Envy and Jealousy in Nina Berberova’s The Accompanist through the Prism of Personality Emotion Theory

This article provides an analysis of the unique aspects of the conflict and the figurative structure of Nina Berberova’s (1901–1993) story The Accompanist (1935), in the context of the research conducted by the psychoanalyst Karen Horney. Berberova’s story became a significant part of the literary process, marking a new direction in the themes and imagery of Russian literature. The feeling of envy, presented in the story and regarded since ancient times as one of the most dangerous and destructive ones, is analysed in the context of a neurotic individual formula. Horney, who dealt with the problem of self-development of personality based on sociocultural factors and environmental influences, considers human behaviour in conditions of destabilisation of family relations. The scholar expounded on the actions of an individual who behaves unusually, attributing this behaviour to underlying issues in interpersonal relationships caused by negative emotions. Horney’s definitions are extremely relevant to understanding the behavioural disorders of Sonechka, the protagonist of Berberova’s novel. Sonechka’s feelings of envy and jealousy, which she experienced having been born and raised in difficult circumstances and never managing to overcome the alienation in her family relationships, can be explained by the neurotic personality formula. The portrayal of an envious person who cannot tolerate others having something they do not have is seen in the context of the psychoanalytic approach, according to which an individual’s actions cannot lack justification, they are always determined by a complex of factors that should be considered in a personal assessment. The article integrates psychology and literature, two human-centred disciplines, and concludes that Horney’s theory, which was popular in the 1930s, had a significant influence on the author of the story.