The Double by Fyodor Dostoevsky [PDF]
by InfoBooks
The strangest thing in The Double is not the man with Mr. Golyadkin's face. It's that when he sits down at the desk opposite, nobody in the office seems surprised, and the head clerk only asks if he's a brother.
This version of The Double in PDF is our own edition from Project Aldus: the complete novel, set so you can follow Golyadkin's racing thoughts chapter after chapter without tiring.
The download is free and needs no sign-up. One click and all thirteen chapters are yours, ready to start reading.
The Double by Fyodor Dostoevsky
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Information: The Double
- Author: Fyodor Dostoevsky.
- Publication Date: 1846.
- Main Characters:
- Yakov Petrovitch Golyadkin: A titular councillor and assistant to the chief clerk, anxious and proud, who is convinced that his enemies are plotting against him.
- The Double: A new clerk with the same name and the same face as Golyadkin. Charming and quick, he wins over the office and slowly takes his place.
- Petrushka: Golyadkin's servant, who lives behind the partition in his little flat.
- Klara Olsufyevna: The only daughter of Golyadkin's patron, Olsufy Ivanovitch Berendyev, whose birthday ball Golyadkin is turned away from.
- Krestyan Ivanovitch: Golyadkin's doctor, whom he visits at the start of the novel.
- Anton Antonovitch Syetotchkin: The head clerk, an old colleague who sits next to Golyadkin at the office.
- Brief Summary: "The Double" is a novel written by Fyodor Dostoevsky that tells the story of Yakov Petrovitch Golyadkin, a titular councillor in Petersburg whose life is turned upside down when a man with his name and his face starts working at the desk opposite his own. The work explores the bureaucratic and existential aspects of Golyadkin's life as the newcomer wins over his colleagues and takes his place.
- Thematic Analysis: "The Double" addresses themes such as duality, identity, freedom, and internal struggle. Through the character of Yakov Petrovitch Golyadkin and his double, the novel explores the complexity of human psychology and the conflict between what one desires to be and the reality one faces.
- Historical Context: "The Double" was published in 1846, in the midst of the 19th century in the Russian Empire. At this time, Fyodor Dostoevsky portrays Russian society and its bureaucracy, as well as the tensions and conflicts between individuals and state institutions. Dostoevsky revised the novel for the edition of 1866, the text translated here. The novel reflects the social and political criticism characteristic of the era and is considered one of the precursor works of literary existentialism.
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