Fyodor Dostoyevsky's Repetition Commapulsion

In the “Notes From the Underground”, by Fyodor Dostoyevsky, the Underground Man suffers from repetition compulsion. Repetition compulsion is a concept developed by Sigmund Freud; it is where the victims of a traumatic experience are unable to progress mentally and compulsively repeat actions to release similar sensations to that of the trauma. (Van Der Kolk,389) There has been limited research done in the field of repetition compulsion over the past 70 years; but it has been noted as an important part of psychology and is constantly cited in works of psychological literature. Freud originally believed that repetition compulsion was carried out to gain mastery of the situation, but, clinical trials have shown that this rarely occurs and actually causes victims to continue suffering. In this paper, I will prove the Underground Man’s repetition compulsion by providing numerous examples found throughout the book “Notes from the Underground”. …show more content…
After the Underground Man spots the five rouble note he gave to Liza crumpled up in his room, he throws on whatever he can and dashes out the door into the snowy winter night only to find Liza is gone. Later that night he says to himself, “Never had I endured such suffering and remorse, yet could there have been the faintest doubt when I ran out from my lodging that I should turn back half-way”(Dostoevsky,165). The Underground Man experiences the sensation during the act of throwing his stuff on and running out the door. If Liza were to actually be outside when he opened the door, I think he would have changed his mind and told her to leave. This is yet another example we see that supports the idea of the repetition compulsion the Underground Man has relating to not following through on outlandish