A Survey of Russian Literature, with SelectionsHapgood, Isabel Florence
History
A Survey of Russian Literature, with Selections
Hapgood, Isabel Florence
Russian literature -- History and criticism
Dostoevsky, in all his important novels, has much to say about religion,
and his personages all illustrate some phase of religious life. This is
nowhere more apparent than in his last novel, "The Karamazoff Brothers,"
wherein the religious note is more powerfully struck than in any of the
others. The ideal of the Orthodox Church of the East is embodied in
Father Zosim, and in his gentle disciple, Alexyei (Alyosha) Karamazoff;
the reconciling power of redemption is again set forth over the guilty
soul of the principal hero, Dmitry Karamazoff, when he is overtaken by
chastisement for a suspected crime. The doubting element is represented
by Ivan Karamazoff, who is tortured by a constant conflict with anxious
questions. In "The Legend of the Grand Inquisitor," which the author
puts into Ivan's mouth, Dostoevsky's famous and characteristic power of
analysis reached its greatest height.
Belonging to no class, and famous for but one book, which does not even
count as literature, yet chronologically a member of this period, was
Nikolai Gavrilovitch Tchernyshevsky (1828-1889). After 1863 he exerted
an immense influence on the minds of young people of both sexes; and of
all the writers of the "storm and stress" period, he is the most
interesting, because, in his renowned book, "What Is to Be Done?" he
applied his theories to practical life. His success was due, not to the
practicability of his theories, to his literary qualities, to his art,
but to the fact that he contrived to unite two things, each one of
which, as a rule, is found in a writer; he simultaneously touched the
two most responsive chords in the human heart--the thirst for easy
happiness, and the imperative necessity for ascetic self-sacrifice.
Hence, he won a response from the most diametrically conflicting
natures.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
Reviews
Reviews
No reviews yet
Be the first to share your thoughts on this work.
Elsewhere in the archive
Join the Discussion
Join the discussion
Sign in to leave a comment or review.
Sign InorCreate an account