The Double

[Scoundrel]

I think that 'The Double' was the most horrifying of all D's works that I've read....Golyadkin was thoroughly tormented throughout the story...it left me with a wretched feeling in my gut

[poor knight]

I agree. Although well written - I have to admit, I did not like  it so much, because I felt anxious throughout. I feel the same way when I read Kakfa -- that feeling that you know each time a choice is presented to the main character, it's going to go the wrong way. You can see from early on in the story how it could turn out horribly bad, so much so that it seems inevitable. And the worst thing is, it keeps going down that path and you can see the cliff coming. Ugh, it makes me shudder. I like nice, sweet books, like Demons or TBK where even though there's heaps of pain and suffering, it's more likely to hit you from behind, unexpectedly.

I don't know if anyone saw The Blair Witch Project, but it was the same thing -- you knew how it was going to end and you knew you couldn't do anything to stop it, and yet that knowledge was somehow more terrifying than something just jumping out from behind a tree and cutting you in half with a chainsaw.

Sorry for the hyperbole -- high on some particularly good chocolate right now.

[Scoundrel]

that feeling that you know each time a choice is presented to the main character, it's going to go the wrong way.

Exactly....like when he's hiding in the closet, you knew he was going to make a scene...and when he's about to go make a fool of himself in front of "his excellency"...I was just cringing reading those parts, knowing he was digging his own grave

[Scoundrel]

While it is the most horrifying IMO, it still ranks up there as one of my favorites, and I've been recommending it as a first read to a few of my friends, because it's short, insightful, and as Poor Knight said, well-written.

[highseas]

     Just re-read "The Double".  Here are a couple of my observations, if anyone"s interested(please be interested - - -just kidding).  It is true that you shudder to think what's going to happen next to poor Golyadkin.
     This novel ,I think is the most psychological of FD's works.  Correct me if I'm wrong about that.
     It seems to me that there a few ways to interpret "The Double".  The one that makes the most sense to me is that Golyadkin experiences a mental breakdown of some type.  Hallucinations, paranoia, a persecution complex all seem to develop within him throughout the story.  It seems some type of psychological schism has occurred and then the novel ends with the Dr. committing him to the asylum.
     One thing that slipped by me the first time I read "The Double" was the part in the very beginning where Golyadkin shows so much happiness and gloating over his stack of money.  He is literally rubbing his hands, fondling the money and so on.  Could be FD was describing someone who had money, good job, was well groomed, but he still was, perhaps, unhappy.  Maybe there was still something wrong or something missing.  Maybe that's what started his breakdown and eventual madness.
     Another possible interpretation that occurred to me was the religious aspect.  Christ was said to have a dual nature, being the "Son of God" and the "Son of Man" simultaneously.  The suffering side and the other side.  The battle between the good and evil in man.
     Also, in TBK there is a possible interpretation of Ivan and Smerdyakov being two sides of a double which is also a religious interpretation of their relationship.
     One more observation.  Joyce Carol Oates had an interesting interpretation of "The Double" writing that Golyadkin experiences "a schizophrenic break during which his dark side overtakes his whole identity".

[hull0997]

i was wondering if anyone saw "the machinist" its a crap movie but its loosely based on the double

[Scoundrel]

 
     This novel, I think is the most psychological of FD's works.  

               I agree with you on this.  Due to the fact that so much of the story is just an unreliable narrative from the breaking mind of a schizophrenic, this very well may be his most psychological book.

               IMO, every time he saw his double outside of the office, it was pure hallucination, and there was, coincidentally, a new clerk at his office, who looked similar to Golyadkin, whose presence only fueled Golyadkin's insanity.

[poor knight]

I agree with the above comments -- one thing of interest that I am going to look at in more detail: FD was known to be a fan of Edgar Allen Poe as I have read somewhere. Poe lived from 1809 - 1849 and wrote many of his best stories in his last years. The Double was published in 1846. I wonder if we looked more closely at some of Poe's works whether we'd find any themes similar to the Double that FD might have worked from.

The Double seems almost like a transitionary work between something Poe might write and something Kafka might have written. We know Kafka was influenced by FD...

[Scoundrel]

Interesting...I'm gonna have to take a look in that book of Poe that I bought last week

[Scoundrel]

    One thing that slipped by me the first time I read "The Double" was the part in the very beginning where Golyadkin shows so much happiness and gloating over his stack of money.  He is literally rubbing his hands, fondling the money and so on.  Could be FD was describing someone who had money, good job, was well groomed, but he still was, perhaps, unhappy.

I'm not sure of FyDo's reasons for this scene, but I know that the opening chapter of the book caused me to dislike  Golyadkin thoroughly, a dislike that gradually transformed to pity.  When he was counting the money and talking to himself, saying things like "this is a sizable sum, a respectable sum" I was rather disgusted with him.  He even pays a fee to get smaller bills so that his "respectable sum" seems like more than it actually is.  Perhaps that is the reason why FyDo included this scene; so that we wouldn't like his character right off.

[highseas]

     Ya' Scoundrel, at first Golyadkin seems kind of creepy because of the money thing, but then he really goes through some serious discomfort which is really described by FD in detail.  Rather intense mental pain.  It's a favorite motif of FD's to deal with suffering in its many forms.

[Rimbaudelaire]

I just finished reading 'The Double', and I immediately read through all the messages here, and was relieved to find that others were confused by it as well, and my suspicion that this book was not your usual story were confirmed. The messages were all very enlightening.

After a few pages into 'The Double', I began to think it was a comedy, but wondered if I was totally misunderstanding it. About halfway through I began to wonder if I even had any idea what was happening. I thought either I am crazy or Golyadkin is. Nevertheless, I loved the book and I will no doubt read it again very soon. Immediately after finishing 'The Double' I began 'Mr. Prohartchin'.

F.D. is one of those writers who I happen to read a lot about, and I always want to read more of his works, but I admit I have had difficulty doing so. About ten years ago, an English professor who I admire very much talked a little bit about 'Crime & Punishment', and what he said fascinated me so much that I read it. I can't claim to have entirely grasped or even followed the book, but I read it to the end anyway. Then a few years ago I read 'White Nights', and the first half of 'Notes', and attempted to read 'Brothers' several times. I encountered the same problems with each book. The story would move me tremendously, but after a little while I found that I could not keep track of what was happening. Perhaps I should be more patient in reading, and I should probably take notes.

A few weeks ago I read 'House Of The Dead', and I plan to spend some time reading as much F.D. as I can.

[peristar]

hello to everyone...i am new member here and this book was the reason i register here on first place...ok...i just finish reading the book and have quite a lot of qestions like everyone here...
i got the impression that our hero was close to some kind of brake down on the first pages...first of all was the conversation with the doctor..than..endless fears from enemies..then he count around 800 rubli and on the shoping (which was only nagotiation) he spent more than 3 or 4000...

from another hand he create his double caracter just in the way he wish to be...intelegent, close with the menagers and comunicative....

i bealive this character exist realy, only our hero mix his ilusions with him, in another way , if he did not exist, than everything from the first night should hapend only in his had...

sorry for my language but eng is not my mother tongue...