The Oedipus Complex in We Disappear by Scott Heim

Scott Heim‘s We Disappear is, among other things, a contemporary novel that weaves together suspense, mystery, love, and betrayal. This psychological thriller tells the unsettling story of a man named Scott who struggles against his growing addiction to crystal meth and his mother, Donna, who faces an addiction of her own, the obsession she has developed for young children who have vanished from their homes. The two of them possess an extraordinarily close relationship; in fact, Scott has no true friends aside from his mother, with perhaps the exception of his drug dealer.

The addition of a puzzling, anonymous boy who goes by the name of Otis complicates the matter, however, and Scott grows jealous of his intrusion on what he perceives to be a world inhabited only by his mother and himself. The ensuing juxtaposition of the three characters is reminiscent of Jacques Lacan’s take on Sigmund Freud’s Oedipus complex, where Donna and Scott represent mother and son, respectively, and Otis takes on the role of the “father.

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While one may assume that Otis is simply Scott‘s rival to be eliminated and never spoken of again, as in the classic Oedipus Rex, the reality is much more complex than this cookie-cutter depiction. Otis’s role is significantly deeper and of the utmost importance in Scott’s identity. In Lacan’s theory, “the key function in the Oedipus complex is thus that of the father, the third term which transforms the dual relation between mother and child into a triadic structure”.

Otis plays a crucial part in the relationship between Scott and his mother and, in a sense, actualizes Scott. Through this actualization, Heim speaks about the constant struggle to know whom one is, the search for one’s identity, and the inevitable challenges that arise.

Through the use of first-person point of View, Heim exposes Scott’s doubts, fears, and the Oedipal jealousy he feels over Otis as he tries to find his own identity while still remaining a pan of his mother. The use of first-person point of View is essential in making We Disappear an effective literary work. Scott is a troubled character struggling with an assortment of internal and external demons, especially upon discovering Otis handcuffed in the basement, when he begins to question his mother’s and his own sanity. Through Heim‘s careful use of point of view, the reader sees the world as Scott sees it and delves deep into his heart and mind, experiencing the same disquieting emotions that he does. As Steve Almond states, “POV is nothing more than a tool, a way of getting close to the turmoil of your people“. In a third-person limited, or even third-person omniscient, point of view, the reader would not be as emotionally invested in the novel as a whole, thereby reducing the book’s impact because “excessive emotional involvement is the whole point”.

Only by identifying strongly with a character can the reader take away an important message from the work Heim recognizes the importance of the connection between the main character and the reader and allows for this by choosing to write the story in the first-person central point of View The key aspect of this point of view is its intimacy, for it lets the reader “feel close not only to the action described, but also to the private thoughts and feelings of the character experiencing that actionihis reactions Such intimacy encourages intense identification between reader and protagonist”. The first-person point of View allows the reader to gain an intimate understanding of Scott, his feelings towards Otis, and his relationship with his mother, expounding on the Oedipus complex and fleshing it out. The reader becomes part of Scott’s thinking and can see his mental reactions to his mother‘s declining health, the specter of meth addiction that haunts him, and, most importantly, his reactions to Otis.

Otis’s emergence marks the beginning of Scott‘s jealousy, which only escalates throughout the course of the noveL Up until the strange boy’s appearance, he was content with spending his days with his mother, though perhaps somewhat protective in that he is reluctant to inform his sister about their mother‘s condition. He reasons, “this was our time, together, just my mother and me”. However, full-blown jealousy does not rear its ugly head until the fateful afternoon when Donna and Scott come across Otis walking along the side of the road. He cannot bear seeing another boy gain the affections of his mother, just as the Oedipal son feels rivalry towards his father: “He had taken her hand; he could see what it did to me. Frantically, I looked for a place to push him out of the truck” Jacques Lacan’s Oedipus complex marks this as “the arrival of an element which deprives him of the ability to identify himself with the mother the father, the Lacanian phallus (the name of the father)“, Scott views Otis’s arrival as a threat to his relationship with his mother.

His world is narrow, “only mother and son”, and Otis impinges on this world, adding a third variable to the situation and causing Scott to no longer be able to identify as his mother’s one and only son Through Scott‘s point of view, he is simply a rival to be eliminated by any means necessary, and the reader naturally empathizes with him because he or she is exposed to his thoughts and emotions. However, this is a biased opinion, based not on fact but on Scott’s personal reactions, which are to stay by his mother’s side like a dutiful son and to not let anyone else encroach on his position. Upon finding Otis handcuffed in the basement and subsequently getting to know him more, however, Scott’s perception of him changes, and thus Otis’s role changes as well. As the symbolic father, Otis “becomes a means of protection for the boy and the rituals of mastery used to cover up feelings of loss" (“Oedipus Complex: Separation”).

At this point in time, Scott is suffering from a combination of desperation and loneliness, separated from his mother like a lost little boy. Otis comforts him, no longer a rival, but a welcoming, protecting father, Scott confesses, “During these moments with him, I felt a welcome solace, I felt less broken”. Through Otis, Scott seeks to gain a sense of himself, With his mother hospitalized and his supply of meth, his security blanket, diminished, Scott struggles to find his place in the world and craves comfort and reassurance, which Otis provides. Otis’s overarching role as the symbolic father, therefore, is to help Scott attain selfhood. As Oedipus, Scott “represents responsibility and guilt” (Straker, “Oedipus Complex”). He suffers both the responsibility of having to care for his terminally ill mother and the guilt of not being there for her in the past As a result, he has little time to devote to himself, and what time he does have is spent doing drugs. He lacks purpose, a shell of an empty man, and admits, “I could only explain how I felt now. The diminishment, the depression”. Meth and his mother are his only two companions in life, and he lacks identity without them.

By returning home to his mother and continuing to immerse himself in drugs, Scott clings to the securities of his past, Yet, upon meeting Otis, his world is turned upside down and he tries seeking his own identity. As described in Lacan’s Oedipus complex, Scott “oscillates between seeking identity and seeking to lose it for example in crowds, meditation, stories and hobbies". With Otis’s appearance, he is no longer secure in his identity as son: “It seemed she’d known this boy for weeks, even months; as though I, not Otis, had become the imposter". With Donna’s death impending, he begins grasping at straws, trying to separate himself from his motherr He does this by pouring his heart out to Otis, telling him everything about his mother and himself and recounting childhood stories. With Otis, he feels “a welcome solace” (Heim 202), and he gains the courage to seek out the truth of his mother’s past In doing so, he can finally resolve the conflict that plagues both himself and Donna.

With this final order of business complete, Donna can die in peace and he can separate himself from his mother, no longer saddled by the burdens of guilt and responsibility, and therefore transcend the Oedipus complex, While they never find out everything, locate the peach orchard, nor find Warren, they uncover enough of the truth so that Scott can return to New York, attend meetings to overcome his addiction, and move on with his life In regards to the Oedipus complex, Jacques Lacan believed “that the Oedipal stage can be successfully navigated without the father [m] to facilitate the way through" (Straker, “Oedipus Complex”). Likewise, the reader may believe that Otis is unnecessary in Scott’s resolving of the Oedipus complex and argue that Otis did not specifically tell Scott to seek the answers of his mother’s past. One can dispute that it was Scott himself, of his own volition, who embarked on this quest for the truth.

However, without Otis, Scott never would have reached the fulfillment that he does at the novel’s end. When Otis and Scott have a long, heart—to—heart conversation and Otis divulges all his secrets, he tells Scott about Donna’s aching desire to see Warren and her belief that he is related to this lost figure from her past. Scott sees his pure devotion, to the point where he refuses to leave because he‘s so worried about Donnar Their conversation marks a point of enlightenment and maturation for Scott; after being alone and friendless for so long, with only his mother for comfort, Scott needs someone to talk to about his emotions and to show him that he is not alone, With this conversation, Scott “attains selfhood as metaphor, whereas the name of the father (phallus) substitutes for the specular identification with the mother” (Cruz 4). As the father figure, Otis becomes a brief substitute for Donna, helping him to identify with someone else outside of his mother. Scott recalls, “And then, just as my mother and I had always done, the boy and I began to embellish and revise the story”.

He relives the times when his mother was healthy and connects on a deeper level with Otis while reminiscing about both his past and his mother’s Prior to his talk with Otis, Scott regarded his mother’s tales with increasing frustration and skepticism, unable to find the truth in the number of stories she weavesi Only after seeing Otis’s devotion to his mother and understanding the full extent of her dream to solve the mystery of her past does Scott what he must do: “‘I’ll find the answers for you,’ I said ‘l’ll learn about Warren, I’ll learn what happened when you disappeared’". Without Otis’s assistance, Scott never would have been able to come to this understanding and thus never have successfully overcome the Oedipus complex, Otis is essentially a metaphor for Scott’s development. As Sean Homer states in his work on the Oedipus complex as Jacques Lacan views it, “the father is a signifier or a metaphor rather than an actual person". At the novel’s end, there is doubt as to whether or not Otis ever existed in reality, or whether he was an “actual person.” He is no longer needed because Scott has matured, so he simply vanishes without a trace, as if he was never there in the first place.

The only remaining evidence is the name tag he left behind: “But the name wasn‘t Alleni it wasn’t Evan, Henry, or even Warren, The name on the tag was my own”. Despite this sole piece of evidence, the question arises: Did Otis even exist, or was he simply a metaphor, conceived by Scott’s imagination to cope with the twin burdens of responsibility and guilt mixed with drug-induced hazes? As evidence for the latter, reviewer Carol Haggas states, “As Scott gets drawn deeper into his mother’s fixation, the lines between reality and delusion become suspiciously and dangerously obscured” (Booklist Review Amazon). However, the reader cannot know for sure whether or not Otis is a mere delusion because the story is told from Scott’s point of View, through his very own eyes. Even Scott does not know if Otis ever existed and mulls, “These past few days, I’ve been wondering if you were only a dream Something we‘d created, just because we needed you”.

Asides from his mother, no one else ever saw Otis; not even Pammy Sporn, the town’s gossip who knows everyone, recognizes Otis’s name when Scott questions her, Neither the reader nor Scott ever finds out whether or not Otis was real, but the fact remains that he represents Scott’s development and progression as he separates from his mother, moves back to New York, and begins taking steps to live a drug-free life. We Disappear is a haunting, poignant novel that deals with a number of taboo topics, but it is more than just a literary masterpiece; it is a tale of the search for identity. Scott struggles to come to terms with whom he is, to simultaneously be with and separate from his mother, and to overcome his personal demons of addiction. The novel’s ending is ambiguous at best, offering a vague depiction of Scott as he moves on with his life and tries and fails to answer the questions that remain: “The autumn passes. I go to meetings, I relapse, and I go to more meetings.

How comforting it would be, after all these years, to know the truth. The deliverance. The utter peace of it”. Yet, while the mystery of Donna’s past is never fully solved and Scott is left with a hole in his life that his mother once filled, he has still gained a sense of assurance l-le manages to piece his life back together, keeping in touch with Dolores, attempting to overcome his addiction, and continuing to work at Pen & Ink. He begins to create an identity for himself that is now separate from that of his mother. Yet, as each day goes by, his mother remains present with him, despite his transcendence over his dependent Oedipus complex. Likewise, Heim implies, we all search to find ourselves, but we remain connected to our roots no matter how hard we try to detach ourselves. At the end of the day, Heim‘s message is the same: we all disappear.