Sometimes I feel that I am myself, and simultaneously, I can imagine somehow that this person who is in me, in fact, is not me.
On the other hand, sometimes I have a feeling that I am not myself at 100%. At the same time, I am sure that this person, Adam Mazek, is entirely me. Complicated? Maybe. But if you want to find out genuinely mysterious and puzzling mastermind masterpieces, better read Fyodor Dostoyevski’s early novel “The Double” or one of the voyages of Stanislaw Lem’s character Ijon Tichy. Famous Polish writer described these voyages in his “The Star Diaries” masterpiece.
In “The Double,” Dostoyevski precisely described one of the mental disorders – schizophrenia.
The main character, Yakov Petrovich Golyadkin, a government clerk, is suffering from this psychological disease. He has a dual personality. He sees his doppelganger. For me, it is one of the best books describing mental disorders.
The novel is proof of how efficient observer was Dostoyevski.
He was growing in the neighborhood of a psychiatric hospital, and he could observe mentally ill people. For me, the book is another proof indicating the marvelous art of famous Russian novelist.
On the other hand, in one of Stanislaw Lem’s collections of short stories (named “The Star Diaries”), the main character Ijon Tichy, is placed in the psychiatric hospital. He met there with one of the patients. This patient described his feelings and informed why he appeared in this place. He said that he was sure he does not exist. He said that everything that is surrounding him is only the mirage. What’s most interesting is the fact that it had a lot of complicated math calculations. Thanks to that, he was in almost 100% sure of his scientific theory – that nothing exists.
The critical point of this story is that when he started to have doubts about his theory, he went insane, and that is why he went to the hospital.
Now, back the first sentences of my post: do you still feel that my statements are complicated? My posts are not complicated. If you want to read genuinely complex content, better check Dostoeyvski’s and Lem’s books. Believe me that the effort is worth it.
