Dostoyevsky's Double: Ego, Shadow, Trickster

         "It is important to begin early to reckon with the fact that the mind is an arena, a sort of tumbling-ground, for the struggles of antagonistic impulses; or, to express it in non-dynamic terms, that the mind is made up of contradictions and pairs of opposites" (Freud 68). This passage from Sigmund Freud's General Introduction to Psycho-Analysis (Garden City Publishing Company, Inc. 1938) suggests a recurring duality or image of constant mental warfare whose object is to derive and resolve decisions ultimately determining the human personality. When unresolved, however, these issues characteristically induce neurotic and psychotic behavior. In Fyodor Dostoyevsky's story "The Double," protagonist Yakov Petrovich Golyadkin experiences a similar mental collapse resulting in paranoia, denial, and delusion. Taking his title from the concept of the double, or doppelganger, Dostoyevsky traces the tragic downfall of a middle-aged titular councilor whose paranoia and delusions of persecution induce the appearance of his mysterious shadow, or double. In his Man and His Symbols (Dell 1968) psychiatrist Carl Jung suggests, "The shadow is not the whole of the unconscious personality. It represents unknown or little-known attributes and qualities of the ego—aspects that mostly belong to the personal sphere and that could just as well be conscious. In some aspects, the shadow can also consist of collective factors that stem from a source outside the individual's personal life" (Jung 174). Dostoyevsky uses this concept of the double, or what Jung calls the shadow, to examine the hero's futile quest for mental stability, criticize society's callousness toward him, and present a case for social reform in the field of mental illness.

              Dostoysevky establishes a tone of sadness and loss in the story's opening image when the main character awakens to an environment from which he could not decide "whether all that was going on around him were real or actual or the continuation of his confused dreams" (Dostoyevsky 5). Golyadkin's confusion and disorientation denotes the initial phase of the hero's social and emotional decline. He has difficulty discerning reality from illusion. The councilor's suspicion and paranoia compel him to distrust his servant Petrushka (7) and to ignore the greeting s of his colleagues and employer Andrey Filippovich (9-10). Unfortunately, the councilor recognizes the symptoms of his problem yet remains in denial, as he repeatedly attempts to persuade himself that he is "all right . . . and that's the fact of the matter" (12). Attempting to understand the nature of his disorder, he then visits Krestyan Ivanovich, his doctor, who encourages him not to neglect gaiety and social entertainment (13). Golyadkin, however, refuses, rationalizing that "one must learn to make a perfumed compliment" and that he "has not learned to do it" (14). The subject says," I've no taste for contemptible duplicity; I'm disgusted by slander and calumny. I only put on a mask at a masquerade, and don't wear one before people every day" (16).Ironically, he claims, "I'm a simple person, and not ingenuous, and I've no external polish" (15). He then attempts to justify his antisocial by saying, "I'm proud that I'm not a great man but an unimportant man. I'm not one to intrigue and I'm proud of that too. I don't act on the sly, but openly, without cunning, and although I could do harm too, and a great deal of harm, indeed, and know to whom and how to do it" (15). Sadly, his false pride cries out for love and acceptance as he attempts to mask is loneliness through a façade of arrogance, power, and moral superiority. From the emotion in his words, one senses the tragic isolation he is suffering as a result of a mental condition beyond his control, a condition which he recognizes but cannot alter, and a condition which prevents him from following the doctor's suggestion to attend social gatherings. Instead, he is compelled to hide or withdraw in his home, afraid of what he might say or do unexpectedly in the company of others. Tragically, afraid to admit to himself that he might have such a condition, he continually tells the physician that he is "all right" and "quite like everybody else" (12). Then with his muscles quivering and trembling all over, Golyadkin manifests fear and paranoia in describing his "malignant enemies who have sworn to ruin [him]" (17). He tells Krestyan how his associates are persecuting him and passing over him at promotion time (21). He also relates how their gossip is destroying his character. According to the fearful patient, "Yes, Krestyan, they've concocted a womanish scandal. Our bear, too, had a finger in it, and his nephew, our Prince Charming. They've joined hands with the old women and, of course, they've concocted the affair. Would you believe it? They plotted the murder of some one!" (20). In this case, the subject's jealousy and confusion reinforces his persecution complex. According to Jung, "The actual process of individuation—the conscious coming-to-terms with one's inner center (psychic nucleus) or Self—generally begins with a wounding of the personality and the suffering that accompanies it. This initial shock amounts to a sort of 'call,' although it is not often recognized as such. On the contrary, the ego feels hampered in its will or its desire and usually projects the obstruction onto something external. That is, the ego accuses God or the economic situation or the boss or the marriage partner of being responsible for whatever is obstructing it" (Jung 169). This wounding of the self explains Mr. Golyadkin's confusion, paranoia, and projection in his futile struggle toward individuation.

             Dostoyevsky further enhances this image of helplessness and despair in his description of the hero's physical and emotional agitation. According to the author, "His lips trembled, his chin began twitching, and our hero quite unexpectedly burst into tears. Sobbing, shaking his head and striking himself on the chest with his right hand, while with his left clutching the lining of the doctor's coat, he tried to say something and to make some explanation, but could not utter a word" (17). Following this consultation, the councilor refuses to follow the doctor's suggestions, considering him as one "stupid as a post" (22). Tragically, the hero feels that by acting in accordance with the integrity of his own mind, he can resolve his problem in a rational manner, but such can never be the case with mental illness. Ironically, the harder he strives to understand, the worse his condition becomes. After leaving the doctor's office, Golyadkin shops in several stores of Petersburg, where he selects many items and promises to return to purchase them, yet never does. The clerks wink at him, in acknowledgement of his problem, while he replies that they "only know one side of him," but not the other. Ironically, his very attempt to become more outgoing fails because of his irrational behavior, an irrationality characteristic of his disorder (25). He chooses to miss work, is rude and supercilious toward his associate collegiate registrars, describes his boss Andrey Filippovich to them as a "bear," and tells them that he is not a person who enjoys "polishing the floor with other people's boots ," when in reality, that precisely fits the job he holds as titular councilor (26) After insulting his associates, he then passes by a house where he sees a beautiful woman , and unthinkingly "kisses his hand to her" (27). Dostoyevsky describes this impulsive, incoherent behavior in one terse comment: "He had, however, not the slightest idea what he was doing, for he felt more dead than alive at the moment" (27). As depression closes in upon him, a sense of numbness overcomes him. Upon arriving at Olsufy Ivanovich's home where he hopes to attend a dinner, he finds himself turned away because of his improprieties. His employer Andrey Filippovich even asks him what was "wrong with him," to which Golyadkin vaguely responds that his private life and official position are no grounds for his being rejected (29). He then returns to his home, where is vents his anguish and frustration on his servant Petrushka (30). Unfortunately, the hero fails to understand why he was turned away, or why his behavior was considered inappropriate.

            Dostoyevsky also emphasizes the characteristic uncertainty and irrationality of the hero's unfortunate mental condition. Still determined to prove himself, the hero next forces his way into the birthday party of Klara Olsufyevna. This feat he accomplishes only after spending three hours standing in the cold on the landing on the back stairs of Ofsufy's flat. As he stands there alone and in the cold, trying to convince himself that his behavior was normal, he watches the ceremony within the house and wonders if he should sneak in (35). Despite the main character's extremely irrational behavior, Dostoyevsky repeatedly stresses the accuracy of the narrative, saying that "we find the hero of our perfectly true story, though, indeed, it is difficult to explain" in a very inexplicable position. Here again, the more that the protagonist attempts to justify his behavior, the more he contributes to his own downfall (36). Rushing into the premises, he proceeds to embarrass himself and others by his awkward and unseemly remarks which ultimately cause his forced removal from the house (44). In a very short time, he asks Klara to dance, and as result, almost ruins the party for the young woman and her partner Vladimir Semyonovich. Ironically, Vladimir happens to be the nephew of Golyadkin's boss Andre Filippovich, the nephew recently promoted instead of Golyadkin. Thus, the hero's mere presence and unbecoming behavior exacerbate his social position even more (33). The need to fill this position perhaps serves as the trigger or motive for the hero's disorder. Dostoyevsky is unclear on this point, and chooses more to focus on his suffering and persecution. It is evident throughout the narrative that all of the protagonist's associates feel a deep antipathy for him, although the cause is unspecified, be it the malady itself or his physical and social displacement. In any event, Golyadkin's expulsion denotes the second phase of his social and emotional downfall. According to the author, "Mr. Golyadkin was killed—killed entirely, in the full sense of the word, and if he still preserved the power of running, it was simply through some sort of miracle, a miracle in which at last he refused himself to believe. Dostoyevsky uses the harshness of the setting to correspond with the harshness of Golyadkin's mistreatment, when he says, "It was an awful November night—wet, foggy, rainy, snowy, teeming with colds in the head, fevers, swollen faces, quinseys, inflammations of all kinds and descriptions—teeming, in fact, with all the gifts of a Petersburg November" (44). Golyadkin feels utterly destroyed, and is left in the cold, in despair.

             Dostoyevsky uses the hero's suffering and perseverance to create more sympathy for the character and to enhance the strength of his appeal for social reform. According to the author, "There was not a soul, near or far, and, indeed, it seemed there could not be at such an hour and in such weather. And so only Mr. Golyakin, alone with his despair, was fleeing in terror along the pavement of Fontanka, with his usual rapid little step, in haste to get home as soon as possible to his flat on the fourth storey in Shestilavochny Street" (45). At this point, the hero appeared to be "running away from himself . . . to be obliterated, to cease to be, to return to dust." He appeared to understand "nothing of what was going on about him." He was, in the author's words, "almost insensible to this final proof of the persecution of destiny; so violent had been the shock and the impression made upon him a few minutes before at the state councilor Berendeyev's" (45). He runs frantically, as if pursued, as though "he were fleeing from some still more awful calamity" (46). As he reaches the Izmailovsky Bridge and glances both ways to ensure there are no witnesses, he contemplates suicide (47). It is at this junction that the subject experiences the climax of his emotional break with reality. Golyadkin must now make a choice: be it life, with its despair and persecution, or death. As his mind wrestles with this dilemma, he heroically chooses to fight for life, despite its contradictions and injustice. It is at this crucial moment that he experiences a psychotic break enabling him to imagine a separate personality like himself, though different in behavior, when in reality, his mind—attempting to balance and justify-- enables him to separate his personality into two similar components, known as the ego and the shadow. Exactly like him physically, this identical Golyadkin acts as his alter-ego, shadow, or what Dostoyevsky calls his double. (47-49) According to the author, "The nocturnal visitor was no other than himself—Mr. Golyadkin himself, another Mr. Golyadkin, but absolutely the same as himself—in fact, what is called a double in every respect" (52). This new Mr. Golyadkin dressed like him, walked like him (48), acted like him and even entered his home in the same manner and style (49-51). Dostoyevsky gives the shadow the same name, appearance and background to emphasize the duality of the ego and shadow which at times functions in a complementary capacity and at others, in contradictory ones. The author observes that "this was another Mr. Golyadkin, quite different, yet, at the same time, exactly like the first—the same height, the same figure, the same clothes, the same baldness; in fact, nothing, absolutely nothing was lacking to complete the likeness, so that if one were to set them side by side, nobody, absolutely nobody, could have undertaken to distinguish which was the real Golyadkin and which was the counterfeit, which was the old one and which was the new one, which was the original and which was the copy" (57). This new Mr. Golyadkin poses problems for the protagonist; however, because at times he is very much like the hero, and at others, he appears quite different. Psychologically, the meeting of the ego and the shadow often poses serious problems. According to Jung, "When an individual makes an attempt to see his shadow, he becomes aware of (and often ashamed of) those qualities and impulses he denies in himself but can plainly see in other people—such things as egotism, mental laziness, and sloppiness; unreal fantasies, schemes, and plots; carelessness and cowardice; inordinate love of money and possessions—in short, all the little sins about which he might previously have told himself: 'That doesn't matter; nobody will notice it, and in any case other people do it too.'" (Jung 174).This is what precisely occurs with Golyadkin, as he witnesses the rudeness and uncouth behavior of the double.

            Dostoyevsky also uses the hero's growing paranoia to intensify his tragic theme. Golyadkin's paranoia intensifies as his double fawns upon Antonovich Filippovich at his office. Hired as a new employee, his associates find nothing unusual about a new employee having the same name, characteristics, and history. In this case, the hero performs his duties as if he were two distinct personalities, with one constantly monitoring the other. Whenever Golyadkin is successful in a task, he himself assumes the praise, but whenever an assignment goes awry, he projects the blame onto the shadow, or double. In other instances, he mentally criticizes his employer and co-workers for conspiring against him (62). For instance, when the protagonist is called into his Excellency's office, the nervous councilor feels that Anton and the double are in league against him. Golyadkin thinks to himself, "The old rogue. Always on my track, always, like a black cat, on the watch to run across a man's path, always thwarting and annoying a man, always annoying and thwarting a man" (62). The thought of someone, particularly the double, easily replacing him causes "such a gnawing at his heart that he did not know how to find relief" (63). In this respect, the role of the shadow shifts from positive to negative in accordance with the mood or attitude of the subject. Nevertheless, the main character realizes his mental deficiency, and overcompensates for it by repeatedly assuring his employer that "I'm very well, thank God. I am perfectly well, Anton Antonovich. I am all right now, Anton Antonovich "(58). The recognition of the disorder, coupled with the inability to correct it, fills him with more doubt and uncertainty, and exacerbates the problem. When Golyadkin refers to the likeness of the double, Anton replies that he should not worry because it is ordained by God. Antonovich also relates a similar occurrence in which his aunt saw her own double before her death. Although Golyadkin attempts to accept these circumstances cheerfully, his boss' explanations understandably induce greater anxiety (60).

             Dostoyevsky also examines the dual nature of the shadow, which can change attitudes according to the ego, to intensify the hero's confusion. Golyadkin imagines walking beside the double and inviting him to his house for dinner. Here the subject's delusions further intensify, as the ego and shadow struggle for dominance (65).Upon reaching his home, the hero is shocked that his servant Petrushka does not notice the double, and this perturbs the host (66). The double proves unusually kind and agreeable during and after dinner, which increases Golyadkin's sympathy for him (67). The hero imagines that his alter-ego praises him and expresses a need for his financial and moral support (68), to which Golyadkin is "genuinely touched" (69). The author characterizes the visitor's disposition by saying, "His behavior was absolutely impeachable; his one desire was to please his host, and he looked as a man looks who feels conscience-stricken and to blame in regard to someone else. If any doubtful point were touched upon, for instance, the visitor at once agreed with Mr. Golyadkin's opinion. If by mistake he advanced an opinion in opposition to Mr. Golyadkin's, and afterwards noticed that he had made a slip, he immediately corrected his mistake, explained himself and made it clear that he meant the same thing as his host" (70). This instance, in particular, reflects the capacity of the shadow to adapt itself to the various moods of the subject. In this case, the double serves to praise and support the person's every motive or intention. The shadow reinforces the patient's ego, or positive self-perception, in maintaining a mental balance with reality (68). In essence, expressing sympathy for the shadow is what the hero is actually feeling for himself, and sadly crying out for someone to rescue him in the same way (69). Just as Golyadkin finds the double's conduct unimpeachable, so does the councilor feel this way about himself and his dilemma (70). In this manner, the ego and shadow assume basically similar opinions, or work them out together. As a result of this interior monologue, the councilor's mind is now at rest, free from fear of his enemies, prepared to challenge them if necessary, and magnanimous in his role as patron and benefactor (70-71).This essentially is the function of the alter-ego or shadow. Golyadkin also feels a touch of guilt regarding his earlier behavior; this is evidence of the shadow's working with the ego to help the mind can achieve mental and emotional stability. In this case, these two mental components,