Difference between revisions of "Fyodor Dostoevsky"
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| − | '''Fyodor Dostoevsky''' (Фёдор Михайлович Достоевский) (November 11 | + | [[File:Fyodor Mikhailovich Dostoyevsky 1876.jpg|thumbnail|200px|right|Fyodor Dostoevsky ]] |
| + | '''Fyodor Dostoevsky''' (Фёдор Михайлович Достоевский) (November 11, 1821 – February 9, 1881) is a Russian author famous for his lengthy novels about society, social mores, and morality in [[Tzar]]ist Russia. In his novels he explores human psychology in the troubled political, social and spiritual-Christian context of his contemporary Russian society. He is generally considered one of the greatest novelists in history.<ref>http://thisrecording.com/today/2009/8/3/in-which-these-are-the-100-greatest-writers-of-all-time.html</ref> | ||
His major works include ''[[The Brothers Karamazov]]'' and ''[[Crime and Punishment]]''. Though his works are not truly existentialist, they are dark and daunting as the main characters frequently search for an illusive meaning of life. The fact that a writer of such brilliance was able to be simultaneously pre-existentialist and Christian may suggest that the atheistic claims of today's existentialists are disingenuous, although it may not. Noted scholar Walter Kaufmann called Part One of Dostoevsky's short novel ''Notes From Underground'' "the best overture for existentialism ever written." <ref>http://www.tameri.com/csw/exist/exist.html</ref> Conservative readers would do well to reflect on the way many of his characters not only fail, but are denied opportunities, to redeem themselves spiritually. | His major works include ''[[The Brothers Karamazov]]'' and ''[[Crime and Punishment]]''. Though his works are not truly existentialist, they are dark and daunting as the main characters frequently search for an illusive meaning of life. The fact that a writer of such brilliance was able to be simultaneously pre-existentialist and Christian may suggest that the atheistic claims of today's existentialists are disingenuous, although it may not. Noted scholar Walter Kaufmann called Part One of Dostoevsky's short novel ''Notes From Underground'' "the best overture for existentialism ever written." <ref>http://www.tameri.com/csw/exist/exist.html</ref> Conservative readers would do well to reflect on the way many of his characters not only fail, but are denied opportunities, to redeem themselves spiritually. | ||
| − | Like many intellectuals of his day who challenged the power and rights of the Tzar, Dostoevsky was exiled to [[Siberia]]. This 10 year experience would frame his views of the world, and change his writings from those of a young naive intellectual to the questing, challenging author he became. | + | Like many intellectuals of his day who challenged the power and rights of the Tzar, Dostoevsky was exiled to [[Siberia]]. This 10 year experience would frame his views of the world, and change his writings from those of a young naive intellectual to the questing, challenging author he became. Despite his revolutionary credentials, he was viewed with suspicion by the Soviet intelligentsia, who considered him a defeatist. |
[[Image:Fyodor Dostoevsky.jpg|right|thumb]] | [[Image:Fyodor Dostoevsky.jpg|right|thumb]] | ||
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| − | ==External | + | ==External links== |
*[http://fyodordostoevsky.com/literary-works.php Major Literary Works of Dostoyevsky] List of Known works of Fyodor Dostoyevsky, Many available for free online. | *[http://fyodordostoevsky.com/literary-works.php Major Literary Works of Dostoyevsky] List of Known works of Fyodor Dostoyevsky, Many available for free online. | ||
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Revision as of 04:32, August 16, 2016
Fyodor Dostoevsky (Фёдор Михайлович Достоевский) (November 11, 1821 – February 9, 1881) is a Russian author famous for his lengthy novels about society, social mores, and morality in Tzarist Russia. In his novels he explores human psychology in the troubled political, social and spiritual-Christian context of his contemporary Russian society. He is generally considered one of the greatest novelists in history.[1]
His major works include The Brothers Karamazov and Crime and Punishment. Though his works are not truly existentialist, they are dark and daunting as the main characters frequently search for an illusive meaning of life. The fact that a writer of such brilliance was able to be simultaneously pre-existentialist and Christian may suggest that the atheistic claims of today's existentialists are disingenuous, although it may not. Noted scholar Walter Kaufmann called Part One of Dostoevsky's short novel Notes From Underground "the best overture for existentialism ever written." [2] Conservative readers would do well to reflect on the way many of his characters not only fail, but are denied opportunities, to redeem themselves spiritually.
Like many intellectuals of his day who challenged the power and rights of the Tzar, Dostoevsky was exiled to Siberia. This 10 year experience would frame his views of the world, and change his writings from those of a young naive intellectual to the questing, challenging author he became. Despite his revolutionary credentials, he was viewed with suspicion by the Soviet intelligentsia, who considered him a defeatist.
His final work before his death, The Brothers Karamazov is considered one of the greatest novels ever written, even from distant secularists like Friedrich Nietzsche and Sigmund Freud. In it, the character Ivan Karamazov states, "If there is no immortality, there is no virtue." Due mostly to this novel and Crime and Punishment, Dostoevsky is often considered one of the greatest defenders of theism in all of literature. However, an alternative view exists of him as a nihilist.
Works
- Poor Folk 1846
- The Double: A Petersburg Poem 1846
- Netochka Nezvanova 1849
- The Village of Stepanchikovo 1859
- The House of the Dead 1860
- The Insulted and Humiliated 1861
- A Nasty Story 1862
- Notes from Underground 1864
- Crime and Punishment 1866
- The Gambler 1867
- The Idiot 1869
- The Possessed 1872
- The Raw Youth 1875
- The Brothers Karamazov 1880
- A Writer's Diary (1873-1881)
References
- ↑ http://thisrecording.com/today/2009/8/3/in-which-these-are-the-100-greatest-writers-of-all-time.html
- ↑ http://www.tameri.com/csw/exist/exist.html
See also
External links
- Major Literary Works of Dostoyevsky List of Known works of Fyodor Dostoyevsky, Many available for free online.
Further reading
- Frank, Joseph. Dostoevsky: The Years of Ordeal, 1850-1859. (1983). 325 pp.
- Frank, Joseph. Dostoevsky: The Stir of Liberation: 1860-1865. (1986). 395 pp.
- Frank, Joseph. Dostoevsky: The Miraculous Years, 1865-1871. (1995). 528 pp.
- Griffiths, Frederick T. and Rabinowitz, Stanley J. Novel Epics: Gogol, Dostoevsky, and National Narrative. (1990). 184 pp.
- Leatherbarrow, W. J. Fedor Dostoevsky: A Reference Guide. (317) pp.
Primary sources
- Frank, Joseph and Goldstein, David I., eds. Selected Letters of Fyodor Dostoevsky. (1987). 545 pp
