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Home , Fyodor Dostoevsky, Poor Folk, The Landlady (novella)

Introduction to Russian Thought: Fyodor Dostoyevsky

An exploration of the literary, philosophical and cultural legacy of through . will enjoy the literary mastery of Dostoevsky’s last , considered by many a masterpiece of world literature, while relying on topics and themes in the novel to discuss the , the psychology of human mind, the limits of , the concept of religious faith in the world of injustice and suffering, and “eternal the.” The best text to read is the original Russian; we will be using English translations and our discussions will be conducted in English. Those who are able to read in Russian are encouraged to do so. Instructor: Dr. Konstantin Starikov

Dr. Starikov is an academic librarian and instructor of Russian at Boston University. A poet and an independent scholar, Dr. Starikov did his graduate work in Slavic Studies and Literature at Brown, Yale, and the University of Chicago. He is a recipient of Dr. Pranas A. Sveikauskas Award in Recognition of an Outstanding Dissertation The Poetic Riddle in Eighteenth-Century (2016).

Readings: The Brothers Karamazov / Братья Карамазовы During our seminar meetings, you will be given page references to the English editions listed below. However, you are welcome to use other editions of the three translations or another translation.

Fyodor Dostoyevsky. Brothers Karamazov. Trans. (1999)

Fyodor Dostoyevsky. The Brothers Karamazov. Trans. Richard Pevear and Larissa Volokhonsky. Farrar, Straus and Giroux edition. (2002)

Fyodor Dostoyevsky. The Brothers Karamazov. Trans. Susan McReynolds. Norton Critical. Second edition. (2011)

You are also encouraged to explore other texts by Dostoyevsky, about Dostoyevsky’s major fiction and non-fiction, as well as critical interpretations of Dostoyevsky’s work. Selected bibliography will guide you in supplementary readings. Seminar Schedule All Class Meetings are from 6:30pm-8:00pm First Session: Tuesday, February 5th Introduction: Why read Dostoyevsky?

Second Session: Father and Sons Tuesday, February 12th Books One, Two, Three and Four

Third Session: Problems of good and evil Tuesday, February 19th Books Five, Six and Seven

Fourth Session: The significance of suffering Tuesday, February 26th Books Eight, Nine, Ten

Fifth Session: What is justice? Tuesday, March 5th Books Eleven, Twelve

Sixth Session: Responsibility and active love Tuesday March 12th the Epilogue, and summation

NO MEETING, SPRING BREAK Tuesday March 19th Seventh Session: Visualizing humanity Tuesday March 26th Movie and other adaptations of The Brothers Karamazov

Eighth Session: Tuesday April 2nd Conclusion: What is the purpose of reading The Brothers Karamazov in the 21st century?

Ground Rules for Discussion

The goal of ground rules is to establish a friendly and intellectually stimulating environment to ensure that discussions help participants work together toward greater understanding and that each participant is heard.

Be respectful of each other

• Arrive on time • Turn your cell phone off • Listen actively and attentively, do not engage in private conversations while others are speaking. • Do not interrupt one another. • Challenge one another, but do so respectfully. • Critique ideas, not people. • Avoid put-downs (even humorous ones), blame, speculation, inflammatory language. • Do not monopolize discussion. • Build on one another’s comments; work toward shared understanding. • Consider anything that is said in class strictly confidential.

Be open-minded, curious and respectful of yourself

• Take responsibility for the quality of the discussion. • Speak from your own experience, without generalizing. • If you are offended by anything said during discussion, acknowledge it immediately. • Speak your discomfort. If something is bothering you, please share this with the group. Often our emotional reactions to this process offer the most valuable learning opportunities. • Ask for clarification if you are confused and/or in disagreement. • Do not offer opinions without supporting evidence. • You are not expected to agree with or to convince others. Rather, the higher goal of learning is to examine different points of view and opinions.

About the instructor:

Konstantin Starikov (Ph.D. Brown University, M.Phil. Yale University, MA The University of Chicago, MLS Simmons College, BA Boston University) Dr. Konstantin Starikov is librarian and part-time instructor of Russian at Boston University. He is a recipient of Dr. Pranas A. Sveikauskas Award in Recognition of an Outstanding Dissertation The Poetic Riddle in Eighteenth-Century Russia (2016). A poet and independent scholar, Konstantin is active in local Russian-speaking cultural events of Greater Boston. He enjoys learning foreign languages, reading, and travelling. Fyodor Dostoyevsky (1821-1881)

(also spelled Dostoevsky, Dostoevskii)

“Russian novelist and short-story writer whose psychological penetration into the darkest recesses of the human heart, together with his unsurpassed moments of illumination, had an immense influence on 20th-century fiction. Dostoyevsky is usually regarded as one of the finest novelists who ever lived. Literary , , and various schools of psychology, theology, and literary criticism have been profoundly shaped by his ideas. His works are often called prophetic because he so accurately predicted how Russia’s revolutionaries would behave if they came to power. In his time he was also renowned for his activity as a journalist.”

Gary Saul Morson, “Fyodor Dostoyevsky: Biography, Books, Philosophy, & Facts.” Encyclopedia Britannica, https://www.britannica.com/biography/Fyodor-Dostoyevsky. Accessed 28 Dec. 2018.

“Dostoevsky, the only psychologist, incidentally, from whom I had something to learn; he ranks among the most beautiful strokes of fortune in my life, even more than my discovery of .”

Friedrich Nietzsche, Twilight of the Idols. (trans. Walter Kaufman and R.J. Hollingdale; London, Harmondsworth: Penguin Books, 1985).

"Freud's essay ‘Dostoevsky and Parricide’ was published in 1928 as an introduction to a German collection of materials on The Brothers Karamazov. This was a highly appropriate place of publication since both the essay and the novel dealt with parricide and epilepsy. Sixty years have passed since then but Freud's essay is still useful, filled with brilliant insights that have proved quite influential, even among those scholars who do not accept his theory about the nature of Dostoevsky's epilepsy. Freud's achievement was to bring together, to unify and illuminate as no one had done before him, the most diverse strands in Dostoevsky's life and works: relations between father and son, Dostoevsky's epilepsy, his political and religious views, his gambling, and his obsession with crime and moral responsibility. Were it not for Freud, we would still be examining each of these strands separately, unable to see how they are all interwoven." Nathan Rossen, “Freud on Dostoevsky’s Epilepsy: A Revaluaiton.” Dostoyevsky Studies 9 (1988): 107-25

“The kernel of Camus’s affinity with Dostoevskii brings us to the fiercely combative, atheistic spirit of Ivan Karamazov. ‘If is dead, then all is permitted’ rings through all Ivan’s thinking, which leads Camus to tussle, like the Russian character, with the logic of totalitarian . Camus emerges towards some form of humanism while Ivan slides into insanity. But, Ivan remains with Camus to the end of his days. He proved for Camus the most attractive, fascinating of all Dostoevskii’s characters. The facts are eloquent enough in themselves. Not only did Camus direct the theatrical adaptation of The Brothers Karamazov in March 1938, in Algiers, for the Théâtre de l’Équipe, but also and most significantly, he chose to play the part of Ivan, as opposed to that of the other brothers, the sensual, earthy Dimitry, and the spiritually-minded, non-earthly Alyosha, psychological dynamos in themselves.”

Ronald Batchelor, “Dostoevskii’s Ivan Karamazov: Inspiration to .” FifteenEightyFour | Cambridge University Press, 27 Mar. 2014, http://www.cambridgeblog.org/2014/03/dostoevksiis-ivan- karamazov-inspiration-to-albert-camus/

Chronology of Dostoevsky’s Life and Works:

Dates are given according to the Julian calendar (or Old Style), which was retained in Russia until the 1917 Revolution and ran twelve days behind the Gregorian calendar.

1821 Fyodor Mikhailovich Dostoevsky is born in on October 30 in Hospital for the poor, the second of seven children.

1831-37 Fyodor and his older brother, Mikhail (b. 1820), together attend boarding schools in Moscow. Following the death of their mother in 1837, they are sent to a preparatory school in St. Petersburg.

1838 Fyodor, but not Mikhail, is admitted to St. Petersburg’s Academy of Military Engineers.

1839 Father possibly murdered by his own serfs at his estate, Chermashnya, in province of Tula.

1843 Dostoevsky graduates from the Academy as lieutenant. Translates into Russian Honore de Balzac’s Eugenie Grandet.

1844 He translates ’s La derniere Aldini and works on , his own first novel.

1845 Friendship with the liberal Vissarion Grigorievich Belinsky, Russia’s most influential critic.

1846 Publication of Poor Folk, The Double (appearing two weeks later), and Mr. Prokharchin. Acquaintance with the utopian socialist M. V. Butashevich-Petrashevsky

1846 Anna Grigorievna Snitkina (Dostoevsky’s future wife) is born in Petersburg on October 30th.

1846-47 Various undiagnosed nervous ailments.

1847 Publication of A Novel in Nine Letters, as well as several short stories, including A Weak Heart, Polzunkov, and White Nights.

1848 Publication of The Stranger-Woman, Christmas and Wedding, and A Jealous Husband.

1849 Publication of Netochka Nezvanova. Arrested and convicted for alleged political crimes. Sentenced to death, but due to a last-minute reprieve, was instead sentenced to an indefinite term in , including four years hard labour.

1850-54 Penal labour in , in western Siberia.

1853 Onset of periodic epileptic seizures.

1854-59 Compulsory military service in Semipalatinsk (southwest Siberia). Marriage to the widowed Marya Dmitrievna Isaeva in 1857. The couple are permitted to take up residence in European Russia in 1859, the year in which Uncle’s Dream, The Little Hero (composed in prison) and The Village of Stepanchikovo and Its Inhabitants appear.

1860 Publication of the first part of House of the Dead.

1861 Mikhail and Fyordor begin publication of Time, which publishes Dostoevsky’s The Insulted and the Injured, and A Silly Story.

1862 The second part of House of the Dead and A Nasty Tale are published in Time. Dostoevsky makes his first trip abroad, visiting several western European countries, including England, France and Switzerland. Beginning of liaison with Apollinaria (Polina) Suslova.

1863 Winter Notes on Summer Impressions is published in Time.

1864 Epoch, successor to the banned magazine Time, publishes Dostoevsky’s . Death of Marya Dmitrievna, Dostoyevsky’s wife, and of his brother Mikhail.

1865 Epoch ceases publication, ending Dostoevsky’s five-year journalistic career. An Unusual Happening is published. Polina Suslova declines his marriage proposal.

1866 and are published.

1867 Dostoevsky is married to Anna Grigorievna Snitkina. The couple leave for western Europe, remaining abroad for four years. They live in for a time, then Florence, Vienna, Prague and finally .

1868 Publication of The .

1870 Publication of The Eternal Husband.

1871-72 The Dostoevskys move back to Russia and Petersburg where The Devils is published serially.

1873 Dostoevsky’s The Diary of a Writer becomes a regular feature of the conservative weekly, The Citizen. Publication of Bubok.

1874 Dostoevsky arrested and imprisoned once again, this time for violation of censorship regulations.

1875 Publication of A Raw Youth.

1876 Dostoevsky becomes sole editor of a new monthly periodical entitled The Diary of a Writer, in which A Gentle Creature appears.

1877 Publication of The Dream of a Ridiculous Man.

1879-80 Publication of The Brothers Karamazov. Anna opens a direct-mail book service.

1880 Dostoevsky delivers his famous speech on Pushkin at the Pushkin festivities in Moscow in June. Enormous crowds and stormy emotional responses at Dostoevsky’s readings.

1881 Dostoevsky dies from a lung hemorrage in St. Petersburg on January 28 at the age of fifty-nine. Buried February 1st in cemetery of Alexander Nevsky Monastery.

Christian Slanger’s Dostoyevsky Research Station: Chronology. https://www.kiosek.com/dostoevsky/chronology.html Accessed 28 Dec. 2018

Important Historical Dates

1802-1825 Alexander I

1812 French invasion of Russia and defeat of Napoleon

1821 Dostoyevsky is born in Moscow

1825 Decembrist uprising

1825-55 Nicholas I

1848 French Revolution of 1848

1855-1881 Alexander II

1855 Russia’s defeat in Crimean War

1861-64 Russia’s Great Reforms

1880 The Brothers Karamazov is completed

1881 Dostoevsky dies (February 9). Alexander II is murdered by terrorists (March 13)

The Brothers Karamazov Main Characters:

Fyodor Pavlovich Karamazov (father) Dmitrii Fyodorovich Karamazov (oldest son, mother - Adelaida Ivanovna Miusova) Mitya, Mit’ka, Miten’ka, Mitrii Ivan Fyodorovich Karamazov (middle son, mother - Sof’ya Ivanovna) Vanya, Van’ka, Vanechka Alexei Fyodorovich Karamazov (youngest son, mother – Sof’ya Ivanovna) Alyosha, Alyoshka, Alyoshechka, Alyoshen’ka, Alexeichik, Lyosha, Lyoshen’ka)

Pyotr Alexandrovich Miusov - brother of Adelaida Ivanovna Miusova, uncle of Dmitrii. Grigory - a servant Pavel Smerdyakov - illegitimate son of Fyodor Pavlovich Karamazov (mother: Lizaveta) Lizaveta Smerdyashchaya (Stinking Lizaveta) Mrs. Khokhlakova (Katerina Osipovna) Liza (Lise) – daughter

Svetlova, Agrafena Alexandrovna (Grushen’ka, Grusha, Grushka)

Verkhovtseva, Katerina Ivanovna (Katya, Kat’ka, Katen’ka) – Dmitrii’s fiancée Father Zosima (Zinovy before he became a monk)

Rakitin, Mikhail Osipovich (Misha, Rakitka, Rakitushka) Kolya Krasotkin (Nikolay Ivanovich) – a boy, friend of Ilyusha

Snegiryov, Nikolai Ilych Arina Petrovna Snegiryova - wife Varvara Nikolaevna (Varya) - daughter Nina Nikolayevna (Ninochka) - daughter Ilyusha (Ilyushechka, Ilyushka) - son Fetyukovich – defense lawyer

Useful Reference Works:

Bakhtin, Mikhail. Problems of Dostoevsky’s Poetics. Minneapolis: University of Minnesota Press, 1984. Bird, Robert. Fyodor Dostoevsky. Critical Lives Series. London: Reaktion Books, 2012. Dostoevsky, Fyodor. Complete Letters. 5 volumes. Ann Arbor: Ardis, 1988. Frank, Joseph. Dostoevsky: A Writer in His Time. Princeton: Princeton University Press, 2012. -Dostoevsky: The Mantle of the Prophet, 1871-1881. Princeton: Princeton UP, 2002. —. Dostoevsky: The Miraculous Years, 1865-1871. Princeton: Princeton UP, 1995. —. Dostoevsky: The Seeds of Revolt, 1821-1849. Princeton: Princeton UP, 1976. —. Dostoevsky: The Stir of Liberation, 1860-1865. Princeton: Princeton UP, 1986. —. Dostoevsky: The Years of Ordeal, 1850-1859. Princeton: Princeton UP, 1983. Grossman, Leonid. Dostoevsky: His Life and Work. Tr. Mary Mackler. Indianapolis, NY: The Bobbs-Merrill Company, 1975. Jackson, Robert Louis. The Art of Dostoevsky. Princeton: Princeton UP, 1981. Kelly, Catriona. : A Very Short Introduction. Oxford: Oxford Paperbacks, 2001. Leatherbarrow, W. J. (ed.) The Cambridge Companion to Dostoevskii. Cambridge: CUP, 2002. Magarshack, David. Dostoevsky. NY: Harcourt, Brace and World, 1962. Mochulsky, Konstantin. Dostoevsky: His Life and Works. Tr. Michael A. Minihan. Princeton: Princeton UP, 1967. Morson, Gary Saul. Narrative and Freedom: The Shadows of Time. New Haven: Yale UP, 1994. Perlina, Nina. Varieties of Poetic Utterance: Quotation in The Brothers Karamazov. Lanham, MD: UP of America, 1985. Scanlan, James P. Dostoevsky the Thinker. Ithaca: Cornell University Press, 2010. Terras, Victor, ed., Handbook of Russian Literature (1985) Wasiolek, Edward, ed. The Notebooks for The Brothers Karamazov, Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 1971. ---The Brothers Karamazov and the Critics, Belmont: Wadsworth, 1967.