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This paper examines the psychological exile of David Levinsky, the protagonist of Abraham Cahan’s novel The Rise of David Levinsky by drawing upon Karan Horney’s psychoanalytic theory. Although Levinsky’s story is about the “rise” of a poor immigrant Russian Jew in American society, the “rise” entails an ironic psychological “fall.” Horney’s theory of the “basic anxiety” and interpersonal defense strategies, especially her reading of neurotics’ use of others for self-validation and the “search for glory,” sheds light on Levinsky’s profound sense of loss and exile, which is the outcome of such an ironic “rise.” Horney’s analysis of the inexplicable co-existence in neurotics’ lives of apparently irreconcilable moves against, toward, and away from others convincingly explains Levinsky’s perplexing oscillation between an arrogant, vindictive drive for mastery and a morbid dependence on others leading to a desperate self-effacing submission. Understanding the complex relationship between Levinsky’s simultaneous move against and toward others helps readers fathom his profound sense of insecurity and exile that leaves him hopelessly detached from others. Thus, a Horneyan reading of Levinsky’s character structure effectively reveals the multi-layered psychic histories and meanings that render a poor Jewish immigrant’s miraculous “rise” into such a puzzling, bittersweet case of irony.