"Idiot" Dostoevsky: analysis of the work and feedback from readers

2024 Author: Leah Sherlock | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-17 05:25

Analysis of "The Idiot" by Dostoevsky helps to understand the peculiarities of this novel by the famous Russian writer, to understand what the author wanted to say in one of the main works of his career. In this article, we will give a summary of the book, readers' reviews, and focus on its main idea.

General information

An analysis of Dostoevsky's "The Idiot" should begin with the history of the creation of the novel. It is believed that the concept of the book organically grew out of "Crime and Punishment".

The work was first published in 1868 in the magazine "Russian Messenger". Critics believe that Dostoevsky had one of his favorites, as the author was able to fully express his philosophical and moral position, as well as the artistic principles formed at that time.

The writer thought about the idea of the novel when he was abroad. Particularly in Switzerland and Germany. It is believed that he began writing the first chapters in Geneva in September 1867. Finishing the novel in Florence.

Manuscripts of "The Idiot" have not been preserved. Only three notebooks with preparatory materials have survived to our time, which were published by literary critics in 1931.

Storyline

Summary and analysis of Dostoevsky's "Idiot" allow us to understand what the author wanted to say.

The novel begins with a meeting on the train between Parfyon Rogozhin and Prince Lev Nikolaevich Myshkin. The aristocrat says that he is returning to St. Petersburg from Switzerland, where he was in a hospital. His guardian sent him there for four years. About Rogozhin, the reader learns that the character is going to formalize the inheritance that his suddenly deceased father left him. At the same time, shortly before his death, a conflict occurred between them, Parfyon even left home.

Myshkin has no money at all, since his guardian has recently died. In St. Petersburg, he goes to his relatives, who previously did not even answer his letters, knowing that he was actually a beggar. Having met the family of General Yepanchin, he immediately conquers his wife and three daughters (Alexandra, Adelaide and Aglaya) with communication and his manners. His father agrees to give him a job and helps him find a place to live.

One of the three daughters of the Epanchins is planned to be married off to the rich man Totsky, who seeks to get rid of his mistress Nastasya Filippovna Barashkova. This is the second time Myshkin has heard this name. Earlier, Rogozhin had already told him about the mysterious stranger on the train. Totsky marries Nastasya Filippovna for Ganya Ivolgin, an official working forEpanchins. He is in love with Aglaya, but is ready to marry Barashkova. Totsky gives a large dowry for her.

It soon turns out that Parfyon is in love with Nastasya Filippovna. He gives her almost all of his fortune so that she leaves with him. Myshkin tries to intervene in this humiliating bargain by offering Barashkova to marry him. Nastasya Filippovna refuses, claiming that she is not worthy of a prince.

Myshkin and Barashkova

The events of the next part of the novel develop in half a year. During this time, Myshkin receives an inheritance from his aunt. He is now a self-sufficient and we althy aristocrat. He had an affair with Nastasya Filippovna, who never married either him or Rogozhin.

Against the background of nervous tension associated with problems in his personal life, Myshkin progresses mental illness and epilepsy. He is being treated. After rehabilitation, the prince arrives at the Yepanchins' house. Aglaya is in love with him, Lev Ivanovich decides to marry her. Preparations are underway for the wedding, but Nastasya Filippovna suddenly appears, and Myshkin already doubts the correctness of his decision.

As a result, he again favors his former mistress. The prince offers Barashkova to marry him. Nastasya Filippovna agrees. A new wedding is being prepared, but the bride doubts her decision. She asks for help from Rogozhin, who comes to her and takes her home.

Decoupling

Myshkin goes to St. Petersburg in search of a runaway bride. On the street he runs into Rogozhin, who brings himto the house where he lived with Barashkova. Nastasya Filippovna was killed by Parfyon. Both men, for whom she has become a femme fatale, sit down by her body and begin to talk.

Myshkin has a seizure, the next morning he doesn't recognize anyone and doesn't remember anything. The events of recent days are finally destroying his psyche, turning him into an idiot.

Main character

In the analysis of the work "Idiot" by Dostoevsky, the figure of the protagonist is of great attention. Speaking about Myshkin himself, the author, giving an assessment, argued that he was a wonderful person, in whom Christian morality and goodness were embodied. The character is very different from all the people around him, becoming the embodiment of honesty, philanthropy and selflessness. Most of the heroes of the novel are mired in greed and hypocrisy, attaching importance only to money in this life. When analyzing the novel "The Idiot" by Dostoevsky, it is worth noting that one of the main thoughts is that it is precisely because of this moral difference that the rest of the characters consider Myshkin inferior.

Lev Ivanovich's lifestyle was as closed as possible. Returning to high society from a Swiss clinic, he saw around him cruelty, inhumanity and many other human vices. Giving a brief analysis of Dostoevsky's novel "The Idiot" about the most important thing, it is worth emphasizing that the writer associates his main character with Jesus Christ. First of all, for the purpose for which God's son descended to earth. Like Jesus, Myshkin "dies" more than once, bears betrayal anddeception, but each time forgives those who cause it.

When analyzing F. M. Dostoevsky's "The Idiot", it is worth noting that the prince is faced with the task of providing effective assistance to the surrounding society. In the people he meets on his way, Myshkin tries to breathe a good start, setting a personal example. Even with a brief analysis of Dostoevsky's The Idiot, it is important not to miss this parallel, which is one of the fundamental ones in the novel.

Composition

In the center of the plot of the novel is the image of the protagonist, and all other characters are closely intertwined with Myshkin. The composition is based on the opposition of the virtue of the prince with the usual way of life of people of high society, which is based on selfishness, betrayal and selfishness.

In the analysis of Dostoevsky's "The Idiot" it should be emphasized that the writer seeks to reflect the negative side of this contradiction, which catches the eye even of the heroes of the work. They understand how much they differ from Myshkin, but their worldview does not fit the boundless kindness of the prince, which they categorically reject.

In the analysis of Dostoevsky's "The Idiot" symbolism occupies an important place. Lev Ivanovich becomes the personification of Christian love, Nastasya Filippovna - beauty. Special attention should be paid to the painting "Dead Christ". Myshkin himself claims that if you look at it for a very long time, you can lose faith.

Analysis of the finale

The end of the work looks tragic. It leads to a lack of faith and the absolute lack of spirituality of most of the characters. At the end of the novel, Dostoevsky places special emphasis on spiritual and physical beauty, which are unable to survive amid greed, self-interest and hypocrisy.

The author emphasizes that the ideology of "Napoleonism" and individualism is growing in society. He sees this as a serious problem. The writer stands for freedom, to which absolutely any person has the right. At the same time, he is also convinced that even inhuman acts are committed due to uncontrolled and unlimited willfulness.

To a crime, according to Fyodor Mikhailovich, an individual's attempt to assert himself leads to a crime. It is believed that in this manner Dostoevsky negatively assessed the revolutionary movement, which at that time was actively emerging, noting that it was becoming the most typical anarchist revolt.

It also matters that the characters of all the characters, without exception, develop exclusively in a positive direction when interacting with Prince Myshkin. This is due to the fact that Lev Ivanovich becomes the personification of a kind person who lives in full accordance with biblical traditions.

1860s Crime Connection

Literary critics note that the plot of the novel is closely connected with the criminal trials of that time. The very concept of the novel came to Dostoevsky under the influence of the Umetsky case. This is the 1867 trial. Parents were then accused of torturing their children, and their 15-year-old daughter Olga even tried to set fire to the estate. In the final version, no details of this family drama have been preserved. Embittered Olga Umetskaya became only a distant prototype of Nastasya Filippovna.

Also, the composition of the novel was determined by the criminal cases of Gorsky and Mazurin. Some researchers believe that the whole novel was written for the denouement. In it, the writer demonstrates the murderousness of the fallen world, which is realized in the violent death of the heroine, personifying beauty and independence.

Reviews

When analyzing "The Idiot" by Dostoevsky and in reviews of this novel, many readers note that this is one of the author's most significant works.

Some of the novel leads to despair, because it remains only to be amazed how, after so many years, people have not learned to cope with mental illness and internal shortcomings, cannot feel sorry for each other and support. Still, greed and avarice are at the forefront, which for many determine life priorities.