The Double

Fiction | Novella | Adult | Published in 1846

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Summary

Background

Chapter Summaries & Analyses

Chapters 1-3

Chapters 4-6

Chapters 7-9

Chapters 10-13

Character Analysis

Themes

Symbols & Motifs

Important Quotes

Essay Topics

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Discussion Questions

Chapters 1-3Chapter Summaries & Analyses

Chapter 1 Summary

In an apartment in Saint Petersburg, Russia, Yakov Petrovich Golyadkin wakes. He is not able to tell whether he is awake or continuing his “chaotic daydreaming” (121). He examines himself in the mirror above his dressing table. He admires his reflection but wonders how he might react if he looked into the mirror and saw “some kind of unwanted pimple” (122). He checks the money in his pocketbook and then returns it carefully to his pocket. Golyadkin looks around for his manservant, Petrushka, annoyed that he is not immediately available. When Petrushka arrives, Golyadkin tells him to ready a carriage.

Golyadkin is in a good mood, which quickly changes when he looks through the carriage window and spots two men from his workplace. Despite his best efforts to stay hidden, the two clerks spot Golyadkin and call to him. Golyadkin avoids them, but when he looks through the carriage window, he sees the full face of Andrey Filippovich, the head of his department. Filippovich’s shocked expression worries Golyadkin, as he fears that he has angered his superior. Golyadkin tells the carriage driver to turn around and take him to visit his doctor. When he rings the bell outside the doctor’s house, Golyadkin changes his mind. He realizes that he cannot think of anything to say to the doctor. Just as he decides that he has nothing to say, he hears his doctor’s footsteps.

Chapter 2 Summary

Golyadkin speaks to his doctor, Krestyan Ivanovich Rutenspitz, who is displeased to see Golyadkin so early in the morning. He asks whether Golyadkin followed his previous advice of socializing by visiting bars, consuming alcohol, and engaging with the public life of the city around him. The doctor had told Golyadkin to “radically change [his] whole lifestyle” (129), but Golyadkin admits that he has not. He does not like leaving his house, preferring solitude. Golyadkin breaks down in tears, describing the “vicious enemies” (133) who supposedly want to destroy him. He recalls a social outing, where he complimented a young woman named Klara Olsufyevna, the daughter of State Counsellor Olsufy Ivanovich Berendeyev, his longtime benefactor and mentor. Golyadkin describes a vague plot to ruin the reputation of an acquaintance. Before Golyadkin can clarify the specifics of the plot, he apologizes and leaves the doctor’s office.

Chapter 3 Summary

Golyadkin goes to the main high street of Saint Petersburg—Nevsky Prospekt— and heads to the shopping arcade. In one store, he swaps his bank notes for smaller denominations. Though he must pay a commission to do so, he is happy that the smaller notes create a larger pile, making his pocketbook heavier. He asks several shopkeepers to place items on hold, assuring them that he will return to pay the deposits. After lunch, he spots the same two clerks. Golyadkin does not want to speak to them, but he also does not want to offend them. He smiles in greeting and refers to their boss, Andrey Filippovich, as “the Bear” (141), though they seem bemused by his comments. Golyadkin playfully hits one of the clerks on the shoulder, explaining that the so-called Bear is their boss. The clerks say that Filippovich is asking after Golyadkin. This sends Golyadkin into a spiral of rambling statements.

Later, he intends to visit Olsufy Ivanovich’s house for dinner. At the door, the butler says that he cannot allow Golyadkin inside. Filippovich, accompanied by his nephew Vladimir Semyonovich, catches up with Golyadkin in the street. He asks Golyadkin if something is wrong, and Golyadkin tells his boss that it is a private matter. Golyadkin tells his driver to take him home, only to change his mind mid-journey and ask to be taken to a restaurant. There, he goes to a private room and paces in “great agitation” (146).

Chapters 1-3 Analysis

In this section, the manner of Golyadkin’s waking is telling, as he immediately struggles to discern reality from his dreams, highlighting the themes of Tension and Anxiety in Duality and Delusion and Conspiracy. Golyadkin’s confusion blurs the lines between what is real and what is imagined, a problem that plagues his immediate future, and speaks to one of the dualities of existence: reality and illusion. Similarly, his habit of immediately seeking out a mirror to examine his reflection illustrates a constant need to perceive himself correctly. He recognizes the man in the mirror, though he cannot help but imagine what would happen if someone very similar but slightly different were staring back at him, thereby manifesting his double and foreshadowing the theme of Delusion and Conspiracy. When his double does appear, Golyadkin will be forced to confront what seems like a delirious nightmare, which he cannot discern from reality. Golyadkin’s introduction contains everything about his character in a microcosm, from his struggles to distinguish dreams from reality to his constant scrutiny of himself.

After leaving his house, Golyadkin’s social struggles become more pronounced. Even though he lives in a small apartment, he insists on traveling around Saint Petersburg in a carriage. He wants Petrushka to dress well and address him in a respectful tone, but the servant’s cold response sheds light on Golyadkin’s character: His disconnect between reality and illusion and his unpredictable behavior are poorly received. For those Golyadkin believes inferior to himself, like his servant, his demands feel cruel and erratic. However, when Golyadkin encounters two clerks from his office and his superior, he is hesitant and awkward. The carriage and the servant may suggest that he is a well-adjusted member of the Saint Petersburg elite, but his actual interactions with his colleagues reveal his social awkwardness and lack of confidence. Golyadkin is an anxious, introverted man who is severely struggling to fit into his society.

Golyadkin suddenly decides to visit his doctor, who is unimpressed with another visit from a patient who refuses to take his advice to socialize and integrate into society. Golyadkin rejects this prescription, as he is proud to be unlike the others, furthering the theme of Tension and Anxiety in Duality. He simultaneously looks down on and aspires to be more like the Saint Petersburg elite. For example, despite his declarations of individuality, his hired coach and awkward interactions with his colleagues suggest that Golyadkin wants to be viewed as a successful person who is well-integrated into society. However, he does not know how to bond with others and makes uncomfortable small talk that confuses his colleagues and superiors. The interaction with the frustrated doctor suggests that Golyadkin believes that something is wrong with him, but he cannot enact the doctor’s advice because he feels wholly alienated from the society into which he is told to integrate. Golyadkin wants to become a social, well-liked person, but he feels no attachment to people around him, nor can he comprehend how to build relationships with them. Additionally, when he tries, such as showing up at Olsufy Ivanovich’s house, he is turned away. When he meets his superior, Filippovich, on the street, he says that nothing is wrong, missing the opportunity to confide in another person who appears concerned for his well-being. Later, after being turned away from dinner, he retreats to a private restaurant room in shame. Golyadkin further alienates himself, highlighting Agency Versus Fate, as he believes he is doomed to loneliness and rejection. In being turned away from dinner, he feels his fears are confirmed, but in rejecting the help of Filippovich, he further isolates himself.

The narrator has a subjective sympathy for Golyadkin, sharing Golyadkin’s preference for detached, remote observation rather than personal interaction. While few characters are willing to offer Golyadkin any sympathy, the perspective of the narrator aligns the audience with the inner workings of Golyadkin’s mind. To the other characters, Golyadkin is strange and erratic. The sympathetic perspective of the narrator reveals to the audience that Golyadkin’s erratic, strange behavior is motivated by a desire to be liked by other people and a self-loathing with himself for constantly failing to achieve their respect.