Skip to main content
By

 I had a long weekend and read the first half of The Idiot.  It had taken a couple tries to get through the first few chapters, but with some quiet time I was able to finally get into the story.  Dostoevsky certainly had a theatrical sense in his choice of characters and confrontations he sets up.  The first part all takes place in the course of one day and one can easily see this acted out on stage as "The Prince" makes his odd and very entertaining return to Petersburg.  His epilepsy is taken as idiocy but those around him soon learn of his remarkable ability to cut through situations as he endears himself to a Russian aristocratic family, the wife apparently being some distant relation.

If you haven't read the novel, I don't want to give too much away as Dostoevsky relies heavily on suspense to carry the action.  His nemesis proves to be Rogozhin, who he unwittingly falls into confrontation with over the lovely Nastasya Filippovna, who turns out to be even more eccentric in her behavior than Rogozhin.

I'm just about through Part II which focuses heavily on how the Prince comes to inherit a sizable fortune, soon finding himself being taking advantage of by a rather odd group of Nihilists who break up an enjoyable afternoon tea he was having with the Epanchins at a dacha outside Petersburg.  Dostoevsky loves setting up complex confrontations and this one goes on a bit too long for my taste, but a lot is found out about the characters one and all.

Curious to get some feedback.  Will post more as I read.

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Ward No. 6

By
Ward No. 6 is a short story written by Chekhov in 1892.  It has appeared in various collections of Chekhov short stories, including The Horse-Stealers and Other Stories translated by Constance Garnett in 1921.  In this story, Chekhov explores the inner working of a run-down lunatic asylum in a provincial town.  He  introduces the readers to a coarse porter who speaks mostly with his fists, various patients, a doctor who presides over this ward, and expresses his thoughts with a local postmaster.  It was recently made into a movie , featuring Vladimir Ilyin.  Here's a clip . There's also this very recent short film (30 min.) by Suzana Purkovic, with English subtitles.
17 comments
Read more

Light and Dark

By
I'm still trying to sort out the ending.  The story had to end tragically but was surprised that Rogozhin actually sought forgiveness in Myshkin after what he had done to Nastya, although I think that Dostoevsky intended the two to be read as one, along similar lines as The Double .  He kept Rogozhin a shadowy figure throughout the novel, ever lurking in the dark of the Prince's soul.  Try as he might, Prince Myshkin could not alter events and thus the fantasy world he had lived in upon returning to Russia crumbled before his eyes, leaving him at a total loss as how to reconcile himself with it. Once again, Dostoevsky plumbs great depths of the human soul.  This is a psychological drama told in theatrical terms, perfectly suited for the stage.  Characters appear and disappear as if moving from the shadows of the stage.  I can see the "green bench" as the central stage piece.  In the final part, one gets the sense that Lebedev is orchestrating event...
12 comments
Read more

The Morning of Our Motherland

By
I was watching a History channel special on Socialist Realism art of the Soviet Union and this was one of the grand canvases that is now stuffed away in the Tretyakov State Gallery .  The painter was Fyodor Shurpin and he had a wonderful eye for detail, right down to the secret service black car on the road to Stalin's right.  To the left, one sees a row of combines turning over the field of golden wheat, which became symbolic of Stalin's Soviet Union.  Утро нашей Родины is from 1949, with Stalin radiating a post-war confidence.  It is also known as  Dawn of our Fatherland and other titles. Shurpin was one of the better artists to carry over from the pre-war years.  The narrator pointed out how socialist realist art changed dramatically as a result of the war, becoming much more static and propagandist in appearance.  He pointed to two stops along the Moscow subway as an example of this divide.  Here, Shurpin essentially transposes Stalin fo...
Post a Comment
Read more