The Idiot
1868, Fyodor Dostoyevsky
I’d recommend this book to:
- people already familiar with Dostoyevsky;
- older fellows (perhaps sixteen and up—it’s one of those books that are, unfortunately, better understood by older audiences);
- anyone looking for an original, interesting theme;
- people who like dark stories; and
- people who have at least a little knowledge about Imperial Russia.
Contents
I think this is Dostoyevsky’s most underrated work and his most complex. The main character, Myshkin, wants to love, forgive, and understand everyone endlessly and unconditionally; but in this novel, Dostoyevsky shows this is highly impractical in reality, especially in the modern world. Though some grow to like him, many manipulate him, laugh at him, or call him an idiot for his kindness. Because just outside Myshkin’s pure mind lies a hopeless world. A world where people are preoccupied by greed, pride, social status, and seemingly soulless Enlightenment ideas, where Myshkin’s Christ-like compassion is a forgotten value, something no longer respected and cared for. However, while these people laugh at Myshkin, their own twisted values in life often lead them to become corrupt people or meet ill fates themselves.
Like much of Dostoyevsky, it requires careful reading, annotation, and analysis, as he really takes the phrase “show, don’t tell” to heart. His writing style is complex, but not poetic—it pays little attention to describing beauty or the physical world in general. But his depiction of people’s emotions and psychologies is very detailed; people who read Dostoyevsky often say that they can relate to his characters on a level they’ve never experienced before. For example, there's the naive, awkward Myshkin who has just moved to Russia; he feels like he doesn’t completely understand the people surrounding him. Dostoyevsky gives vivid descriptions of his pervasive loneliness and of the feeling he's from another planet. Another example is the studious but sheltered Aglaya, who cycles between pride, intelligence, insecurity, and naivety. I should note, though, that his characters tend to express their emotions and mentalities openly, which leads to them sometimes acting more dramatic or strange than is considered socially appropriate.
Although Myshkin is one of Dostoyevsky’s kindest characters, the book is his most hopeless. One muse was Holbein's painting of the dead Christ; as we know, Christ rose again, but just seeing this image of him lying in the darkness of the tomb, in such hopelessness and infinite anguish, feeling like God had abandoned him, was an image Dostoyevsky believed could make a person lose their faith. Likewise, seeing how selfish, distrusting, destructive, and materialistic the world has grown, one may wonder if the salvation religion promises us will really come. Dostoyevsky’s other works often offer a trace of hope, but in this one, he basically says the world is going to hell in a handbasket.
The main downside of the book is how discursive it is. Between the parts of the book delivering its main message are long digressions into family disputes and other problems which contribute little to the main theme. The theme is developed very slowly and sporadically; it can be hard to follow the point of the story instead of getting swept away by characters’ random problems and disputes. Some of the most important characters, Rogozhin and Barashkov, are only seen once every few hundred pages. However, the book’s ending is very intense and well-orchestrated.
One funny thing that happens when you read this book in a public area is that people show the title to their friends and say, “Look, it’s you!” or "Look, someone wrote a book about me!"
More of my thoughts about this book
Page created May 30, 2024