Wrapped up Part II the other night and have to say that Dostoevsky certainly has a comic's eye, although one senses the potentially tragic undertones. For Dostoevsky the aristocracy seems to be one largely made up of capricious souls more obsessed with good manners than any profound sense of their being. This is particularly true for the Epanchins, who comically wrestle with their emotions in one scene after another as he places them in very odd and unnerving situations that test the limits of poor Lizaveta Prokofyevna's endurance. Of her daughters, Aglaya, is the most interesting. A real beauty much along the same lines as Nastasya Filippovna Barashkov, who likewise seems to have a hold on Prince Myshkin's emotional strings. Part II ended with Lizaveta demanding to know the extent of the Prince's interests in her youngest daughter. The Prince insisted his feelings were Platonic, but one senses there is more to be said on the matter in later chapters. ...

I'm envious of your Russian, Gintaras, weak or no. Years ago I tried to teach myself Russian so that I could read all the great Russian writers but got nowhere fast I'm afraid. In those days I was also very interested in Russian history.
ReplyDeleteI have a friend who speaks Russian and probably ten other languages fluently. It's a gift. I have to work way too hard at it and even when I start to pick up a language like German, I lose it overnight it seems.
That's a very readable online text. I may read that at some point since I never have.
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