Kubus English 4
Pushkin, The Queen of Spades - Psychological Profile Assignment
“Three, seven, ace! Three, seven, queen!” mutters Hermann “with unusual rapidity” in his one-room cell in Obukhov
Hospital. What happened to this man who not a mere number of days and five chapters before was wholly unwilling “to
sacrifice the essentials of life in the hope of acquiring the luxuries‽” Yes, that’s an interrobang. What happened to this
previously sensible man‽
To me, Pushkin’s text is, more than anything, a psychological thriller of catastrophic proportions. A man who selfidentifies as, let’s say, ‘severely financially prudent,’ is not propelled into the vast abyss of gambling and temptation without
some sort of psychological defect; and in six short chapters, Pushkin so convincingly records the fall of a man taken in by
what he dismissively referred to as a “fairy tale,” and his inability to resist its promises.
In class we’re going to spend a good deal of time talking about how he gets from point A to point B – we’ll explore how
the narrator portrays his slow devolution into madness in a pretty sophisticated way (I hope!). But, what I’d like you to do
in this assignment is, based on what the narrator relates and in the form of a psychological profile, to tell me why he is so
susceptible to obsession.
A psychological profile…
…as I understand it, is a report usually written by a forensic psychologist in determining the characteristics of a criminal
type. In this instance, though, you are going to be writing from the perspective of a psychiatrist who is given the task of
diagnosing the cause of Hermann’s insanity.
Imagine the narrator of The Queen of Spades comes into your office, sits down in front of you, and delivers the entirety of
Pushkin’s novella as one, long speech. In order to write up a profile of Hermann – the patient’s background, his likes and
dislikes, his pattern of behavior, etc – you can only use this statement as any form of evidence in your report. So, you are
going to use your close-reading skills to profile Hermann psychologically and, ultimately, give him a diagnosis (Your
diagnosis will require you to do a bit of research into mental illnesses. This might be a starting point.).
What are the components of your profile?
1. Cover Page  link to example.
2. “Patient History” (Introduction)
A paragraph detailing in brief how the patient came to be in Obukhov Hospital, Room 17.
3. “Behavioral Observations” (Data)
A paragraph outlining the essential diagnostic criteria. Example: “The narrator indicated that Hermann ‘by
some means or other’ sent a letter to Lisaveta in order to gain admittance to the Countess’ home.”
4. “Interpretation and Impressions” (Analysis)
A synthesis of these data. Example: “That Hermann feels compelled ‘by some means or other’ to ascertain the
whereabouts of Lisaveta and to give her the letter only highlights his pathological fixation on obtaining the
information from the Countess. Tomsky’s story is no longer a “strong impression” made on Hermann’s
imagination, but rather a crippling stranglehold.”
5. “Diagnosis and Recommendation” (Conclusion)
A brief statement of Hermann’s mental illness that caused his behavior. Recommend how he might be treated.
Other bits to keep in mind…
You notice that each of these components equates to a part of a body paragraph that you would normally write for me in
an essay of literary analysis. This is what we do, gents! We make observations, interpret them, and make arguments based
on those interpretations! This is just another structure of the same type of argumentation. Nevertheless, your writing style
might be a bit more rigid and scientific on this occasion because of the nature of the assignment, but that kind of writing
involves a certain artfulness as well.
It might also be interesting for you to write a psychological report of Lisanka or the Countess. There is plenty of evidence
to draw from for a full write-up on one of the three principal characters. Have fun with this. Aim for 500 words.
Final essay due Friday, 28 February in class. This, as always, must be submitted to turnitin.com by 8am.