'Is everyone mad?' The depiction of mental disturbance in the work of Dostoyevsky

Abstract

This article examines how madness is depicted in the work of Dostoyevsky. It gives a brief account of Dostoyevsky's life before looking at the many ways in which he portrayed insanity. It suggests that he provided a sophisticated and complex picture of mental illness which has relevance for how contemporary clinicians conceive of psychiatric illness.