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...
Pasternak offers a number of allusions to Tolstoy, Chekhov and Onegin in his reflective chapter on Varykino where the good doctor indulges in a journal while riding out the winter. Seems he didn't think much of Tolstoyism and the devotees the movement inspired. Chekhov also seemed to keep his distance from the Tolstoyans, taking his jabs at the movement in his short novels. I don't know if Parini gets anymore into it than we saw in the movie, The Last Station, but it would be interesting to explore this cult that emerged in the late 19th century and came to influence many persons far and wide, including Gandhi.
ReplyDeleteI totally agree with you. I loved wilson's bio. i've just starteed the bartlett one and i am so far not as engaged.
ReplyDeleteThanks for the comment, dj. Feel free to post more. Tolstoy is such a larger than life figure that he would be very hard to pin down.
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