During a visit to Russia, I purchased a Matryoshka doll, a traditional nested doll that opens to reveal smaller figures inside. This experience led me to reflect on the idea that, similar to these dolls, each person contains multiple selves, hidden within and layered over one another.

As I considered this, I realized that we are complex beings composed of various qualities—good and evil, wisdom and folly, reason and instinct—making us inherently mysterious. This layered nature of our identity suggests that understanding ourselves involves recognizing these multiple, sometimes conflicting, aspects.