Freud was all about building interesting models for human consciousness, then using them to come to the wildest conclusions.

Tbf, with the sexually repressed and patriarchal society he was working in, there may have been some truth to the complexes he described. But to try and universalize them was a mistake imo.

Some interpret “penis envy” as a purely symbolic metaphor for envying the power and freedom given to men, with the inverse “castration anxiety” being fear of losing said power.

Freud hypothesized the subconscious had its own logic that was more about association than rational connection.