dreams, fantasies, and play, his focus on childhood, and his focus on family relationships define the origins of psychoanalysis. In this sense, novels, among literary works that present the human psyche in its many facets, are particularly suitable for psychoanalytic evaluation. In these novels, the father-son relationship is examined through Freud's theory of the Oedipus complex, while the conflict in the mother-daughter relationship is reflected in Jung's Electra complex. This thesis evaluates eleven novels written between 1901 and 2025, focusing on the motherdaughter relationship, within the context of the Electra complex. The introduction focuses on the general characteristics of psychoanalytic theory and the impact of psychoanalysis on literature. The first section provides information about the Elektra Complex and touches on its mythological origins. After exploring the views of Freud and Jung, the ideas of Adler and Melanie Klein are also presented. The second section examines the novels under the following headings: rivalry, jealousy, ideological divergence, career aspirations, the father, and other siblings, which reveal the Elektra complex and trigger conflict in the motherdaughter relationship. The conclusion identifies the common and different factors that give rise to the Elektra complex in the novels, and concludes that the conflict in the motherdaughter relationship stems from domination, with jealousy being the primary element that unleashes this conflict.