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Someone is happy when he/she gets flowers on Valentine’s Day, the other one is happy in suffering from his/her desires or other problems.
And Dostoyevsky is the genius who knows this and shows this “abnormal” idea of happiness that is somewhere in every one of us. And for that reason the works of Dostoyevsky may be a terrifying mirror for all readers (not only for me ).
Inspired by this excellent discussion (I learned a lot) I’ve started reading “The House of the Dead.”
LoeMa said:On the cover of one of my books it says, that you have to read D. when you are feeling sad.
I think this could be right, because then you can understand this living in the underground and this kind of suffering and also the possibility to get out of this suffering – as we discussed.
So should I wait for bad times to finish the book? No, because it’s really great and I’m sure knowing this book can help me in the future to manage life better.
Greetings
LoeMa said:I’ve finished The House of the Dead. Maybe it’s the book itself and not my mood that makes the difference. It’s really great and probably it describes the worst time of Dostoyevsky’s life, but it doesn’t seem so depressing to me like the Notes from underground.
I’m not sure about the reason. Maybe it’s, because The House of the Dead is more a story about what happened and the Notes concentrate on the innermost part of one person and therefore they seem to be more “shocking”?
Greetings
Wiki....wiki...wiki.....Dostoevsky was arrested and imprisoned on April 23rd of 1849 for engaging in revolutionary activity against Tsar Nikolai I. On November 16 that year he was sentenced to death for anti-government activities linked to a liberal intellectual group, the Petrashevsky Circle. After a mock execution in which he was blindfolded and ordered to stand outside in freezing weather waiting to be shot by a firing squad, Dostoevsky's sentence was commuted to a number of years of exile performing hard labor at a katorga prison camp in Omsk, Siberia. The incidence of epileptic seizures, to which he was predisposed, increased during this period.
Flowerdk4 said:SFG75,
I have got Crime & Punishment on my desk and I shall start reading it very soon, so I am right behind you. How far are you in the book??
Flower
The Possessed, The Brothers Karamazov, Notes from Underground, and I'm now into section four of Crime & Punishment.Flowerdk4 said:SFG75,
Which books have you read of Dostojevsky?
He has the thoughts about killing the pawnbroker before receiving the letter from his mother, but been in doubt. The thought of killing her, have occipied his mind and the poverty doesnt affect him so much. In fact he stops doing anything to get some money.
He compaire Marmeladov´s daughter, Sonja with his own sister.
He feels that they both "sell themselves", are able to endure and they have a purity about them. "Purity costs", he says.
Marmeladov drinks his feelings of shame away but Raskolnikov does not want to do that.
Marmeladov says something about foregiveness in chapter 2. That God will forgive "them" too as they have not considered themselves worthy and someday they will all understand. What is it they will understand???
Marmeladov mentions something about his wife almost being forced to marry him and that he could not stand to look at the poverty she and her children were enduring. Marmeladov does fine for about a year but then he cannot take it any more.
Is Marmeladov a "picture" of what Raskolnikov believes his sister´s future husband could turn out to be. Both men marring out of pity and wanting to support their poor wifes???
He also regrets leaving money at Marmeladov´s house.
Why does he regret giving money in both cases? Because he understands that money cannot change their situations??
Page 44Well, he exclaimed involuntarily, all of a sudden, 'what if I'm wrong? What if man isn't really a beast-man in general, I mean, the whole human race, that is; for if he is not, then all the rest is just prejudice, just imagined fears, and there is nothing to stop you from becoming anything you like, and that's as it should be!'
Allright then! I see that we have read different books.SFG75 said:The Possessed, The Brothers Karamazov, Notes from Underground, and I'm now into section four of Crime & Punishment..
SFG75 said:Supposedly, Dostoyevsky was in a similar situation before he wrote the book. He was deeply in debt and asked anyone and everyone he knew for help in that regard. The picture of Raskolnikov slinking around the rooms to avoid the landlord was a bit humorous, but not overly so..
Ok. That makes sense.SFG75 said:That part to me contains shades of nihilism in that no matter what you do-it doesn't really matter. .
SFG75 said:To me, this is just Marmeladov....being Marmeladov. He's a drunk, drunks are social-and he's a social drunk. Not only that, but he's older than Raskolnikov and quickly engages him in a conversation, using flattery to find his way in. It was also interesting to read howReligious symbolism was huge here as the mother then stayed at her daughter's feet and refused to budge. Reminded me a lot of the story of Jesus washing his disciple's feet. You also could compare her to Mary Magdalene in that regard. .Sonya engaged in prostitution in order to bring home more money for the family.
SFG75 said:I don't believe that he felt that his sister would end up like Mrs. Marmeladov, but he didn't want her to sacrifice her life and dreams on his behalf. Later on in section three, he says as much to her face when he insults Luzhin and then proceeds to upbraid his sister for her choice. I believe that he wants her to live her own life and to do so out of her own desires and willpower, without consideration of other people's desires. Once again, philosophical overtones around this one as the sister appears to be a dependent personality type, who could use some existential ideas in regards to finding one's intrinsic interests and needs in this life. By living for others in any way, you are not necessarily living the way that you should, hence, no self-actualization..
SFG75 said:Later on, he alsoIt's a situation to me, where he gives to those in need, only to consider his own needs lastly, and then subsequently, regret it.gives money to Marmeladov's family when he is trampled under a team of horses.
SFG75 said:You mentioned previously, Raskolnikov finding out about Sonia's occupation. In the chapter where he gives the money to the Marmeladov's, the following line is uttered, just begging for a psychological interpretation.
Well, he exclaimed involuntarily, all of a sudden, 'what if I'm wrong? What if man isn't really a beast-man in general, I mean, the whole human race, that is; for if he is not, then all the rest is just prejudice, just imagined fears, and there is nothing to stop you from becoming anything you like, and that's as it should be!'
Page 44
In a sense, I somewhat gather that Raskolnikov is a sociologist to a degree. he realizes that prostitution and dowry-marriage are more similar than people realize, they also have a relative meaning given to each by society at large. In speaking of "imagined fears" and the like, is he not alluding to depression, and other mental maladies??
To compare the Garnett and the Pevear-Volokhonsky translations of The Brothers Karamazov os to alight on hundreds of subtle differences in tone, word choiceword orderand rhythm.