Mr. Norton's Incestuous Infatuation: A Reversed Oedipus Complex

When Mr. Norton first hears about Trueblood, he is very eager to learn more of the Trueblood family: "I must talk with him" (50). In Trueblood's town, there are two general responses to Trueblood's sins: praise and disgust. The whites benefit from Trueblood's actions since they dehumanize blacks. The blacks berate Trueblood; his sin destroys their chances of proving themselves worthy members of society. However, Norton has a completely different reaction. 

As Norton shows a curiosity in the Truebloods, his true meaning is realized when connected to the rumination about his dead daughter. He speaks about her beauty with a strangely strong passion: "She was rare, a perfect creation, a work of purest art." Norton even goes as far as saying "[he] could never believe her to be [his] own flesh and blood" and "[he] found it difficult to believe her [his] own" (42). 

Norton is drawn to Jim Trueblood, due to the attraction Trueblood felt for Matty Lou. As Trueblood relays his story, Norton lives vicariously through Trueblood, igniting life into the fantasies he never acted upon. 

Both Trueblood and Norton's situations strongly connect to the "Oedipus complex", studied by Freud and Jung. The term is derived from Oedipus, a prominent character of Greek mythology, who kills his father and then marries his mother. The "Oedipus complex" is seen in children who are sexually attracted to their parent(s). In Invisible Man, Jim Trueblood and Mr. Norton reverse the terms of the "Oedipus complex"**, as they are attracted to their daughters, instead of their daughters being attracted to them. 

This scene is very important to Norton's character development. His standards and the way readers perceive him  transform in a very short length of time. 

** https://www.cla.purdue.edu/english/theory/psychoanalysis/definitions/oedipus.html