The Double has been interpreted in a number of ways. Looking backwards, it is viewed as Dostoevsky's innovation on
Gogol. Looking forwards, it is often read as a
psychosocial version of his later
ethical-
psychological works. These two readings, together, position
The Double at a critical juncture in Dostoevsky's writing at which he was still synthesising what preceded him but also adding in elements of his own. One such element was that Dostoevsky switched the focus from Gogol's
social perspective in which the main characters are viewed and interpreted socially to a psychological context that gives the characters more
emotional depth and internal motivation. As to the interpretation of the work itself, there are three major trends in scholarship. First, many have said that Golyadkin simply goes insane, probably with
schizophrenia. This view is supported by much of the text, particularly Golyadkin's innumerable hallucinations. Second, many have focused on Golyadkin's search for
identity. One critic wrote that
The Doubles main idea is that "the human will in its search for total freedom of expression becomes a self-destructive impulse". This individualistic focus is often contextualised by scholars, such as Joseph Frank, who emphasise that Golyadkin's identity is crushed by the bureaucracy and stifling society he lives in. The final context of understanding for
The Double that transcends all three categories is the ongoing debate about its literary quality. While the majority of scholars have regarded it as somewhere from "too fragile to bear its significance" to utterly unreadable, there have been two notable exceptions. Dostoevsky wrote in ''
A Writer's Diary that "Most decidedly, I did not succeed with that novel; however, its idea was rather lucid, and I have never expressed in my writings anything more serious. Still, as far as form was concerned, I failed utterly." Vladimir Nabokov, who generally regarded Dostoevsky as a "rather mediocre" writer, called The Double'' "the best thing he ever wrote", saying that it is "a perfect work of art". == Adaptations ==