The Brothers Karamazov《Confuse, Disturb, Subvert, and Question》

The last novel of the great Russian writer Fyodor Dostoevesky THE BROTHERS KARAMAZOV is no doubt a masterpiece. Comparied with his former works such as the famouse one Crime and Punishment and Notes of Underground in which literature coexists with philosophy this last one as some criticts argue is the summing-up of Dostoevesky’ thought and philosophy.

In The Brother Karamazov a lot of issues are concernd such as religion children romance ect. What makes it outstanding is that life in this fiction is a riddle! The word “ sphinx” appears twice in the novel. By disturbing and subverting some stererotypes or belief we readers hold about certain ideas it confuses us with casuistry myths and symbols.

This is a novel aquires contemplation and meditation to get a throughly understanding. And I should say I was really revited to it.

For a novel a fiction the original story and the characters are usually the most important elements. As for The Brother Karamazov scenario is not what Dostoevsky mainly focused on but the characters.(Although Dostoevesky did group into the details of the crime which is the thread of the whole book. ) Generally speaking it’s just a parricide which could be mostly subscribed to jealousy between a father and his son. The buffon old Karamazov who always acting affrontery. Ivan the most intelligent one who believes but not accepts Jesus. Mikya the “battle field” of up and down who flings himself into dissipation. And Alyosha one who is welcomed by everyone one who believe in god mostly of the time. Though seemingly they have nothing in commen they actually share the fatal “Karamazov support”. I should say the charaters in this novel are very successful. The figures are just so vivid. Their personality and propensity are quite out of normal way. That’s what I call “disturb”. These characters with peculiar and confuseing personality and thought are definitely the shining stars in the story yet they shine in such a distinctive way.

Besides the four Karamazovs ( the deceased father and his three sons) and the two ladies other characters are also pretty impressive. Smerdyakov the might-be illegitimate son of old Karamazov is one that interests me most. When the strange murderer first come to the stage he really striked my nerve. When he was a boy he liked to hang cats then held funerals for the dead creatures. Smerdyakov has the most mysterious propensity. What he bears in mind beyonds anyone’s imagination. This man is a riddle himself. Marcel Proust once had a possible explanation about this very figure.

“ …the mysterious animal unexplained impulse by which the mother herself unconsciously the instrument of an avenging destiny obeying also her maternal instinct feeling perhaps a combination of physical resentment and gratitude twards her seducer comes to bear her child on old Karamazov’s ground…..more than twenty years later the murder of old Karamazov the disgrace brought upon the Karamazov family by this son of the idiot Smerdyakov followed shortly afterwards by another action as mysteriously sculpturesque and unexplained of a beauty as obscure and natural as that of the childbirth in old Karamazov’s garden Smerdyakov hanging himself his crime accomplished.”

The episodes here are amazing. The idiot beauty gave birth to a boy in her seducer’s garden. The boy became the garden’s owner’s cook and is fully trusted. Though not says exactly in the novel it does imply that the lackey (Smerdyakov) is quite probable the old man’s son. Then the trusted cook become a parricide hang himself after murdering his father. The son is forced to come into the world so that to settle the feud between his parents!

I was also imprissived by a couple who do not play important roles in the story:Grigory and his wife. Grigory is the old devoted servent who raised up the possibly illegitimate son of Fyodor Pavlovich ( old Karamazov) and takes care of the old man’s three sons when thery are totally forgotten by their father. Yet Grigory himself lost his own son soon after its born. The way in which the couple gets on with each other is peculia. They seldom talk to each other in other words they don’t have much communication. But the wife loves the husband deeply and always obeys him thoroughly though she is much sensible than him.

In this novel love and romance is presented in an unexplicable way. The narrator keeps on telling us Katerina Ivanova loves Dmitri Fyodorovich deeply. She sacrafices herself to this man and lacerates herself and Ivan Fyodorovich who loves her crazily. The more strange woman Grushienka takes dominance of Dmitri’s life. Then at the very last Katerina and Dmitri fall in love however they will not be together but spare a space for the past all the rest of their life. What confuses me more is Alyosha the adorable young man welcomed and loved by everyone says he loves Lisa and promises to marry her after the girl confiding her strong love to him!

I think I have give enough examples here to show my point he loves her and she loves him but why? Dostoevsky never fails in details. He never loses patience to expound the psycology of the character about what they think and how they struggles with their minds. But when it comes to romance he just tells the facts and ignores the reasons. Maybe it is just because romance is not the theme? It will be better if the authour explained more about the reasons about love affairs. Or perhaps he is just trying to show us another possibility of romance.

The elder to say honestly is kind of boring especially his long speeches. But I do like Dostoevsky’s opinion about the elder. “What was such an elder? An elder was one who took your soul your will into his soul and his will.” It seems that the author is not very fond of the elder and even has a little mistrust doubt and dislke feelling to the “ miracle maker”. This may partly explain why we find out later that the reverent elder sent out odor soon after he death. Dostoevsky deliberately set a particular weather that day. The temperture is extremely high. And the monks are so eager to find out the scent of the elder’s dead body so they keep the windows shut. To some extend this “ odor” event is a mockery. The author set the scene in a ridicule way: the monks claim that the elder is no doubt a saint by trying to convience people that the odor is just another way that HIM anouces the elder’s sainty while they themselves doubt it.

The chapter The Grand Inquisitor rises many critics interest. It is a pose written by Ivan. The Grand Inquisitor reflects Dostoevsky’ view about Jesus or in other words religion. “ His wild love for Jesus is mixed with reverse and poisonous hate of Jesus:his moral hostility to the devil is mixed with secret worship of the devil.” (D.H.Lawrence). Lawrence’s opinion about Dostoevsky’ religion idea is widely agreed. Religion seems to be a theme Dostoevsky never excludes from his works. In Crime and Punishment Sonya the girl that comforts Raskonikov is a symbol of forgiveness. Here in The Brother Karamazov Dostoevsky’s hero Alyosha is a monk. Dostoevsky expresses his doubt through Alyosha Ivan the elder and some other characters. The religion meditation spatters in different chapters. The Grand Inquisitor is to some extend the most important pose in all Dostoevsky’s work. However to throughly understand it aquires much knowledge about Christ.

There is an funny chapter in the novel the trial of Dmitri Fyodorovich. The trail is about Dmitri but the author-narrator presents it as it is a trail of the Russian people. The word “satisfy” appears many times. Audience go to the trial expecting being entertained and satisfied. For them it is not a trail but a show. Duiring the proceeding some secrets are exposed. The fact that Rakitin is the cousin of Grushenka is not revealed untiil the trail! And for what I mentioned before as funny that is the three statements about Dmitri’s psycological condition. Three doctors give three different diagnosis. “ He is not in the right mind because he looked to the left side whiile he should have looked to the left side.” For the details I recommond you to find yourself in the book.

The Brother Karamazov is a riddle. It is a confusing distrubing subverting story worth reading. And it is a book causes meditation.

EXTRACT frome the TEXT

1 The young in Russia talk of nothing but the eternal questions now. Just when the old folks are all taken up with practical qustions.( p214)

2 but if someone else gains possession of his conscience-oh! Then he will cast away Thy bread and follow after him who has ensnared his conscience. …….for the secret of man’s being is not only to live but to have something to live for.

Noting is more seductive for man than his freedom of conscience but nothing is a greater cuase of suffering.

Thou who didst come to give Thy life for them! Instead of taking possession of men’s freedom Thou didst increase it and burdened the spiritual kingdom of mankind with its sfferings forever. ( p235 the grand inquisitor)

3Yet such dreams are sometimes seen not by writers but by the most ordinary people officials journalists priests….

4Certainly we shall all rise again certainly we shall see each other and shall tell each other with joy and gladness all that has happened!