Fyodor Dostoyevsky (1821-1881)

A Fyodor Dostoyevsky (1821-1881) is a Russian novelist that created influential literary works exploring human psychology in the context of 19th-century Russia.

• AKA: Fyodor Mikhailovich Dostoyevsky, Dostoevsky.
• Context:
  • It can typically explore Human Psychological Depth through character internal conflicts and moral dilemmas.
  • It can typically examine Existential Themes through human suffering, religious faith, and moral choices.
  • It can typically critique Social Systems through character interactions with 19th-century Russian society.
  • It can typically demonstrate Literary Innovation through polyphonic narrative techniques and unreliable narrator perspectives.
  • It can typically address Philosophical Questions through character dialogues and plot development.
  • ...
  • It can often emphasize Collective Spirit over individualism in character value systems.
  • It can often promote Spirit of Sacrifice over materialist hedonism through character arcs and narrative resolutions.
  • It can often examine Human Freedom through character choice and consequences.
  • It can often incorporate Autobiographical Elements through character experiences and setting details.
  • It can often critique Western European Values through character dialogue and narrative commentary.
  • ...
  • It can range from being a Political Fyodor Dostoyevsky (1821-1881) to being a Spiritual Fyodor Dostoyevsky (1821-1881), depending on its Dostoyevsky thematic focus.
  • It can range from being a Young Fyodor Dostoyevsky (1821-1881) to being a Mature Fyodor Dostoyevsky (1821-1881), depending on its Dostoyevsky creative period.
  • It can range from being a Realist Fyodor Dostoyevsky (1821-1881) to being a Proto-Existentialist Fyodor Dostoyevsky (1821-1881), depending on its Dostoyevsky philosophical orientation.
  • ...
  • It can influence Literary Movements such as existentialism, psychological realism, and literary modernism.
  • It can create Dostoyevsky Publications including novels, short stories, and journalistic works.
  • It can develop Complex Characters experiencing psychological turmoil, spiritual crisis, and moral challenges.
  • ...
• Examples:
  • Dostoyevsky Historical Periods, such as:
    • Early Dostoyevsky Period (1840s-1849), characterized by initial literary development and social idealism.
      • Poor Folk Dostoyevsky (1846), demonstrating social consciousness and compassion for suffering.
      • The Double Dostoyevsky (1846), exploring psychological duality and identity crisis.
    • Siberian Exile Dostoyevsky Period (1849-1854), characterized by political imprisonment and spiritual transformation.
    • Post-Exile Dostoyevsky Period (1854-1865), demonstrating philosophical evolution and narrative experimentation.
      • Notes from Underground Dostoyevsky (1864), examining human irrationality and existential alienation.
    • Major Novels Dostoyevsky Period (1866-1880), characterized by literary mastery and philosophical depth.
      • Crime and Punishment Dostoyevsky (1866), exploring moral transgression and redemption through suffering.
      • The Idiot Dostoyevsky (1869), examining moral purity in corrupt society.
      • Demons Dostoyevsky (1871-1872), critiquing revolutionary politics and nihilistic philosophy.
      • The Brothers Karamazov Dostoyevsky (1880), synthesizing theological inquiry, familial psychology, and moral philosophy.
  • Dostoyevsky Thematic Categories, such as:
    • Psychological Dostoyevsky Works, exploring human psychological complexity.
    • Religious Dostoyevsky Works, examining Christian faith and spiritual struggle.
    • Political Dostoyevsky Works, critiquing radical ideology and social upheaval.
  • ...
• Counter-Examples:
  • Leo Tolstoy (1828-1910), who emphasized social realism over psychological extremes and developed moral philosophy through historical narrative rather than urban settings.
  • Nikolai Gogol (1809-1852), who utilized satirical approaches and absurdist elements rather than psychological depth in character development.
  • Friedrich Nietzsche (1844-1900), who rejected Christian morality rather than exploring religious redemption through suffering.
  • Franz Kafka (1883-1924), who examined bureaucratic alienation rather than social-spiritual redemption in modern society.
  • Søren Kierkegaard (1813-1855), who approached existential questions through direct philosophy rather than narrative fiction.
• See: Russian Novelist, Existentialist Writer, Psychological Novelist, 19th-century Literature, Russian Orthodox Christianity.

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References

2022

• https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2022/may/23/we-must-stop-letting-russia-define-the-terms-of-the-ukraine-crisis
  • QUOTE: ... Anatoly Chubais, the father of Russian oligarchs (he orchestrated Russia’s rapid privatization in 1992), said in 2004: “I’ve reread all of Dostoevsky over the past three months. And I feel nothing but almost physical hatred for the man. He is certainly a genius, but his idea of Russians as special, holy people, his cult of suffering and the false choices he presents make me want to tear him to pieces.” As much as I dislike Chubais for his politics, I think he is right about Dostoevsky, who provided the “deepest” expression of the opposition between Europe and Russia: individualism versus collective spirit, materialist hedonism versus the spirit of sacrifice. ...

2013

• http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fyodor_Dostoyevsky
  • Fyodor Mikhailovich Dostoyevsky(11 November 1821 – 9 February 1881), sometimes transliterated Dostoevsky, was a Russian novelist, short story writer, essayist and philosopher. Dostoyevsky's literary works explore human psychology in the context of the troubled political, social, and spiritual atmosphere of 19th-century Russia. He began writing in his 20s, and his first novel, Poor Folk, was published in 1846 when he was 25. His major works include Crime and Punishment (1866), The Idiot (1869), and The Brothers Karamazov (1880). His output consists of eleven novels, three novellas, seventeen short novels and numerous other works. Many literary critics rate him as one of the greatest and most prominent psychologists in world literature.

    Born in Moscow in 1821, Dostoyevsky was introduced to literature at an early age through fairy tales and legends, and through books by Russian and foreign authors. His mother died in 1837, when he was 15, and around the same time he left school to enter the Nikolayev Military Engineering Institute. After graduating, he worked as an engineer and briefly enjoyed a lavish lifestyle, translating books to earn extra money. In the mid-1840s he wrote his first novel, Poor Folk, which gained him entry into St. Petersburg's literary circles.

    In 1849 he was arrested for his involvement in the Petrashevsky Circle, a secret society of liberal utopians that also functioned as a literary discussion group. He and other members were condemned to death, but at the last moment, a note from Tsar Nicholas I was delivered to the scene of the firing squad, commuting the sentence to four years' hard labour in Siberia. His seizures, which may have started in 1839, increased in frequency there, and he was diagnosed with epilepsy. On his release, he was forced to serve as a soldier, before being discharged on grounds of ill health.

    In the following years, Dostoyevsky worked as a journalist, publishing and editing several magazines of his own and, later, A Writer's Diary, a collection of his writings. He began to travel around western Europe and developed a gambling addiction, which led to financial hardship. For a time, he had to beg for money, but he eventually became one of the most widely read and highly regarded Russian writers. His books have been translated into more than 170 languages. Dostoyevsky influenced a multitude of writers and philosophers, from Anton Chekhov and Ernest Hemingway to Friedrich Nietzsche and Jean-Paul Sartre.

1880

• (Dostoyevsky, 1880) ⇒ Fyodor Dostoyevsky. (1880). “The Brothers Karamazov."

1869

• (Dostoyevsky, 1869) ⇒ Fyodor Dostoyevsky. (1880). “The Idiot."

1866

• (Dostoyevsky, 1866) ⇒ Fyodor Dostoyevsky. (1866). “Crime and Punishment."

1864

• (Dostoyevsky, 1864) ⇒ Fyodor Dostoyevsky. (1864). “Notes from Underground."

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