Related Experiment Videos
Summary
Dostoyevsky
Area of Science:
- Literary Criticism
- Psychoanalytic Theory
- Philosophy
Background:
- Explores the theme of the 'Double' in literature, a common trope in the romantic tradition.
- Focuses on Fyodor Dostoevsky's novel 'The Double' and its protagonist, Mr. Golyadkin.
- Examines the psychological and existential implications of self-duplication and identity crisis.
Purpose of the Study:
- To analyze the stages of the subject's relationship with their Double.
- To apply philosophical concepts from Hegel and psychoanalytic theories from Lacan to Dostoevsky's work.
- To understand the role of narcissistic alienation and the Symbolic Order in the hero's descent into madness.
Main Methods:
- Comparative analysis of Dostoevsky's narrative with philosophical texts (Hegel's 'Phenomenology of the Spirit').
- Application of psychoanalytic concepts (Lacan's 'Mirror Stage') to interpret character development.
- Literary analysis of the protagonist's psychological trajectory and its symbolic representation.
Main Results:
- The construction of the Ego is presented as a narcissistic alienation from one's mirrored image.
- The protagonist's inability to process his projection and its meaning leads to paranoia and annihilation.
- The Symbolic Order, particularly language, offers a potential escape from narcissistic alienation, which the hero fails to utilize.
Conclusions:
- Dostoevsky's hero becomes trapped by his mirrored image before entering the Symbolic Order.
- The failure to grasp the inner meaning of his projection results in his ultimate destruction.
- The essay clarifies the stages of the subject-Double relationship, highlighting the perils of unmediated narcissistic identification.