Psychological realism is a literary genre that was popular in the late 19th century. The genre is heavily character driven and follows a protagonist’s inner world closely. The protagonist often faces a grave internal dilemma, and the actions in the story focus on testing the character’s resolve and mental state.

The genre was popular at the turn of the 20th century because the field of psychology was coming to prominence. In the literary world, many authors reacted against the romantic and realist genres of the early 19th century, which they saw as ignoring the characters’ inner worlds. The assumption that life is subjective and determined by one’s individual experience—rather than external events—is the basis of psychological realism.

Protagonists are often solitary and more focused on their interior world than the outside world. They often find interacting with the people around them taxing and disturbing to their mental state. The genre’s recurring theme is the struggle for authenticity in a world that demands conformity and compromise.

The classic example of a psychological realist author and master of the genre is Fyodor Dostoyevsky. His novel Crime and Punishment features a protagonist, Raskolnikov, who struggles with the decision to take a life.