The idea for “Out of reach” arose after a failed suicide attempt and the feeling of deep shame to fail even here – the theme of the ridiculous suicide can be found in Dostoevsky’s novel “The Idiot”:
“He only saw something blank in Ippolit’s right hand, and at the same moment the small pocket pistol was already running at his temple. Keller reached for his arm, but Ippolit already pulled the trigger. The sharp, dry crackling of the cock was audible, but no shot followed. When Keller knocked over Ippolit, he sank unconscious into his arms, perhaps really mad that he was already dead.”
Dostoevsky, Fyodor: The Idiot; Piper; 1997; p. 644