Dostoyevsky's Matricidal Impulses

Dostoyevsky's parricidal impulses have been described in Freud's classical work (1) and have proved indispensable for understanding the character and work of the author. A necessary supplement for insight into Dostoyevsky's psychology, however, is a recognition and evaluation of his equally powerful matricidal impulses.

Dostoyevsky's works are characterized by the recurrent theme of an intense but frustrated love of a man for a woman, which drives him to the point of madness, suicide or murder. Dostoyevsky's literary career was launched with the short novel, “Poor Folk”, which depicts the yearning of a poor middle-aged clerk for a young girl with whom he is scarcely acquainted but who has made a powerful impression upon him. He feels that his poverty and the “difference in age” make his suit ridiculous and, despite her encouragement, he refuses to visit her but carries on instead a written correspondence. The girl is unable to continue this shadowy love in the face of realities and is persuaded to marry a wealthy landowner. At the end, the clerk is left to complete a miserable existence whose joys and sorrows will henceforth center about the memory of his frustrated love.

It is quite clear that this story embodies early childhood memories of a boy's love for his mother. The “difference in age”, his inability to give her anything, the ridiculousness of his attempts to woo her and the inevitable defeat in competition with the powerful father, are recognizable reproductions of the earlier situation. Further confirmation of this view is to be found in a subsidiary theme in “Poor Folk”. The heroine, carrying on her part of the correspondence,