Thats how it starts. The fever, the rage, the feeling of powerlessness turns a good man cruel.
It seems like the infinite capabilities presented by our brains, including the skill of simulating, allow us to create universes or even live with neurological disorders. This reflects the profoundness, imperativeness, and complexity of our minds. More than just a lump of fatty protein covered in blood cells, the brain involves an electrochemical chatter of one hundred billion nerve cells, able to receive and process our senses to extreme levels, creating a wide and profound comprehension of the environment and integrating sparse modules that gain access to consciousness. This is the tale of Mr. Yakov Goliadkin, a clerk from St. Petersburg who has found his doppelganger, or his double. The protagonist, Mr. Yakov Goliadkin, is, to say the least, a sensitive person. Dostoevsky, as a novelist, leaves reflections wide open to interpretation within his narrative. Nonetheless, his visual storytelling underlines the importance of psychological struggles and how our creativity can be elevated to extremely high levels. What makes this piece interesting is that it is not quite clear whether his double actually exists. In every situation and encounter, theres a subtlety that maintains this secret in disguise. I am unable to determine if the occasional lack of transitions between space and timeline was intentionally written to contextualize a projection of a delirious state of persecution mania, mixed with the challenging task of translating Russiana language rich in cultural nuancesinto English, a rhyme-poor language. Did Mr. Goliadkin envy his double? Or did he actually envy a more virtuous projection of his mind? The double, also referred to as Mr. Goliadkin Jr., is portrayed as a very sympathetic, shrewd and prankster character, in stark contrast to the arrogance and unseemliness of the protagonist. Have you ever wondered what it would be like to live with yourself? More specifically, with a more virtuous version of yourself? The entire state of affairs would inspire many discussions, including those about your fears and insecurities, the endless intertwined years of limbo that prevent your truest expression and making peace with yourself as a human being. I wonder how many works were inspired by this short Dostoevsky piece. The psychological and ontological instability of this novel is the cherry on top, reflecting not only the contrast between the high and low ends of St. Petersburg society in the mid-1850s, but also the expressed consequences of an echoing tormented mind, grasping at fragments whilst living a self-centered, exhausted life. These scattered lives tell both the story of an unnatural and wrongful path, while also recognizing improvements in biopsychosocial factors throughout human history. Link to my highlights: https://drive.google.com/file/d/1wQSqZ-_LYDld0eY_x1zXZTcQBAUuQsKV/view?usp=sharing