The Double

The theme of Tension and Anxiety in Duality is explored through the protagonist, Golyadkin, a man who is perpetually caught between opposing forces. Golyadkin finds himself caught between a litany of dualities, including the real and the fake, the profound and the superficial, the rich and the poor, and the working class and the bourgeoisie. These dualities and the tension they represent create a distinction in Russian society, as depicted in the novel, between those on the inside and those on the outside. Golyadkin, a member of the latter category, is socially ostracized. He feels himself on the outside, covetously peering into the inner workings of society. He tries to exist on the boundaries between these worlds, often invoking performance to appear as something he is not. For example, Golyadkin changes his money into smaller denominations so that his wallet appears fuller, rides in a carriage that he likely cannot afford, and sneaks into upper-class social events, only to be removed because he has no invitation. Golyadkin exists on the boundaries of dualities: He performs his identity for so long that he is left alienated from his actual identity, causing anxiety to fester within him as he cannot resolve the inherent tensions caused by the ever-present dualities in the world around him.

The double is a product of this struggle between dualities. When Golyadkin wakes, he immediately checks himself in the mirror. He sees himself and is comforted that this mirrored version of himself conforms to his expectations. As his life begins to fall apart, however, and as he becomes increasingly awkward, this comfort evaporates. The duality of comfort and anxiety tips too far in the direction of anxiety, to the point where Golyadkin can find no comfort in his own reflection. Instead, he is haunted by a man who is his exact double. This mirrored version of himself no longer provides the comfort of the man Golyadkin glimpsed in the mirror. Instead, the double and Golyadkin form a duality. There exists a clear tension between the mirrored version of Golyadkin—referred to as Mr. Golyadkin junior—who embodies the enviable, estimable qualities that Golyadkin—or Mr. Golyadkin senior—wishes he possessed. Meanwhile, the actual Golyadkin becomes more awkward, erratic, and desperate. The emergence of the double emphasizes the duality between the actual, awkward, anxious Golyadkin and the man who Golyadkin wishes to be.

The two sides of Golyadkin’s duality come into conflict. On numerous occasions, Golyadkin threatens his double, even challenging him to a duel. At the same time, even the slightest sympathy or recognition from the double is enough to distract Golyadkin from this anger, all while the double continues to usurp Golyadkin’s position. Golyadkin makes a plan to abscond from Saint Petersburg with Klara. He will remove himself from the social situation that has created his anxiety and produced his double, thereby resolving the conflict by physically distancing himself. Golyadkin’s plan fails because he does not realize that the true conflict is internal. The physiological duality between his actual and desired selves—his awkward anxieties and the coveted conformity—cannot be resolved by leaving voluntarily. Instead, he is taken away, presumably to a psychiatric hospital, creating a final duality: The man who tried to remove himself by free will is dragged away by force.