blog 3

I know a close family friend whose mother moved next door to him and his family. In return, making the man's wife miserable until the mother finally died at the age of 105. The wife was always competing with mother for her husband's affection. Usually marital issues are between a husband and wife. But in this case, it was a constant power struggle between the wife, husband, and mother. It seems like no one in their right mind would ever move in next to their mother/ mother in law, but there are many unfortunate situations where this is the case.

There are many Hollywood blockbusters that depict these oedipal relationships. In the movie Monster in Law the main character, Jennifer Lopez, is fighting for the majority of the movie with her future mother in law played by Jane Fonda. These strange mother son relationships do not just occur inside family systems, but there is a whole movie and book industry that stems from it.