The Influence of the Mother

Victor mentions the Oedipal complex a few times in the story and at the beginning he states a boy brought up by his mother is virtually born married, and any woman he has a relationship with while she is alive is his mistress. This works as an excuse for Victor's sex addiction. In fact, he blames his mother for every problem he has in his life. He does not trust people because his mother did not trust people. He can only get on with eccentric people and have sex with eccentric women because his mother was eccentric. He cons people that he is choking because his mother showed him how to do it and he drops out of medical school because his mother is ill. Finally, he thinks he cannot move on his life until his mother gives him closure on his father. Interestingly...