All Questions
Tagged with fyodor-dostoyevsky russian-language
39
questions
7
votes
1
answer
173
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What does Dostoyevsky's character's statement about Permissiveness mean for Morality in Western Civilization?
One of Western civilizations most important and well-respected piece of literature is The Brothers Karamazov by Feodor Dostoyevsky. Among other important religious issues, Dostoyevsky has one of his ...
user18834
2
votes
1
answer
2k
views
Locating a quote in Dostoevsky's The Idiot
I am trying to locate this quote that I came across. I believe it was spoken by Aglaya (or Nastasya?) in The Idiot, but I'm having trouble locating it:
“I want to talk about everything with at least ...
- 477
5
votes
2
answers
243
views
"Hamlet" reference in "Crime and Punishment": translator's invention?
I am reading Pevear & Volokhonsky's translation of Crime and Punishment. In part II, chapter 6, Raskolnikov is at the "Crystal Palace" restaurant, where he runs into the clerk Zamyotov ...
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1
vote
1
answer
266
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What is the significance of the money given to Liza in Notes from Underground?
At the end of Fyodor Dostoevsky's Notes from Underground, the following occurs (from Wikipedia):
After all this, he still acts terribly toward her, and, before she
leaves, he stuffs a five ruble note ...
- 113
0
votes
0
answers
49
views
What is the main idea and the main problem of Dostoyevsky's Demons?
What is the main idea and the main problem of Dostoyevsky's novel Demons? I have tried to identify one main idea and the main problem of the novel, but in the end nothing came out.
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3
votes
2
answers
118
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What does it mean to look like "a hair-dresser's assistant"?
In the 1st Chapter, Part I of Dostoevsky's The Idiot (Eva Martin's translation) you can find the following passage, in which Rogojin is describing the first time he saw Nastasia Philipovna:
I was ...
- 541
11
votes
2
answers
3k
views
Use of "pounds" instead of "roubles" in passage of "The Idiot"
In the 1st Chapter, Part I of Dostoevsky's The Idiot (Eva Martin's translation) you can find the following passage:
These men generally have about a hundred pounds a year to live on (...)
In this ...
- 541
9
votes
1
answer
416
views
What kind of censorship was Dostoevsky avoiding by obscuring place names?
In the opening paragraph of Crime and Punishment, two locations, S— Lane and K—n Bridge, are identified only by their first and final letters. My translation has a footnote which says that Dostoevsky ...
- 235
13
votes
1
answer
837
views
Original Russian text of this review of Crime and Punishment
In the introduction to Constance Garnett's translation of Crime and Punishment, she quotes this Russian critic:
In the words of a Russian critic, who seeks to explain the feeling
inspired by ...
- 233
5
votes
1
answer
2k
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The Brothers Karamazov - Why does Dmitri use "Bernard" as an insult?
"Bernard" is first mentioned in Book XI. Ivan, Chapter IV, in an exchange between Dmitri and Alyosha:
“Ethics?” asked Alyosha, wondering.
“Yes; is it a science?”
“Yes, there is such a ...
- 541
5
votes
1
answer
233
views
The Brothers Karamazov - ladies of the eighteen stone?
The Brothers Karamazov by Fyodor Dostoyevsky, Book XI, Chapter IX
The expression "eighteen stone" is mentioned 3 times in the whole book, all in same chapter:
What I dream of is becoming ...
- 541
4
votes
2
answers
1k
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The Brothers Karamazov - What is "The Bell"?
The Brothers Karamazov by Fyodor Dostoyevsky, Book X, Chapter IV
Long will you remember
The house at the Chain bridge.
Do you remember? It's splendid. Why are you laughing? You don't suppose I am ...
- 541
6
votes
1
answer
230
views
The Brothers Karamazov - When was Russia saved before?
The Brothers Karamazov by Fyodor Dostoyevsky, Book VI, Chapter 3
And how suprised men would be if I were to say that from these meek
monks, who yearn for solitary prayer, the salvation of Russia will
...
- 541
5
votes
1
answer
821
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The Brothers Karamazov - What is the "Chain bridge"?
The Brothers Karamazov by Fyodor Dostoyevsky, Book X, Chapter IV
I say this only to you. I am not at all anxious to fall into the
clutches of the secret police and take lessons at the Chain bridge.
...
- 541
5
votes
3
answers
556
views
In the Brothers Karamazov, did Dostoyevsky take those characters out of real life?
In the novel The Brothers Karamazov, did the writer take those characters out of real life? Or did he just build the characters with time?
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votes
1
answer
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Why is the Lady "a suffering soul in some page of Dostoyevsky"?
In An Enigmatic Nature, Anton Chekhov writes:
"I am a suffering soul in some page of Dostoevsky. Reveal my soul to the world, Voldemar."
and
"Happiness comes tapping at my window, I ...
- 1,227
4
votes
2
answers
200
views
Did the Tsar's secret police search the apartment of one of Dostoevsky's neighbours?
The Wikipedia article about Fyodor Dostoyevski contains a section about the author's death that begins with the following statement:
On 25 January 1881, while searching for members of the terrorist ...
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13
votes
1
answer
625
views
What does Dostoyevsky mean by 'propaganda' in Crime and Punishment?
I am wondering about what Dostoyevsky means by the word 'propaganda' in part six, chapter four of Crime and Punishment. None of the meanings that I understand make sense in the context of the book. ...
- 461
7
votes
1
answer
544
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Use of the word 'aesthetic(s)' in this passage from Dostoyevsky's Crime and Punishment
I am reading Crime and Punishment, and as you might expect am really enjoying it. Fascinating book. But there is one passage that is a little confusing to me, in particular the use of the word '...
- 461
3
votes
0
answers
337
views
Dostoevsky's attitude towards Sonya Marmeladova
Note: The question concerns a somewhat touchy topic - prostitution. I am not a native English speaker, therefore, I cannot be sure which terms are suitable for a discussion. I am using words of the ...
- 131
3
votes
1
answer
2k
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What does “lying is a delightful thing, for it leads to truth” mean in "Crime and Punishment"?
From part II, chapter IV of Crime and Punishment by Fyodor Dostoevsky, translated by Constance Garnett:
Zossimov looked curiously at Raskolnikov. He did not stir.
“But I say, Razumihin, I wonder at ...
- 31
4
votes
1
answer
1k
views
Significance in Raskolnikov's name in Crime and Punishment?
The protagonist/antihero of Dostoyevsky's Crime and Punishment is Rodion Romanovich Raskolnikov. As it says on Wikipedia:
The name Raskolnikov derives from the Russian raskolnik meaning "schismatic"...
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2
votes
1
answer
432
views
Alyona Ivanovna apartment layout
I am stuck trying to figure out something from Dostoevsky's Crime and Punishment. In the following passage:
The young man stepped into the dark entry, which was partitioned off from the tiny ...
5
votes
1
answer
2k
views
Is there any special significance in Dr. Rutenspitz's last words to Mr. Golyadkin?
Throughout The Double by Fyodor Dostoyevsky, there had been hints that maybe Mr. Golyadkin Jr., the double, was a product of Mr. Golyadkin Sr.'s imagination — and that it was either a way to signify ...
JNat♦
- 749
4
votes
1
answer
1k
views
About the role of Lizaveta in Crime and Punishment
I just finished Dostoevsky's Crime and Punishment, and I loved it (of course).
I would like to bring into analysis the role of Lizaveta, the pawnbroker's half sister who is accidentally killed by ...
- 143
6
votes
1
answer
125
views
What is the text Ivan refers to in the preface to the Grand Inquisitor
Before declaming the Grand Inquisitor in the Brothers Karamazov, Ivan refers to a poem with the virgin Marie visiting Hell and begging God for mercy for its inhabitants.
Is this a real poem? If so, ...
- 163
1
vote
0
answers
186
views
What are the arguments against atheism in Crime and Punishment?
I'm trying to figure out exactly what arguments Dostoevsky tries to make in Crime and Punishment against atheism. I'm talking about the kind of conclusion he wants you to make for yourself when ...
- 452
11
votes
1
answer
716
views
How was Crime and Punishment originally published?
I know that Crime and Punishment was originally published in "The Russian Messenger". I read that it was a Monthly journal. But how exactly was Crime and Punishment formatted in its initial release? ...
- 452
13
votes
2
answers
8k
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What does the last sentence in chapter 2 of Crime and Punishment really mean?
The sentence I'm referring to is this one.
‘And what if I am wrong,’ he cried suddenly after a
moment’s thought. ‘What if man is not really a scoundrel,
man in general, I mean, the whole race ...
- 452
13
votes
1
answer
546
views
Narrator in The Idiot
I'm struggling to understand the narrator in The Idiot. He seems like an omniscient narrator, talking of characters in third person. But, in Chapter I of Part One, while describing know-it-alls, the ...
- 131
6
votes
2
answers
3k
views
Why did Smerdyakov kill himself in the Brothers Karamazov?
It is being said that he committed suicide out of desperation. The Defense Lawyer, Fetyukovich, actually stated Smerdyakov did not kill himself out of guilt and remorse, but because he knew there was ...
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8
votes
0
answers
378
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What is the significance of the Grand Inquisitor in The Brothers Karamazov?
In The Brothers Karamazov, Ivan tells a long story to Alyosha about the Grand Inquisitor. I have been trying to grasp its meaning for some time, but what is the significance of that story?
- 143
7
votes
2
answers
391
views
Confusing list in Crime and Punishment
I have started to read some classic books and I am having some trouble understanding some parts of chapter 6 part 3 in Crime and Punishment, this is after Raskolnikov is called a "Murderer" by a man ...
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13
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2
answers
1k
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What is the significance of the "suffocation scene" at Tchermashnya in Brothers Karamazov?
I'm re-reading The Brothers Karamazov and was struck again by a strange scene whose meaning isn't immediately clear to me.
In "Lyagavy", Part 3, Book 8, Chapter 2 of The Brothers Karamazov, ...
- 336
11
votes
2
answers
8k
views
Was Dostoyevsky atheist or Christian?
We see atheist and Christian heroes in Dostoyevsky's books. In many cases the works of an author reflect elements of their own life. However, the extent to which this occurs vary by author. Especially,...
- 431
8
votes
0
answers
589
views
Was Pyotr Stepanovich in "Demons" really connected to the international?
In the noval Demons (by Dostoyevsky), there was a character, named Pyotr Stepanovich Verkhovensky, who claimed that he was connected to the international.
Did Dostoyevsky mention anywhere in the book ...
- 431
24
votes
1
answer
2k
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What was a "prince" in Dostoevsky's times, i.e. mid-late 19th century?
In Dostoevsky's The Idiot, the main character is Prince Lev Nikolayevich Myshkin. Sometimes the word "prince" almost seems an honorary title, e.g.
"Here you all are now," the prince began, "looking ...
- 1,005
15
votes
1
answer
418
views
Is there evidence of anti-Semitism in Dostoyevsky's books?
It's well known that Dostoyevsky as a person didn't like Jews.
But is there clear evidence of that in his books?
Ideally, I'd prefer evidence of things that arise above things that were commonplace ...
- 4,635
39
votes
1
answer
2k
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Is there anything that definitely confirms that Svidrigailov actually committed murder in "Crime and Punishment?"
Is there any proof that Svidrigailov actually committed murder in Crime and Punishment, of either Philip (his servant) or Marfa Petrovna (his wife)?
By proof, I mean either a nuanced passage I might ...
JNat♦
- 749