Foolishness for Christ appears several times in the novels of Dostoevsky. "The Idiot" explores the ramifications of placing a holy fool (the compassionate and insightful epileptic Prince Myshkin) in a secular world dominated by vanity and desire. According to Joseph Frank "though the gentlemanly and well-educated prince bears no external resemblance to these eccentric figures, he does possess their traditional gift of spiritual insight, which operates instinctively, below any level of conscious awareness or doctrinal commitment." In "Demons", the madwoman Marya Lebyadkina displays many of the attributes of the holy fool, as do the characters of Sofya Marmeladova and Lizaveta in "Crime and
The Double (Dostoevsky 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." The story was adapted into an English play of the same name, which was later adapted into a 2013 film of the same name, starring Jesse Eisenberg. The Double (Dostoevsky novel) The Double (, "Dvoynik") is a novella written by Fyodor Dostoevsky. It was