Dostoevsky, the Making of a Novelist

418 Pages·1962·20.361 MB·Esperanto

by  Ernest J. Simmons

DOSTOEVSKY
Vintage RUSSIAN Library
Advisory Committee
Cyril E, Black, Princeton university
Robert F. Byrnes, Indiana university
Philip E. Mosely, council on foreign relations
Ernest J. Simmons, formerly of columbia university
DOSTOEVSKY
The Making of
a Novelist
B Y
ERNEST J. SIMMONS
Vintage Books
A DIVISION OF RANDOM HOUSE
New York
VINTAGE BOOKS
are published by Alfred A. Knopf, Inc.
and Random House, Inc.
Copyright, 1940, by Ernest J. Simmons
All rights reserved under International and Pan-American
Copyright Conventions. Published in New York by Random
House, Inc., and in Toronto, Canada, by Random House
of Canada, Limited.
Manufactured in the United States of America
First Vintage Edition, October, 1962
“Stagnation! O, Nature! Men are alone on
earth—that is the misfortune! ‘Is there a
living man in the field?’ cries the Russian
hero. I cry the same, though not a hero,
and no one answers my cry. They say the
sun gives life to the universe. The sun rises
and—look at it, indeed, is it not dead?
Everything is dead, and everywhere there
are the dead. Only men, and silence round
them—this is the earth! ‘Men love one an­
other’—who said that? Whose command is
that?’’
dostoevsky, A Gentle Creature

Preface
The present book—a study of the works of Dos­
toevsky—is an attempt to throw some light on
those factors that influenced his creative process
and his religious, political, and social thought.
Biographical material is used only when it seems
to contribute to this general purpose. Quotations
from Dostoevsky’s fiction have been based on the
admirable translations of Constance Garnett, but
in every instance these have been compared with
the originals, and, when it seemed advisable,
changes have been made. All quotations from
Dostoevsky’s non-fictional works—letters, notes,
and articles—have been translated, with very few
exceptions, from the Russian. Italicized words in
the quotations, unless otherwise indicated, are
in the originals. I am much indebted to my friend,
Mr. John Webster Spargo, for his careful reading
of the manuscript.
E. J. S.

Contents
Introduction xi
1 Creative Beginnings 3
2 Poor Folk 12
3 The End of the First Literary Period 25
4 Revolution and Prison—The Spirit and Art 47
5 Uncle's Dream and The Village of Stepanchikovo 64
6 Time and The House of the Dead 83
7 The Insulted and Injured 94
8 Notes from the Underground 109
9 In the Author’s Laboratory 127
10 Raskolnikov 141
11 The Art of Crime and Punishment 158
12 The Gambler 172
13 A Positively Good Man 185
14 An Unattainable Ideal 204
15 The Eternal Husband 219
16 Conflicting Designs 226
17 The “Devils” and Their Disciples 243
18 The Politics of The Possessed 271
19 A Raw Youth 284