Ben is Oedipus

[Glenn2000]

Well, not that my opinion counts for anything, but I believe that Ben is the island's version of Oedipus.

When Harper (To Kill A Mickingbird's Harper Lee?) says Juliet reminds her of "her" I think she is referring to Ben's mother.

The only person that ever loved Ben, in his mind, was his mother. Not his father, no one else on the island. This guy is really smart, but socially and emotionally retarded. He's a maintenance man, like his dad. Evidently the bottom rung of the ladder of DHARMA.

Look how he acted like a boy in junior-High School when Juliet came over for dinner. He lied about the dinner party just to get her to come over. Look how he has Tom interrupt Harper's initial "session" with Juliet so that he can "present" her new home to her and give her flowers in front of everyone. Even when he takes her to see the body, it's an immature action to show Juliet that she "belongs" to him.

While Ben is probably smarter than anyone else on the show, his emotional level is that of the boy we saw in the flashback. He took his revenge on his dad. How many kids wish their parents would die? Not really, but in anger or frustration, the secret wish is that they die and the child "wins." When children grow up they learn to mitigate those feelings with understanding of the behavior of the parents (even if they don't like them, they see their parents from an adult perspective). Ben never got past that little boy stage of wanting to kill his dad. In fact, he did kill him along with all those who he despised for whatever immature reasons he had.

He is trying to possess Juliet. He was unable to possess his mother, so Juliet is the stand in. She's smart and articulate and beautiful and compassionate. These are attributes that Ben has given his dead mother - even though he really knows nothing about her. It's all a "make believe" persona for his dead mother and he has all of these traits in Juliet, whom he is now dominating.

Ben would be a great character in a Greek Tragedy.

[Snape]

Nah, don't you remember the scene(s) in Season 3 near the end where Ben was a teenager and there was that girl that gave him something (I think it was a carving - memory is fuzzy)? I think THAT'S the only girl he ever really loved (in present day Lost time, he still has that memento from her - he takes it out and looks at it in one scene). However, since she was DHARMA, I assume Ben and the Hostiles killed her along with all the rest and feels remorse for it.

Just my thought on who the "her" that was mentioned is.

Edit: I remember the figurine now. They were wood carvings of a boy and a girl.

[LOSTLOVER]

Does anyone have a screencap of that girl Ben liked to see if Juliet does look like her? I remember this scenario but I don't remember what she looked like.

[trikister40]

I agree with Snape, he did connect with a young girl on the island.

Ben never knew his mother, and he probably resents her because of all the grief his dad gave him for his entire life about killing her.

[addictedtopainmeds]

Well, not that my opinion counts for anything, but I believe that Ben is the island's version of Oedipus.

When Harper (To Kill A Mickingbird's Harper Lee?) says Juliet reminds her of "her" I think she is referring to Ben's mother.

The only person that ever loved Ben, in his mind, was his mother. Not his father, no one else on the island. This guy is really smart, but socially and emotionally retarded. He's a maintenance man, like his dad. Evidently the bottom rung of the ladder of DHARMA.

Look how he acted like a boy in junior-High School when Juliet came over for dinner. He lied about the dinner party just to get her to come over. Look how he has Tom interrupt Harper's initial "session" with Juliet so that he can "present" her new home to her and give her flowers in front of everyone. Even when he takes her to see the body, it's an immature action to show Juliet that she "belongs" to him.

While Ben is probably smarter than anyone else on the show, his emotional level is that of the boy we saw in the flashback. He took his revenge on his dad. How many kids wish their parents would die? Not really, but in anger or frustration, the secret wish is that they die and the child "wins." When children grow up they learn to mitigate those feelings with understanding of the behavior of the parents (even if they don't like them, they see their parents from an adult perspective). Ben never got past that little boy stage of wanting to kill his dad. In fact, he did kill him along with all those who he despised for whatever immature reasons he had.

He is trying to possess Juliet. He was unable to possess his mother, so Juliet is the stand in. She's smart and articulate and beautiful and compassionate. These are attributes that Ben has given his dead mother - even though he really knows nothing about her. It's all a "make believe" persona for his dead mother and he has all of these traits in Juliet, whom he is now dominating.

Ben would be a great character in a Greek Tragedy.

i agree with you. how can i not? it was so beautifully written:)

[bunnydixon]

you are talking about annie. annie did have brown hair and freckles but perhaps she escaped the purge and her appearance changed as she got older. there was talk of kate being annie aswell a while back!

however, it could also be that he is referring to his mother as she was blonde.

[Snape]

The thing I don't understand about the vision that Ben had of his mother (or "vision" if it was corporeal and physical) is that the Monster would have to have seen Emily at some point in the past, and it just doesn't seem likely.

And if it was truly a vision (not the Monster) how would Ben's mind have known what she looked like? Do we know if there were surviving pictures of her on the Island? Or if his dad Roger described her to him? I can't recall. Help please.

[Glenn2000]

I thought that young Ben had a 5X7 black & white picture of her in his room on the island...

[bubbleboy]

you are talking about annie. annie did have brown hair and freckles but perhaps she escaped the purge and her appearance changed as she got older. there was talk of kate being annie aswell a while back!

however, it could also be that he is referring to his mother as she was blonde.

Speaking of Kate, maybe it is significant that Kate killed her father as well as Ben and now that I think of it, Sawer and Locke as well. Jack, also killed his father indirectly by ruining his career which resulted in his demise in Australia.

[WhalerDO]

Nice to see that a comment i posted on a different thread (ben and juliet situation) inspired you to create this thread...and this will be the 4th thread that i post these images of Ben's mom and Juliet..."her" is ben's mom....

from other thread where i bring up the Oedpius Complex

i'm pretty sure the woman that Harper is referring to is Ben's Mom...if we've learned anything, LOST has Father issues and well why not an Oedipus complex (describes a state of psychosexual development in which a male child desires his mother and grows envious and hostile towards his father) for good old Ben??? kinda sounds like him, hating his dad and falling in love with his dead mom...who Juliet just so happens to look like.

Ben's Mom (when she appears to him on the Island)...
http://images.lostpedia.com/images/e/e1/3x20_emily_is_creepy.jpg

Juliet (remind you of someone??)...
http://images.lostpedia.com/images/7/71/JulietS4.jpg

[LOSTLOVER]

Didn't Ben's mom die in childbirth having Ben? Now all the women who get pregnant on the island die. Also, Ben stated to Juliette that "after all I've done to get you here and keep you here". Ok, here's another of my crazy theories. What if Ben is somehow causing the pregnant women to die, like he probably caused Goodwin's death, so that Juliette's work continues to "fail" so she has to stay because he told her she can't leave until her work is finished (i.e. - the problem is solved).