Fyodor Dostoyevsky’s The Brothers Karamazov is a classic of Russian literature. First published in 1880, The Brothers Karamazov is a product of the latter-years of Imperial Russia. In embarking upon the text, it is not apparent that the novel is meant to be overly political, but there is a sense that a nascent commentary is likely to exist. From the very start of the novel it is apparent that Dostoyevsky is providing the reader with a wide encapsulation of his views and beliefs on an extensive range of subjects, more so than is typically undertaken in a literary project. This being apparent, not only from the sheer length of the text, but also through the intensive construction of the prefatory background.
Thus far, the characters in The Brothers Karamazov are numerous and complex. The three brothers have had the unfortunate experience of having undergone numerous changes in their primary guardians. Importantly, the three brothers have taken three distinct paths toward reaching a social position in Russian society. The eldest, Dmitry Fyodorovich, served in the Imperial Army. Ivan Fyodorovich concentrated his efforts toward academia and became a respected (as well as controversial) member of the intelligentsia. Finally, Aleksey Fyodorovich, who had a curious fascination with the Russian Orthodox Church. It is substantially too early to pass accurate judgments, but each of the three brothers seems to represent a substantial element of 19th century Russian society: Dmitry as potentially representative of the state, Ivan as symbolic of the intelligentsia, and Aleksey as emblematic of the Russian Orthodox Church. The inter-play between the characters is to going to become vitally important in demonstrating whether or not this claim can be substantiated as the novel continues.
Aside from the details surrounding the main characters of the Karamazov household in the opening, there are also various descriptions of many supporting characters. Of the most intriguing supporting characters introduced in the first portion of the novel, is the curious case of Pyotr Aleksandrovich Miusov. This character is unique amongst those discussed in the novel thus far, mainly due to his association with the West. Pyotr Aleksandrovich is described as a liberal of the 1848 tradition, referencing the widespread revolutions of 1848 in Europe that failed to take root in Russia under the reign of Nicholas I. He is specifically mentioned alongside collectivist leaders from the late-1840s, including Bakunin and Proudhon. Importantly, Pyotr Aleksandrovich is portrayed as being both non-Russian and non-European. It many respects this is reminiscent of the difficult pendulum shift throughout the entirety of Russian history, due to its position as a geographic and cultural divide between East and West. As the novel progresses it will be interesting to watch Dostoyevsky’s development of the divide between Europeanization and Slavification within Russian society, particularly if this tension is highlighted in the reactions of the three brothers and their respected positions in Russian society.
This is most definitely a productive (and highly compelling and fascinating) way to view the text...and whether or not it indeed turns out to be the case that the brothers "represent" the state/intelligentsia/church spheres remains of course to be determined (remember after all how the author in the very beginning stresses that Alyosha is "strange" and "an oddity). Nonetheless, your fine categorization reveals that Dostoyevsky has opened up an opportunity by these means to consider all of these spheres at great length and (as you point out in another neat observation) the way in which they interact, overlap and confront one another.
ReplyDeleteAlso very good that you are drawing attention to Miusov and the sorts of issues that his divided Russian-European identity and the type of 1840s-1850s liberalism that he embodies all point toward.
Ben, I definitely see where you are coming from in your sensitivity to what each character in the text represents regarding Russian society. I'm also really interested in Pyotr, and I definitely agree that his character will reveal important things about possibly tensions between a Russian identity versus a European identity. I'll ask you to consider Fyodor Pavlovich as well in your interpretations of what the different characters may represent. What do you think it means for these three brothers - state, intelligentsia, and church - to all be sons of a character such as Fyodor who (to me at least) seems to represent the avaricious yet morally abject part of society? I'm curious to hear your thoughts, and to see how these characters develop.
ReplyDeleteThe role of Fyodor Pavlovich as the father is indeed intriguing. Given the association of Fyodor Pavlovich as an exploitative businessman, his role as a character may be in order to highlight the faults that Dostoyevsky observes in Russian society of that period. The placement of the three bothers as state, intelligentsia, and church may be in order to demonstrate the various reactions these entities are subject to possess regarding the trajectory of society.
DeleteIt is funny that while I was reading your post, I was thinking the exact same things about the characters in the novel. Each seems to represent an important sect of Russian life. Eduation, religion and politics are all equally represented in this book by an individual character. It will be ineteresing to see which becomes the most important in this novel.
ReplyDeleteHowever, there does seem to be a point in the novel when Ivan seems to represent both education and religion. He writes an essay that gets him noticed, and the essay is on the Orthodox Church. I found this an interesting difference to the rest of the novel, as the other two brothers seem to only at any time represent one of these sects, as Alyosha ultimately drops out of gymnasium, and Dmitry is the only one to enter the army. This provides an interesting dynmaic to the character of Ivan.
@Rachel: Perhaps it's interesting to consider what you say in light of the fact that Ivan is the middle brother...?
ReplyDeleteWow! I am really interested in what you said about the 3 brothers representing different elements of 19th century Russia. I do agree that these characters appear to represent what you said. I am very interested to see where the novel takes these characters and how they may change and what that change tells about the different elements of Russian society that they represent. I am curious to see why Dostoyevsky chose Aleksey, or the Russian Orthodox Church that he represents, to be the hero of the novel. I want to know more about Dostoyevsky’s views on the Church.
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