What are the similarities between Stefan Zweig’s “Chess” and Dostoyevsky’s or Kafka’s works in the psychological thriller genre?

Stefan Zweig’s Chess (1942) is a masterpiece in the psychological thriller genre that questions the inner conflicts of the individual, existential crises, and the limits of the human soul. When compared to the works of Dostoyevsky and Kafka, the similarities of Chess focus particularly on the fragility of human consciousness, individual resistance to authority, and themes of the absurd and existential anxiety. I will examine these similarities in detail from a philosophical perspective below.

1. The Fragility of Human Consciousness and Internal Conflict

In Zweig’s Chess, Dr. B.’s mental collapse under Nazi torture and the fragile balance he reestablishes with chess question the limits of human consciousness. Dr. B.’s attempt to maintain his sanity by mentally playing chess moves in his cell resembles the underground man’s reckoning with his own consciousness in Dostoyevsky’s Notes from the Underground. While the underground man internalizes his free will and existential anger as a rebellion against society, Dr. B. develops a mental resistance against external authority (the Nazis). Both characters show that consciousness can be both a shelter and a trap: For Dr. B., chess is a metaphor for freedom, while at the same time it turns into a labyrinth that leads him to madness.

In Kafka’s The Metamorphosis, Gregor Samsa’s transformation into an insect symbolizes the individual’s alienation from his own body and consciousness. Gregor’s separation from social roles parallels Dr. B.’s loneliness in the cell. In both works, the individual tries to make sense of his own existence in the face of the meaninglessness and oppression of the outside world, but this effort often leads to an absurd defeat. In philosophical terms, all three of these writers stand on a line close to Kierkegaard’s concept of “existential anxiety” (angst): When a person becomes aware of his freedom, he is crushed under the weight of this freedom.

2. Individual Resistance to Authority

In Chess, Dr. B.’s mental resistance against Nazi torturers can be compared to Raskolnikov’s rebellion against moral and social norms in Dostoyevsky’s Crime and Punishment. While Raskolnikov challenges authority with his own “superior man” ideal, Dr. B. resists the meaninglessness imposed by a totalitarian regime with his struggle against Czentovic on the chessboard. However, Zweig’s approach is less metaphysical and more secular than Dostoyevsky’s; Dr. B.’s resistance is a reckoning not with God but with the limitations of the human mind.

In Kafka’s The Trial, Josef K.’s struggle against an incomprehensible bureaucratic authority bears a similar absurdity to Dr. B.’s mental resistance against the Nazi regime. In both works, authority is an invisible but ubiquitous force. While Kafka’s authority carries a metaphysical ambiguity, Zweig’s authority is historical and concrete (Nazism). Philosophically, these oppositions can be related to Foucault’s concept of “power”: Zweig emphasizes the physical and mental oppression of power, while Kafka portrays the abstract and pervasive nature of power.

3. Absurd and Existential Anxiety

Zweig’s Chess carries an atmosphere close to Camus’ concept of the “absurd”. Dr. B.’s struggle on the chessboard is a metaphor for the search for meaning in a meaningless world. This parallels Josef K.’s crime in Kafka’s The Trial. Both characters try to construct meaning against the meaninglessness of the universe or authority, but this effort usually ends in defeat. In Dostoyevsky’s The Brothers Karamazov, the existential crisis experienced by Ivan Karamazov when he questions the existence of God intersects with this absurd theme. Ivan’s statement, “If there is no God, everything is permissible,” reflects a similar nihilistic questioning as Dr. B. questions his own moral and mental limits on the chessboard.

4. The Aesthetics of Psychological Tension

Zweig, Dostoyevsky, and Kafka use a similar intensity in creating psychological tension. The chess match in Zweig’s Chess gradually turns into a mental duel, similar to the feverishness of the gambling scenes in Dostoyevsky’s The Gambler. In both works, the characters’ inner chaos is expressed through an external game. In Kafka’s The Metamorphosis, the tension lies more in Gregor’s alienation from his own body and family. All three of these writers aestheticize the uncontrollable impulses and desires of the human soul, in a way that is close to Schopenhauer’s concept of “will.”

5. Differences and Zweig’s Originality

Zweig’s Chess, unlike Dostoyevsky’s metaphysical depth and Kafka’s absurd universality, is firmly anchored in a historical context (World War II and Nazism). While Dostoyevsky’s characters often revolve around universal questions of God, morality, and human nature, Kafka’s works are lost in a bureaucratic and metaphysical universe. Zweig, on the other hand, relates the individual’s mental resistance to a more concrete historical tragedy. This makes Zweig’s work less universal, but more direct political criticism.