scholarly journals IN THE BEGINNING THERE WILL HAVE BEEN VIOLENCE: JUSTICE AND LAW. THE BROTHERS KARAMAZOV BY FYODOR DOSTOEVSKY

2021 ◽  
Vol XII (38) ◽  
pp. 123-145
Author(s):  
Milen Vladić Jovanov

The realistic novel "The Brothers Karamazov” raises critical questions about modernist poetics, which refer to questions of religion, justice, law, and order within the narrative. They are interpreted both on the universal and the individual conceptual level, making the novel a complex system of narrative sequences. In the sequence related to the character of Ivan Karamazov, questions of fiction within fiction, writing and creation, repetition of the roles of the author and spectral characters in the story and the character of Ivan Karamazov are raised. These questions are modernist-critical and it is the intensity of their appearance that is referred to here. Modernism establishes the problematic situation of art itself, placing in the form of a meta quality, not only the question of artistic quality but also the field it belongs to in the foundations of the works of art themselves. The question raised is rooted in the basic meaning of literature. Literary forms bend self-referentially towards themselves, in order to twist anew and express reality. Modernist works ask readers whether all literary themes are legitimately literary or whether literature can deal with "any" topic. These questions have arisen since art has self-referentially bent towards the entirety of culture and art, and all the various questions raised in specific scientific fields. Therefore, it is sometimes said that literary works are, for example, philosophical, psychological. However, that refers to the entire literary order, whereas in the stated narrative the questions are so complex and the question of the literary status itself is entwined with their complexity

1964 ◽  
Vol 26 (3) ◽  
pp. 353-377 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ellis Sandoz

The political thought of Fyodor Dostoevsky grows out of his opposition to nihilism, atheistic humanism, and socialism in much the same way as the philosophy of Plato grew out of his opposition to the sophists. Indeed, the parallel of Dostoevsky's thought with that of Plato is to be seen in some further aspects of this fundamental opposition. Both the Russian master of the novel and the Hellenic founder of political science confronted adversaries for whom “Man is the measure of all things” and each based his opposition on the principle “God is the Measure,” to use Plato's formulation. This declaration, echoing like a thunderclap across more than twenty centuries of history, found consummate expression in the last great work of each writer: the Laws and The Brothers Karamazov.


Author(s):  
Pavel E. Fokin ◽  
Ilya O. Boretsky

The first Russian theatrical production of Dostoevsky's novel The Brothers Karamazov premiered on the eve of Dostoevsky’s 20th death anniversary on January 26 (February 7) 1901 at the Theater of the Literary and Artistic Society (Maly Theater) in St. Petersburg as a benefit for Nikolay Seversky. The novel was adapted for the stage by K. Dmitriev (Konstantin Nabokov). The role of Dmitry Karamazov was performed by the famous dramatic actor Pavel Orlenev, who had received recognition for playing the role of Raskolnikov. The play, the staging, the actors’ interpretation of their roles became the subject of detailed reviews of the St. Petersburg theater critics and provoked controversial assessments and again raised the question about the peculiarities of Dostoevsky’s prose and the possibility of its presentation on stage. The production of The Brothers Karamazov at the Maly Theater in St. Petersburg and the controversy about it became an important stage in the development of Russian realistic theater and a reflection of the ideas of Dostoevsky’s younger contemporaries about the distinctive features and contents of his art. The manuscript holdings of the Vladimir Dahl State Museum of the History of Russian Literature includes Anna Dostoevskaya’s collection containing a set of documentary materials (the playbill, newspaper advertisements, reviews, feuilletons), which makes it possible to form a complete picture of the play and Russian viewers’ reaction to it. The article provides a description of the performance, and voluminous excerpts from the most informative press reviews. The published materials have not previously attracted special attention of researchers.


Author(s):  
Pavel E. Fokin ◽  
Ilya O. Boretsky

The first Russian theatrical production of Dostoevsky's novel The Brothers Karamazov premiered on the eve of Dostoevsky’s 20th death anniversary on January 26 (February 7) 1901 at the Theater of the Literary and Artistic Society (Maly Theater) in St. Petersburg as a benefit for Nikolay Seversky. The novel was adapted for the stage by K. Dmitriev (Konstantin Nabokov). The role of Dmitry Karamazov was performed by the famous dramatic actor Pavel Orlenev, who had received recognition for playing the role of Raskolnikov. The play, the staging, the actors’ interpretation of their roles became the subject of detailed reviews of the St. Petersburg theater critics and provoked controversial assessments and again raised the question about the peculiarities of Dostoevsky’s prose and the possibility of its presentation on stage. The production of The Brothers Karamazov at the Maly Theater in St. Petersburg and the controversy about it became an important stage in the development of Russian realistic theater and a reflection of the ideas of Dostoevsky’s younger contemporaries about the distinctive features and contents of his art. The manuscript holdings of the Vladimir Dahl State Museum of the History of Russian Literature includes Anna Dostoevskaya’s collection containing a set of documentary materials (the playbill, newspaper advertisements, reviews, feuilletons), which makes it possible to form a complete picture of the play and Russian viewers’ reaction to it. The article provides a description of the performance, and voluminous excerpts from the most informative press reviews. The published materials have not previously attracted special attention of researchers.


Author(s):  
Анастасия Николаевна Кошечко ◽  
Алина Сергеевна Шилова

Введение. Предпринята попытка исследования рецепции антропологического идеала в романе Ф. М. Достоевского «Братья Карамазовы» русскими религиозными философами порубежной эпохи XIX–XX вв. Аутентичное понимание и интерпретация ключевых идей писателя о человеческом идеале, его ценностях и смысле жизни возможны только в контексте православной антропологии. Важность этого материала не ограничивается осмыслением проблемы антропологического идеала и его влияния на дальнейшее развитие русской религиозно-философской мысли, позволяет исследовать особенности художественного мира романа, в том числе специфику репрезентации в идейном поле произведения авторского начала, мировоззрения писателя. Материал и методы. Материалом исследования послужили работы В. С. Соловьева «Три речи в память Достоевского», В. В. Розанова «Легенда о Великом инквизиторе», Н. А. Бердяева «Миросозерцание Достоевского», Н. О. Лосского «Достоевский и его христианское миропонимание», канонический текст романа Ф. М. Достоевского «Братья Карамазовы». Используются культурно-исторический, сравнительно-сопоставительный, структурно-типологический методы. Результаты и обсуждение. Наука о Достоевском начинается именно с трудов русских религиозных философов и мыслителей конца XIX – начала XX в., которые идеи о сущности человека, его предназначении, идеале делают содержательным ядром своих размышлений. Итоговый роман Великого Пятикнижия «Братья Карамазовы» как квинтэссенция жизненного и творческого пути Достоевского, неразрывно связанный с духовными и аксиологическими императивами православной антропологии, наиболее часто привлекается религиозными философами для рефлексии ключевых доминант собственных философских концепций, анализа и аргументации идей. Этот материал позволяет исследовать особенности художественного мира романа, специфику репрезентации в идейном поле произведения мировоззрения писателя и авторского начала, антропологического идеала, неразрывно связанного для Достоевского с такими духовными и ценностными доминантами, как Христос, Православие, святость, народность, добро и зло, и выявить его влияние на дальнейшее развитие русской религиозно-философской мысли. Заключение. Антропологический идеал Достоевского, по мысли религиозных философов, опирается на православное учение о человеке, раскрывающее как антиномичность человеческой природы (pro et contra в терминологии писателя), так и бытийную ее устремленность к Богу, Истине, потребность в добре, вне которых личность осознает свое не-бытие. Доминантами антропологического идеала писателя, которые находят отражение в трудах религиозных философов, становятся святость, красота как этическая доминанта личности, укорененность в ценностях и смыслах христоцентричной в своих основаниях русской культуры. Introduction. This article attempts to study the reception of the anthropological ideal in the novel by F. M. Dostoevsky “The Brothers Karamazov” by Russian religious philosophers of the late 19th–20th centuries. Authentic understanding and interpretation of the writer’s key ideas about the human ideal, its values and the meaning of life is possible only in the context of Orthodox anthropology. The importance of this material is not limited to comprehending the problem of the anthropological ideal and its influence on the further development of Russian religious and philosophical thought; moreover, it allows one to explore the peculiarities of the artistic world of the novel, including the specifics of the representation of the author’s principle in the ideological field of the work, the peculiarities of the writer’s worldview. Material and methods. The research material was the work of V. S. Solovyov “Three Speeches in memory of Dostoevsky”, V. V. Rozanov “The Legend of the Grand Inquisitor”, N. А. Berdyaeva “Dostoevsky’s worldview”, N. O. Lossky “Dostoevsky and his Christian worldview”, the canonical text of the novel by F. M. Dostoevsky “The Brothers Karamazov”. The work uses cultural and historical, comparative, structural and typological methods. Results and discussion. The science of Dostoevsky begins precisely with the works of Russian religious philosophers and thinkers of the late XIX – early XX centuries, which ideas about the essence of man, his purpose, ideally make him a meaningful core of his thoughts. The final novel of the Great Pentateuch “The Brothers Karamazov” as a quintessence of Dostoevsky’s life and creative path, inextricably connected with the spiritual and axiological imperatives of Orthodox anthropology, is most often attracted by religious philosophers to reflect key dominants of their own philosophical concepts, analyze and argue ideas. This material allows us to explore the features of the artistic world of the novel, the specifics of representation in the ideological field of the work of the writer’s worldview and author’s beginning, the features of the anthropological ideal, inextricably linked for Dostoevsky with such spiritual and value dominants as Christ, Orthodoxy, holiness, nationality, good and evil, and to identify its influence on the further development of Russian religious and philosophical thought. Conclusion. Dostoevsky’s anthropological ideal, according to religious philosophers, is based on the Orthodox doctrine of man, revealing both the antinomy of human nature («pro et contra» in the writer’s terminology) and its previous striving for God, Truth, the need for good, outside of which the person is aware of his non-existence. The dominants of the anthropological ideal of the writer, which are reflected in the works of religious philosophers, are holiness, beauty as the ethical dominant of the person, and reproach in the values and meanings of Christ-centered Russian culture in their foundations.


2015 ◽  
Vol 77 (2) ◽  
pp. 217-242
Author(s):  
Sean Illing

AbstractThis article examines the influence of Fyodor Dostoevsky on Albert Camus's political philosophy of revolt. The aim is to clarify Camus's reactions to the problems of absurdity, nihilism, and transcendence through an analysis of his literary and philosophical engagement with Dostoevsky. I make three related claims. First, I claim that Camus's philosophy of revolt is informed in crucial ways by Dostoevsky's accounts of religious transcendence and political nihilism. Second, that Camus's conceptualization of the tension between nihilism and transcendence corresponds to and is personified by the dialogue between Ivan Karamazov and Father Zossima in Dostoevsky'sThe Brothers Karamazov. Finally, that Camus uses his novelThe Plagueto bridge the moral and metaphysical divide between these two characters. In particular, I argue that Camus offers a distinct vision of revolt inThe Plague, which clarifies both the practical implications of revolt and his philosophical rejoinder to Dostoevsky.


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