"Is féidir an scannán a thuiscint mar mheatafór pholaitiúil ar bhreith ealaíontóra, is é sin, mar léiriú amhairc ar odyssey síceach Nina i dtreo foirfeacht ealaíon a bhaint amach agus ar an bpraghas a íocfar as é. " Aronofsky conceived the premise by connecting his views of a production of Swan Lake with an unrealized screenplay about understudies and the notion of being haunted by a double, similar to the folklore surrounding doppelgängers. Aronof Dostoyev's The Black Swan is another notable figure considered as inspiration for the film, with all the psychological and physical challenges one might encounter, i.e. "Is féidir an scannán a thuiscint mar mheatafór póideach ar bhreith ealaíontóra, is é sin, mar léiriú amhairc ar odyssey síceach Nina i dtreo foirfeacht ealaíon a bhaint amach agus ar an bpraghas a íocfar as é".
Fyodor Dostoyevsky's The Double