Fyodor Mikhaylovich Dostoyevsky Фёдор Миха́йлович Достое́вский 1821-1881
Parents Father (Mikhail) Mother (Maria) Moscow physician Violent, tyrannical, controlling alcoholic Persuaded Fyodor to train in St. Petersburg as an engineer Killed by own serfs in 1839 Freud on Dostoevsky’s epilepsy Mother (Maria) Mild, pious woman Dead before Fyodor turned 16
Early Years & Writings 1st novel = Poor Folk (1846) Social concerns Praise by Belinsky, reaction of friends 2nd novel = The Double (1846) Psychological novel Cold reaction by Belinsky
SIBERIA Tsarist Russia Petrashevsky Circle (1848) Alexander I (1801-1825) – enacts reforms Nicholas I (1825-1855) – reactionary, crushes rebellions (1848) Alexander II (1855-1881) – reinstates liberal reforms (1861) Petrashevsky Circle (1848) Westernization and Europeanization of Russia Utopian socialism Threat to Czar Nicholas I Decembrists Revolt (1825) Series of European rebellions (1848) Imprisonment (1849-1859) Death by Firing Squad Four years at labor camp Six years in military
Return to St. Petersburg Study of New Testament Conservative Christian Rejects former socialist views Advocates return to Russian/Christian simplicity Belief in “redemption through suffering” If faced with choice between Truth and Faith/ Christ, he’d choose Faith/Christ
Notes from Underground (1864) The House of the Dead (1862) Agonies of prison life, tales of prisoners Death of first wife, brother Gambling, Alcohol addictions Notes from Underground (1864) “I am a sick man. I am a wicked man. An unattractive man.” Freedom vs. self-interest Anti-Rationalism, Anti-progressive (leads only to sterility, inaction, inertia)
The Big Four Crime and Punishment (1866) The Idiot (1868) Raskolnikov = nihilist, “Schism”/”Split” Published in literary journal alongside Tolstoy’s War and Peace The Idiot (1868) Prince Myshkin = Christ-figure, innocent simpleton The Possessed (The Devils) (1873) Stavrogin = radical group, nihilist The Brothers Karamazov (1880) Murder of despicable father, Fyodor Karamazov Three sons: Dmitry, Ivan, & Alyosha (also: Smerdyakov) “The Legend of the Grand Inquisitor” http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LyneXvwxITI&safety_mode=true&persist_safety_mode=1
The Brothers Karamazov
“To his contemporary readers, Dostoevsky appeared as a writer primarily interested in the terrible aspects of human existence. However, later critics have recognized that the novelist sought to plumb the depths of the psyche, in order to reveal the full range of the human experience, from the basest desires to the most elevated spiritual yearnings. Above all, he illustrated the universal human struggle to understand God and self.”