A Literary Analysis Of 'The Queen Of Spades'

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The Queen of Spades is written in six short chapters with each chapter containing an epigraph calling to it a different theme. It is often referred to as a short story but would be more appropriately referred to as a novella when considering its length. Each epigraphs themes revolve around the supernatural, psychology, and parodies of gothic romance and the themes are as follows: obsession, risk, the unpredictability of life, secrecy, normal vs paranormal, and unscrupulous behavior. It is written in a third person point of view giving it an omniscient objectivity leaving little room for the appeal of melodrama. Here, we will analyze The Queen of Spades and discover the ways in which it pertains to the previously stated themes and topics. The first theme that is present …show more content…

Upon learning of the Tomsky’s tale, Hermann becomes obsessed with uncovering the secret that was used by the Countess to win her fortune. It becomes such an obsession of his that it keeps him awake at night wandering the streets in constant deep thought of what might come his way if he were to learn of her secretes. “If the old Countess would but reveal her secret to me! if she would only tell me the names of the three winning cards. I must…become her lover…I shall be able to double my capital—increase it sevenfold…” (7-9) Hermann’s manic disposition eventually begins to escalate the more he focuses on how to get to the Countess and this allows him to formulate a plan that will get him what he desires. His actions are that of an individual who is at the mercy of an idee fixe, or an extreme fixation. In psychology this is a symptoms of someone who has obsessive compulsive disorder and although he is able to recognize the absurdity of this obsession he is disillusioned by the idea of it and therefore

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