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PARTISAN REVIEW
seems to express the chil d's amazement and fascin a ti on a t th e mys teri –
ous idea of the hidden space inside the female body, and a t the
impress ive phenomenon of erecti on .
T hi s sort of repetition is cha racteri sti c o f the primary p rocess
thinking that goes on in dreams and in sta tes of dimini shed ego
control. Just as a sin gle dream image may be the condensa ti on of
several unconscious ideas, so a sing le pressin g unconscio us tho ught
may be expressed in several images in the manifest dream . However,
th e repetiti ons, parti cul a rl y the last two, also crea te an effect o l
ambi guity. Tha t is, the ma le fi gure in side the ni che, whi ch is in turn
inside a column encl osed in a wind in g sta ircase, introduces an effect of
sexual confusion , corresponding to the child 's confusion abo ut what
act ua ll y happens during intercourse, and about the difference between
the male and female genitals.
T he confusion is increased by da rkness and by th e diffi culty of
seeing an ything cl earl y.
It
is da rk under the ga teway, the sky is dark ,
the sta irway is dark : the persistent emphas is o n da rkness and indi stinct
vi sion sugges ts tha t thi s is a scene which takes pl ace a t ni ght, and
whi ch a t once arouses and fru stra tes the des ire to see. Th e prima l scene
p resents itself primaril y as a vi sual experience, in which the child
di scovers, by looking, somethin g tha t has been concealed from him.
Dark as it was, Myshkin . on reaching the h alf-landing, at on ce
discovered th at a man was hiding in th e ni che. Myshkin suddenl y
wanted
to
pass by without looking to th e ri ght. He had taken o ne
step already. but he could not resist turning round .
T he wi sh not
to
look is cl ea rl y a defense aga in st the wish to look,
whi ch fin a ll y triumphs.
Thi s essentiall y vi sual aspect of the primal scene expl a ins the
recurring appariti on th roughout the day of the eyes of Rogozhin .
Rogozhin 's eyes represent a t once the visual aspect of th e child 's sexual
wishes and the threa t of di scovery as well as the puni shment fo r those
wi shes, whi ch is cas tration . When Mys hkin looks round , th e eyes meet
hi s own , and the man moves towards him until they are almos t
touchin g. Myshkin tri es to see the o th er man more cl earl y; and a t thi s
crucia l moment , wh en the wi sh to see and the wi sh to touch a re bo th
about to be gra tifi ed, '.'Rogozhin 's eyes fl ashed and a smil e of fur y
contorted hi s face. His ri ght hand was ra ised and something gleamed
in it. " T h e undefined fea r tha t has pursued Myshkin all day suddenl y
ma teri alizes in thi s terrifying image. Thi s knife th a t so fascina ted him
and tha t will later be used on Nastasya represents a t once the in stru-
