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Everyone has a family or at least knows a family, so everyone can relate to a story about family. “Regret, by Kate Chopin, and “My Oedipus Complex,” by Frank O’Connor, are two very different stories about the same thing – family. “Regret,” a tale about an older woman, who, never having married or had children, gets her first experience with them by taking care of her neighbor’s children for a short while, and “My Oedipus Complex,” a short story about a young boy who decides he is better suited to the affections of his mother than is his father, are two very different approaches to show the need for a complete family. The similarities between the two stories are easily appreciated. First, as I stated earlier, both of the stories are about families, and how the lack of, what most people consider, a “normal” and “complete” family causes problems. In “Regret,” Mamzelle Aurélie completely lacks a family; she has never married, has never had children, and has only had one marriage proposal, which was promptly rejected. Mamzelle Aurélie is not even properly a woman without a family; she much more resembles a man with her determination, man’s hat, army overcoat, and boots. Additionally, owning a farm, m