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Iris Robinson's affair has something of the Greek tragedy about it
Saturday, 9 January 2010
A leading psychologist has described the relationship between Iris Robinson and her teenage lover as something akin to a Greek tragedy.
Dr Raman Kapur, a clinical psychologist who specialises in psychotherapy, believes the wife of the First Minister and her lover Kirk McCambley are victims of the Oedipal complex — the term used to describe when a young man falls in love with his mother.
Mrs Robinson, who sensationally admitted to cheating on her husband earlier this week, was 59 at the time of the affair. Mr McCambley — the son of a close family friend — was just 19.
Dr Kapur explained the term was derived from the Greek mythical character Oedipus who unknowingly killed his father and married his mother, and is used to describe the feelings which centre around the desire to possess a parent of the opposite sex.
He said the theory was quite commonly used in the world of psychoanalysis and could be applied in the case of Mrs Robinson and Mr McCambley. He explained it appeared both parties had become infatuated with each other or were “taken over by the power of mad love” and found themselves doing things “they know they shouldn’t be doing”.
But he could not say whether he believed one person was more in control of the relationship than the other.
There has been speculation that at the time of the relationship Mr McCambley has just suffered a bereavement, prompting concerns that he may not have been in the right frame of mind.
“I think it’s too hard to say from the outside if this is a case of one person being in more control than the other,” Dr Kapur said. “I think somewhere both people would have felt there was something really good here.
“There is, however, a sense of what they call Oedipal triumph. As the older person, she (Iris) would have felt special and thought ‘I have attracted a young man so maybe I’m not an old woman anymore’. And the young man will be thinking ‘well, I don’t have to worry about my peers because I can attract a really powerful older woman’. So there’s that sense of triumphantism that they have both done something extra-ordinary or something special.
“The thing about the Oedipal triangle is that the person does feel special. The young man in this case, Kirk, felt special because he could attract the prowess of a very powerful older woman. For Iris, she felt powerful in the sense that she could attract the interest of a young man. It’s when that power takes over that sanity goes out the window. If you are being kind to them and understanding of the vulnerable parts of their personalities, you could say they got taken over by the mad passions of love.
“That is what mad love is, I mean people have killed for love. If you look up in the original Greek myth the son actually kills the father to be with the mother. So you could use the Greek myth as a way of explaining this. It is a widely accepted formulation within psychoanalysis and understanding this type of difficulty.
“There is also a tragedy in that ordinary human emotion has led to two victims here.”
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I think Dr Kapur should self-analyse his desire to get his name in print by analysing "patients" he has never met and a situation he knows nothing about other than what he's read in the newspapers. Is the Doctor craving the attention of his mother or subliminally casting off the shackles of his father?
Posted by Bemused | 18.01.10, 08:17 GMT
How the morally mighty fall! As a bigot derided around the civilised modern world for her homophobic views, she's no loss to Northern Ireland, and she deserves everything she gets. Good riddance.
Posted by adrian | 13.01.10, 17:30 GMT
Are women always to be the scapegoat?
Posted by Cowdown | 11.01.10, 14:51 GMT
you are talking rubbish.she is a person who was drunk with power she lost the run of herself.
Posted by paddy burke | 09.01.10, 23:24 GMT
Why keep referig to Iris as a devout christian, her actions, cover ups and down right lies expose her as very un christian
Posted by john | 09.01.10, 23:10 GMT
I find that her actions were predatory. I understand the oedipus complex, but this young lad had suffered a very close bereavement and at 19, could not be described as worldly, Iris however has been knocking around a lot longer, together with her Christian values that she bangs on about, should never ever have been in that situation. There is no excuse on her part!
Posted by Nee-naw | 09.01.10, 21:47 GMT
Actually, in the original myth, Oedipus unwittingly kills his estranged father and, because he has killed a king he takes over the kingdom - and the king's wife, Jocasta (his mother). So Oedipus doesn't kill the father "to be with" the mother. I'm surprised a leading psychologist would get this so wrong!
Posted by Lizzie | 09.01.10, 20:58 GMT
OEdipal schmoedipal, It's every teen~age lads dream to bed a mature woman, Kirk realised the dream that's all ! ....More power to him !
Posted by john g. | 09.01.10, 20:37 GMT
When Oedipus killed Laius, King of Thebes, he didn't know it was his father as he had been brought up by King Polybus and Queen Merope of Corinth. Oedipus had also been cursed by the gods. I don't think there is much of a similarity with current events in Belfast. Mr Robinson was not his wife's lover's father and Mrs Robinson knew exactly what she was doing in both financial and familial terms.
God help the lady at this time. The lesson to be learnt is surely that being a triple jobber (MP, MLA, local councillor) can eventually take its toll in terms of mental and physical health - and in that sense is a thoroughly modern tale of power and greed. Forget about Greek mythology and concentrate on cleansing the body politic of unethical behaviour and undemocratic procedures. I agree entirely with the Rev McIlveen that Peter Robinson and his children should now withdraw from politics and re-build their family life. It is their Christian duty to do so.
Posted by Dr David Green | 09.01.10, 16:56 GMT