Dostoevsky's conception of the human personality, as defined by Bakhtin, centres on the problem of dualism and the need for interaction as the foundation of dialogue:

Bakhtin posits dialogue as an ideal of self-affirmation arising from co-existence and interaction. This suggests a harmonious unity with the other in a polyphonic ‘world of consciousnesses mutually illuminating one another, a world of yoked-together semantic human orientations.’ However, few readers would agree that harmonious cooperation forms the basis of Dostoevsky's works, where interaction habitually involves dispute, violence, coercion, violation and withdrawal, on the verbal, physical and emotional levels. While Bakhtin addresses dialogue as an ideal, and perceives harmony in Dostoevsky's polyphony, the novels themselves depict the varying ways in which dialogue is distorted and corrupted, and polyphony is frequently transformed into cacophony.