The problems and ideological meaning of the novel by F.M. Dostoevsky "The Idiot"

Dostoevsky wrote the novel The Idiot in 1867-1869. The work most fully reflects the moral and philosophical position of the author and his artistic principles of the period of the 1860s. The novel is written in the traditions of Russian realism.

In The Idiot, the author touches on the themes of religion, the meaning of life, love - both between a man and a woman, and for all of humanity. Dostoevsky depicts the moral decay of the Russian intelligentsia and the nobility, shows that for the sake of money people are ready to do anything, stepping over any morality - this is exactly how the author sees the representatives of the new generation.

Main characters

Lev Nikolaevich Myshkin- Russian nobleman, prince 26-27 years old, trusting, simple-hearted, kind; in his look "there was something quiet, but heavy". He was treated in Switzerland with a diagnosis of "idiot".

Parfen Semyonovich Rogozhin- the son of a merchant, "twenty-seven years old", with fiery eyes and a smug look. He was in love with Nastasya Filippovna and killed her.

Nastasya Filippovna Barashkova- a beautiful girl from a noble family, who was on the payroll of Trotsky.

Other characters

Alexandra Ivanovna Yepanchina- 25 years have passed, "musician", with a "strong character, kind, reasonable".

Adelaida Ivanovna Yepanchina- 23 years old, "a wonderful painter".

Aglaya Ivanovna Yepanchina- 20 years old, very pretty, but spoiled, her behavior resembles a "real child"; was in love with Myshkin.

Ivan Fedorovich Yepanchin- a man of 56 years old, a general, was known as "a man with big money, with big jobs and great connections", "came from soldiers' children".

Lizaveta Prokofievna Yepanchina- a distant relative of Myshkin. Mother of Alexandra, Adelaide, Aglaya. Same years with my husband.

Ardalion Alexandrovich Ivolgin- a retired general, the father of Ganya and Varya, a drunkard, told fictitious stories.

Nina Alexandrovna Ivolgina- the wife of General Ivolgin, the mother of Ganya, Vari, Kolya.

Gavrila Ardalionich Ivolgin (Ganya)- a handsome young man of 28 years old, an official, in love with Aglaya.

Varvara Ardalionovna Ptitsyna- Ghana's sister.

Nikolay Ardalionich Ivolgin (Kolya) Gani's younger brother.

Ferdyshchenko- "Mr. thirty", rented a room from the Ivolgins.

Afanasy Ivanovich Totsky- a millionaire, "about fifty-five years old, of an elegant character," who supported Nastasya Filippovna.

Lebedev- "a chiselled official in the clerkship, about forty years old."

Hippolyte- Lebedev's nephew, Kolya's friend.

PART ONE

Chapter I

At the end of November at 9 am the train arrived in St. Petersburg. Parfen Rogozhin, Prince Lev Myshkin and the official Lebedev "find themselves" in one of the third-class carriages.

Myshkin said that he was traveling from Switzerland, that he had not been in Russia for more than 4 years, “he was sent abroad for some strange nervous illness, like epilepsy,” but he never recovered. There he was kept by the now deceased Mr. Pavlishchev. Right there, in St. Petersburg, lives his distant relative, General Epanchina. From the luggage he had only a bundle.

Parfen Rogozhin quarreled with his father and fled from his anger to his aunt in Pskov. A month ago, his father died, leaving "two and a half million in capital." Rogozhin spoke about Nastasya Filippovna Barashkova, whom he bought a pair of diamond pendants with his father's money. From the anger of his father, Parfyon fled to Pskov.

Chapter II

Arriving in Petersburg, Myshkin went to the Yepanchins. The servant who opened the door to the prince did not immediately want to report it to the general. Myshkin was asked to wait in the waiting room. The simplicity and openness of the prince led the lackey to the idea that in front of him was a "fool".

A young man, Gavrila Ardalionich, entered the hall. Soon he and the prince were called to the general's office.

Chapter III

Myshkin told the general that he had come to him without any purpose - only because Yepanchin's wife was his distant relative.

Yepanchin reminded Ghana that Nastasya Filippovna would “say the last word” tonight. Ganya replied that his mother and sister were against this marriage, as they considered Nastasya an indecent woman. Ganya showed a photographic portrait that Nastasya had given him. The prince looked at the portrait with curiosity and said that Rogozhin had told him about it. Ganya asked Myshkin if Rogozhin would marry Nastasya Filipovna. The prince replied that he had married, but "in a week, perhaps, he would have slaughtered her."

Chapter IV

Afanasy Ivanovich Totsky, "a man of high society, with the highest connections and extraordinary wealth," wooed Alexandra. But one incident got in the way. 18 years ago, Totsky took the daughter of a poor landowner Barashkov who had gone mad. When the girl was 12 years old, Totsky hired her a governess, she was taught to read and write, the arts. Soon Totsky himself began to visit Nastya in the village. But five years ago, the girl found out that he was going to get married. Nastasya Filippovna appeared to Totsky and said with contempt that she would not allow marriage. Totsky settled the girl in St. Petersburg. Now, in order to avoid a scandal, he suggested that Nastasya Filippovna first marry Ganya, promising to give 75 thousand rubles.

Chapters V–VII

Epanchin introduces Myshkin to his wife and daughters. The good-natured stories of the prince will make everyone laugh. When they started talking about the death penalty, Myshkin told a story about a man sentenced to death by firing squad. 20 minutes after the reading of the punishment, a pardon was read and another measure was appointed. But in those 20 minutes, he thought that now his life would end. And if he hadn’t died, he would have valued life, “he counted the minute by the minute, he wouldn’t have spent anything in vain.” This greatly impressed the prince.

The prince said that Aglaya was almost as beautiful as Nastasya Filippovna, whose portrait he had seen.

Chapter VIII

Ganya took the prince to him. Their apartment was on the third floor. Ganya's father lived here - retired general Ivolgin, mother, sister, younger brother - 13-year-old high school student Kolya, Ferdyshchenko's lodger. General Ivolgin constantly lied to everyone. He immediately told Myshkin that he carried his little one in his arms, knew his father.

Ganya's mother and sister discussed that tonight it would be decided whether Nastasya Filippovna would marry him. Unexpectedly, Nastasya Filippovna herself came to them.

Chapter IX

White-faced, nervously laughing, Ganya introduced Nastasya Filippovna to his mother, sister, and father. It happened that Ghana dreamed "in the form of a nightmare, burned with shame": the meeting of his parents with Nastasya Filippovna. Ivolgin began to tell his fables, which made the guest and Ferdyshchenko laugh, but he confused his entire family.

Chapter X

Rogozhin and Lebedev came to the Ivolgins with their friends - everyone was tipsy. Rogozhin began to ask if Ganya and Nastasya Filippovna were really engaged. Parfyon said that Ganka could be bought for roubles, and for three thousand he would run away even on the eve of the wedding. Rogozhin promised that in the evening Nastasya Filippovna would bring first 18, then 40, and finally 100 thousand.

Chapter XI

When everyone left, Ganya told Myshkin that after what had happened, he would now definitely marry her. Myshkin expressed doubt that Nastasya Filippovna would certainly marry him.

Chapters XII - XIII

Myshkin comes to the evening to Nastasya Filippovna - the girl has a birthday. She occupied a "splendidly finished apartment." However, with all the luxury of the rooms, the girl hosted a rather strange society - “inelegant variety”. Myshkin found Totsky, Yepanchin, Ganya, Ferdyshchenko and other few guests at Nastasya Filippovna's.

Ferdyshchenko suggested playing a game: take turns telling about himself what he "considers the worst of all his bad deeds throughout his life." They cast lots, Ferdyshchenko fell out.

Chapter XIV

Ferdyshchenko told how he once stole three rubles, which he drank in a restaurant that same evening. But an innocent maid was punished for the theft. Yepanchin spoke next. Thirty-five years ago, he lived in the apartment of a retired lieutenant. When he moved in, he was told that the old woman had not given him the bowl. He immediately rushed there and started screaming. But he suddenly noticed that the old woman was sitting dead - while he scolded her, "she was moving away." Totsky told the story of how he messed up the relationship of one lady with an admirer, having obtained the desired camellias for the woman before the ball, which the admirer could not find in any way.

Nastasya Filippovna asked Myshkin if she should marry Gavrila Ardalionovich. The prince replied not to come out.

Chapter XV

Suddenly Rogozhin arrived with a crowd of intoxicated men. Parfyon brought a hundred thousand rubles. Nastasya Filippovna told Ganya that she had come to him today to mock him - in fact, she agrees with Rogozhin that Ganya can kill him for money.

Chapter XVI

Myshkin received a letter from Moscow: his aunt bequeathed to him "an extremely large capital". Nastasya Filippovna announced that she was marrying the prince, who had "one and a half million". Rogozhin was indignant and shouted for the prince to "step back" from the girl. Myshkin said that he did not care about the girl's past, he was ready to be with her. Unexpectedly, Nastasya Filippovna changed her mind and said that she would go with Rogozhin, not wanting to "destroy the baby."

Taking Rogozhin's bundle of money in her hands, Nastasya Filippovna told Ganya that she would throw it into the fireplace now and if he got it without gloves, then the money would be his. The pack was thrown into the fire. Ganya, frozen, stood and looked into the fireplace. When everyone started yelling at him to get the money, Ganya turned to leave, but fainted. Nastasya Filippovna took out money with tongs and said that now they belong to Ghana.

PART TWO

Chapters I - II

Myshkin left for Moscow on matters of inheritance. It soon became known that Nastasya Filippovna, who had disappeared in Moscow, was found by Rogozhin and gave "almost the right word to marry him", but soon she practically fled from the crown.

Chapter III

Arriving in St. Petersburg, Myshkin went to Rogozhin. In Moscow, Nastasya Filippovna, having escaped from Parfyon, lived for some time with the prince. Myshkin recalled that he loved her "not with love, but with pity", therefore, not an enemy to Parfyon. Rogozhin believed that Nastasya Filippovna did not marry him because she was afraid.

Chapter IV

Rogozhin showed Myshkin a picture - a copy from Holbein, depicting the Savior, only taken down from the cross. They exchanged pectoral crosses. Parfyon took Myshkin to his mother, asking him to bless the prince as if he were his own son.

Chapter V

The prince learns that Nastasya Filippovna has left for Pavlovsk. On the way, he once again fancied that Rogozhin was following him. Myshkin hurried to the hotel, in one of the niches "on the first running platform" he saw Parfyon. The prince had an epileptic seizure. This saved Myshkin from the "inevitable stab" - Rogozhin ran away headlong.

Sick Myshkin was discovered by Kolya. The prince was taken to the dacha in Pavlovsk to Lebedev.

Chapters VI–IX

Having learned about the illness of the prince, the Yepanchins, who were also staying at the dacha, went to Lebedev. Myshkin gathered his acquaintances - Kolya, Ganya, Varya.

Soon four young people "nihilists" also arrived, among whom was the "son of Pavlishchev". The young man demanded from Myshkin part of the inheritance allegedly due to him. Gavrila Ardalionich, who was in charge of this case, said that he had conducted an investigation and found out that the young man was in fact not Pavlishchev's son.

Chapters X – XII

Ganya reported to the prince that Nastasya Filippovna had been living here in Pavlovsk for four days. Lizaveta Prokofievna thought that the prince had returned to Petersburg to marry Nastasya Filippovna. The woman said that Ganya was "in relations" with Aglaya and, moreover, "put her in relations with Nastasya Filippovna."

PART THREE

Chapter I

Once Myshkin, in the company of the Epanchin sisters and other acquaintances, discussed crimes. The prince spoke about what he had noticed: "The most inveterate and unrepentant killer still knows that he is a criminal, that is, in his conscience he believes that he did not do well, albeit without any repentance."

Chapters II - III

When the prince wandered in the evening in the park, Rogozhin approached him. Myshkin decided that Parfyon attempted on him because of jealousy, but Nastasya Filippovna loves Rogozhin: “the more he torments, the more he loves.” Parfyon believed that the girl had not yet stopped loving the prince.

Chapters IV - VIII

In the morning, during a conversation, Lebedev's nephew asked Myshkin if what he said was true, that "beauty" would save the world. And then he shouted that he was sure: Myshkin was in love.

The prince went out into the park, he began to remember Switzerland and imperceptibly fell asleep. I woke up from the laughter of Aglaya standing over him (the girl had previously made an appointment with him). She admitted that she was in love with Myshkin.

Chapters IX–X

Myshkin read letters from Nastasya Filippovna. The girl called him "perfection", confessed her love. She wrote about Parfyon that she was sure that he had a razor hidden in his drawer. “Your wedding and my wedding are together: this is how we appointed him. I have no secrets from him. I would kill him with fear ... But he will kill me first ... ".

In the evening, in the park, Nastasya Filippovna rushed to Myshkin, and falling on her knees in front of him, she asked if he was happy now. The prince tried to calm her down, but then Rogozhin appeared and took her away. Returning, Parfyon asked why the prince did not answer her. Myshkin said he was not happy.

PART FOUR

Chapters I - IV

General Ivolgin came to the prince, wanting to talk. Myshkin listened to his stories with all seriousness and even began to worry when he saw the interlocutor's excessive inspiration. Being with the Yepanchins, the general "made trouble there" and was "brought out in disgrace." The next day he had a heart attack.

Chapter V

The Yepanchins have not yet spoken openly about the wedding of Myshkin and Aglaya. One evening in the presence of Lizaveta Prokofievna, Aglaya directly asked Myshkin if he was wooing her. He answered in the affirmative.

During a conversation with Aglaya, Ivan Fedorych realized that she was in love with the prince: “What to do is fate!” . The relationship between Myshkin and Aglaya developed strangely - the girl continually ridiculed the prince, "turned him almost into a jester."

Chapters VI–VII

Representatives of the “light” gathered at the Yepanchins. The guests started talking about the late Pavlishchev, mentioned that Myshkin was his pupil. One of the men present said that he remembers the prince as a child, spoke about the women who raised the boy. This led Myshkin to emotion and delight. The prince joined the discussion, began to shout, at some point in the conversation he said that “Catholicism is the same as non-Christian faith” and worse than atheism. Developing his thought, the excited prince with an awkward movement pushed an expensive Chinese vase and broke it. The prince continued to speak, stood up abruptly, and had an epileptic fit. Half an hour later, the guests left. The wedding after the incident was impossible.

Chapter VIII

Ippolit said that he had arranged a meeting between Aglaya and Nastasya Filippovna. In the evening Aglaya came to the prince, and they went to Nastasya Filippovna. Aglaya began to attack her interlocutor, a quarrel ensued between them. Nastasya Filippovna first told Aglaya to take “her treasure” and leave, and then, flushing, she said: “Do you want me, I’m now ... I’ll tell you, do you hear? only tell him, and he will immediately leave you and stay with me forever and marry me, and you will run home alone? .

Aglaya rushed away, the prince after her. Nastasya Filippovna, trying to stop Myshkin, wrapped her arms around him and fell unconscious. Waking up, the delirious girl screamed for Rogozhin to go away. The prince remained to soothe and comfort her.

Chapter IX

Two weeks passed, and a rumor began to spread that Myshkin, having abandoned Aglaya, was going to marry Nastasya Filippovna. The Yepanchins left Pavlovsk. Once, during a conversation with a friend, the prince admitted that he was afraid of the face of Nastasya Filippovna: “she is crazy.”

Chapter X

General Ivolgin died from the second blow. Ippolit warned Myshkin that if he marries Nastasya Filippovna, Rogozhin will take revenge - he will kill Aglaya.

The wedding day has come. The prince and Nastasya Filippovna arrived at the church. The girl was "pale as a handkerchief". Suddenly, she screamed and ran to Rogozhin, who appeared at the church, asking him to save her and take her away. Parfyon immediately grabbed her, jumped into the carriage, and they left. The prince seemed to take it very calmly, saying that he assumed such a scenario.

Chapter XI

The next day Myshkin went to Petersburg. He immediately went to Rogozhin on Gorokhovaya, but the maid said that the owner was not at home. Watching the house from the side, the prince noticed Rogozhin's face flickering behind the raised curtain. Myshkin went to Nastasya Filipovna's apartment, but the girl was not there. He visited Rogozhin several more times, but to no avail. Parfyon called out to Myshkin on the street near the tavern where the prince was staying, and told him to follow him, but on the other side of the street.

Rogozhin imperceptibly led the prince into the house, to his office. The dark room was divided by a green silk curtain, behind which lay the dead Nastasya Filippovna, covered with a white sheet, on Parfyon's bed. Rogozhin noticed that the prince was trembling - the same thing happened to him the last time before the seizure.

They spent the night in Rogozhin's room. The people who came in the morning "found the killer in complete unconsciousness and fever." The prince sat motionless beside him and only occasionally stroked the delirium, as if trying to calm him down. Myshkin “already did not understand anything about what he was asked, and did not recognize the people who entered and surrounded him”, became an “idiot”.

Chapter XII. CONCLUSION

“Rogozhin withstood two months of inflammation in the brain, and when he recovered, the investigation and trial.” He was sentenced "to Siberia, to penal servitude, for fifteen years." "The prince again ended up abroad in the Swiss institution of Schneider." Aglaya got married, "became a member of some foreign committee for the restoration of Poland."

Conclusion

In the novel The Idiot, Dostoevsky, in the image of Lev Myshkin, portrays a "positively beautiful person" in front of the reader. The prince is the only one capable of forgiveness, kindness, mercy, love, which makes him related to the image of Jesus Christ. Others perceive Myshkin's openness and innocence as a kind of shortcoming, flaw, one of the symptoms of his pernicious disease. The prince is trying to change something, but the evil around him turns out to be stronger, so the main character goes crazy.

The novel "The Idiot" is one of the best works of classical Russian and world literature. The work was filmed many times, formed the basis of theatrical productions, opera, ballet. We advise you not to dwell on a brief retelling of The Idiot, but to read the brilliant novel by Fyodor Mikhailovich Dostoevsky in its entirety.

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The novel touches on various topics that are very relevant in the modern world. The first topic that Fyodor Mikhailovich raises is greed. What people are not ready for for their own benefit, they only think about how to take a more prestigious position in society. All this does not go unnoticed. After all, the thirst for wealth pushes people to the dirtiest deeds that are committed without a twinge of conscience. Man is convinced that the end justifies the means. He doesn't need anything else, that's enough to calm himself. After all, everyone does it. The thirst for profit pushes people to slander, a little later they begin to change their own principles and beliefs.

The problem is that in society you can become someone significant only if you have significant people in high circles who will put in a good word to whom you need. Moreover, self-interest does not act independently, she has a true friend, who is called vanity.

This work has a philosophical meaning. The author resorts to the rules and foundations of Christianity. He takes a lot as a basis from a famous teacher named Christ. Moreover, Fyodor Mikhailovich singles out one character, which is a prince by the name of Myshkin, and endows him with many Christian qualities. This hero even has a savior function. He cares about those around him. Myshkin is not indifferent to the condition of other people, he is compassionate, capable of mercy and not vindictive. People around the prince are also trying to learn these qualities.

Further, the novel very actively raises the theme of love. Here you can find all its varieties. In the work there is love for people, love between a man and a woman, friendly love and love in the family. Also, the author did not forget about the passion that is especially inherent in a character named Rogozhin. The highest love is characteristic of Prince Myshkin, while Ganya has low love, built on vanity and self-interest.

The author wanted to show how rotten society is in the highest circles, which are called the intelligentsia. Here you can observe the moral and spiritual degradation. It's normal for heroes to have a double life. For this, the author singles out Myshkin, who is endowed with the qualities of a spiritual person. He cares about other people, he is not selfish, he is able to forgive others for their misdeeds. This hero exists so that a person is not completely disappointed in this world, which is full of vices and where everyone thinks only of himself. This hero gives hope that not everything is lost and that there are pure people in the world.

Dostoevsky emphasizes that society needs holy people who will point out vices and sins. Because without them, everything would have fallen apart a long time ago. Of course, it is difficult for the righteous to live, because it is impossible to adapt to such conditions. However, they do not give up, they have something more than ordinary people. Moreover, they are very happy when they manage to help someone and make someone's life at least a little better.

Option 2

The novel by Fyodor Dostoevsky "The Idiot" (very brief summary) is one of the masterpieces of Russian classical literature. Interest in this work can be traced to this day. And not only among the readers of our country, but also abroad. And this is not surprising, because the novel is a storehouse for philosophers. The work is filled with symbolic content. Dostoevsky put a hidden meaning into each character. For example, Nastasya Filippovna symbolizes beauty and girlish passion, and Prince Myshkin symbolizes Christian love and justice.

In order to understand the meaning and essence of the work as much as possible, it is necessary to turn to its analysis.

The most important goal of this work is to show the process of decomposition of the society of that time, in particular in the circles of the intelligentsia. The reader may note exactly how this process of decay occurs: through love affairs, mental baseness and double life. The author created the image of a wonderful person endowed with such qualities as justice, kindness and sincerity. But at the same time, Dostoevsky shows readers that, unfortunately, a person with a beautiful soul is not able to withstand the hordes of vile and miserable people. He becomes powerless, surrounded by envious and prudent people.

However, the meaning of the novel is that for the most part, a vile society simply needs a righteous man. This righteous man of life, according to Christian canons, is Prince Myshkin. It is with him that every other hero of the work feels somewhat safe from lies and pretense, behaves naturally, and finally, they know their own soul.

Dostoevsky brings up many themes in the novel. One of the most egregious is the theme of greed. The desire to achieve a certain status and the vision of happiness in untold wealth can be traced in such heroes of the novel as Ganya Ivolgin, General Yepanchin and Totsky. The author emphasizes that in such a society, those who do not know how to lie, who do not have connections and a noble name, will not succeed.

Of course, Dostoevsky could not but highlight the theme of religion. And the main character, directly involved in the topic of Christianity, of course, is Prince Myshkin. It is he who is some savior of the novel. It can be compared to Jesus Christ himself, who sacrificed himself for the salvation of others. It is thanks to Prince Myshkin that other heroes of the work learn to be merciful and show compassion for their neighbor. They are Varya, Aglaya and Elizaveta Petrovna.

Along with religious themes, the theme of love in all its forms can be traced in the work. For example, the love of Prince Myshkin for Nastasya Filippovna is Christian, as the hero of the novel himself believes, his feelings are “love out of pity”. What Rogozhin calls his feelings love is nothing but passion. After all, you can do such an act as murder only out of passion, but not out of love. In Ganya Ivolgin, love has a vain character. His feelings are measured by the amount of money he can get by playing the role of a loving person well.

The novel by Fyodor Dostoevsky was created with the aim of calling people to love for good. At the same time, the author teaches readers to believe in the salvation of the human soul and to see in it the purpose of life.

Analysis of The Idiot

The idea for The Idiot came to Dostoevsky in the process of writing another, also immortal novel, Crimes and Punishments. If in "Crime and Punishment" Raskolnikov lost faith in everything: in God, in humanity, even in himself. He is trying to establish himself as a person through crime.

The protagonist of the novel "Idiot" Prince Myshkin, on the contrary, embodies not only kindness but also faith, not only in God and in people too, he has the hope that from the mass of villains there will be one worthy person. It is thanks to his honesty and kindness that the prince stands out from the general background of other people. The rest of the vile and mercenary people do everything for their own benefit or in order to commit meanness for others.

Myshkin is disgusted by such a life, he understands it in part, but does not accept it. For the rest, this person is really incomprehensible, and even more so, evil tongues dubbed him with an insulting “nickname - an idiot”. They can't (don't want to) understand him. Although many people like his honesty, however, many of even his good acquaintances get annoyed over time. In fact, the prince never has real and sincere friends.

Dostoevsky, as an experienced psychoanalyst, reflected the essence of the time in which he lived. He put two opposites and, as it were, compared them. The essence that he noticed lies in the revolutionary spirit and disintegration that was approaching Russia. Dostoevsky, back in Possessed, predicted what would happen to Russia if a revolution began and how it would be. “Rus will be clouded…” - this is what the main anti-hero of the novel Verkhovensky says. And there were many such Verkhovenskys in Rus', it was they who created the revolution of 1905 and two revolutions of 1917.

Society and people as a whole have ceased to perceive and accept goodness and honesty. They do not believe in them, and they themselves are not. Prince Myshkin annoys them. Yet his honesty disarms evil. But, unfortunately, not always. The surrounding evil and misunderstanding, as well as the transferred illness, make the prince closed in himself. He gets acquainted with the "higher" light and finds it cruel and vicious.

In general, Dostoevsky shows in Myshkin - Christ, but in fact he is him. He tries to induce people to do good, forgives everyone, even enemies, but dies. He is ruined by the misunderstanding of others.

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The novel by F. M. Dostoevsky "The Idiot" is today one of the most popular and sought-after works of Russian literature. For many years, various interpretations of this great creation have been created and continue to be created: film adaptations, opera and ballet readings, theatrical performances. The novel is popular all over the world.

Work on the novel began in April 1867 and lasted almost a year and a half. The creative impulse for the author was the case of the Umecki family, where parents were accused of child abuse.

1867 is a difficult time for the writer and his family. Dostoevsky was hiding from creditors, which forced him to go abroad. Another sad event was the death of a three-month-old daughter. Fedor Mikhailovich and his wife experienced this tragedy very hard, but the agreement with the Russky Vestnik magazine did not allow the creator to give in to grief. Work on the novel completely absorbed the author. While in Florence, in January 1869, Dostoevsky completed his work, dedicating it to his niece S. A. Ivanova.

Genre, direction

In the second half of the 19th century, writers paid special attention to the genre of the novel. There were various subgenres associated with the direction, style, structure. The Idiot by Dostoyevsky is one of the best examples of a philosophical novel. This type of prose arose as early as the Enlightenment in Western European literature. What distinguishes him is his emphasis on the thoughts of the characters, the development of their ideas and concepts.

Dostoevsky was also interested in the study of the inner world of characters, which gives reason to attribute The Idiot to such a type of novel as a psychological one.

essence

Prince Myshkin comes from Switzerland to Petersburg. With a small bundle of things in his hands, dressed not for the weather, he goes to the Yepanchins' house, where he meets the general's daughters and secretary Ganya. From him, Myshkin sees a portrait of Nastasya Filippovna, and later learns some details of her life.

The young prince stops at the Ivolgins, where he soon meets Nastasya herself. The girl's patron asks her to marry Ganya and gives her a dowry of 70 thousand, which attracts a potential groom. But under Prince Myshkin, a bargaining scene takes place, where Rogozhin, another contender for the hand and heart of the beauty, participates. The final price is one hundred thousand.

Lev Nikolaevich Myshkin is deeply touched by the beauty of Nastasya Filippovna, he comes to her that evening. He meets many guests there: General Yepanchin, Ferdyshchenko, Totsky, Ganya - and closer to the night Rogozhin himself appears with a bundle of newspapers, in which the promised hundred thousand. The heroine throws money into the fire and leaves with her chosen one.

Six months later, the prince decides to visit Rogozhin at his house on Gorokhovaya Street. Parfion and Lev Nikolaevich exchange crosses - now, with the blessing of mother Rogozhin, they are brothers.

Three days after this meeting, the prince goes to Pavlovsk to visit Lebedev at his dacha. There, after one of the evenings, Myshkin and Aglaya Yepanchina agree to meet. After the meeting, the prince realizes that he will fall in love with this girl, and a few days later Lev Nikolayevich is proclaimed her fiancé. Nastasya Filippovna writes a letter to Aglaya, where she convinces her to marry Myshkin. Soon after this, a meeting of rivals takes place, after which the engagement of the prince and Aglaya is terminated. Now society is in anticipation of another wedding: Myshkin and Nastasya Filippovna.

On the day of the celebration, the bride runs away with Rogozhin. The next day, the prince goes in search of Nastasya Filippovna, but none of his acquaintances knows anything. Finally Myshkin meets Rogozhin, who brings him to his house. Here, under a white sheet, lies the corpse of Nastasya Filippovna.

As a result, from all the shocks received, the main character goes crazy.

Main characters and their characteristics

1. Prince Lev Nikolaevich Myshkin. In the drafts, the writer calls the protagonist Prince Christ. He is the central character and is opposed to all other heroes of the work. Myshkin interacts with almost all participants in the action. One of its main functions in the novel is to reveal the inner world of the characters. It is not difficult for him to call the interlocutor to a frank conversation, to find out his innermost thoughts. For many, communication with him is like confession.
2. Myshkin's antipodes are Ganya Ivolgin and Parfyon Rogozhin. The first of them is a weak-willed, feminine, seduced by money young man who wants to break into people at any cost, but still feel shame for it. He dreams of status and respect, but is forced to endure only humiliation and failure. The rich merchant Rogozhin is obsessed with only one passion - to own Nastasya Filippovna. He is stubborn and ready to do anything to achieve his goal. No other outcome will suit him, but life is in fear and doubt, and whether she loves him, whether she will run away, is not for Rogozhin. Because their relationship ends in tragedy.
3. Nastasya Filippovna. The fatal beauty, whose true nature was guessed only by Prince Myshkin. She can be considered a victim, she can be a demon, but what attracts her most is what makes her related to Cleopatra herself. And it's not just stunning beauty. There is a known case when the Egyptian ruler dissolved a huge pearl. A reminiscence of this act in the novel is the episode where Nastasya Filippovna throws one hundred thousand rubles into the fireplace. The prototype of the heroine is Apollinaria Suslova, Dostoevsky's lover. She feels contempt for money, because they bought her shame. The poor girl was seduced by a rich gentleman, but he became weary of his sin, so he tried to make a decent woman out of a kept woman by buying her a groom - Ganin.
4. The image of Nastasya Barashkova sets off Aglaya Yepanchina, antipode and rival. This girl is different from her sisters and mother. In Myshkin, she sees much more than an eccentric fool, and not all of her relatives can share her views. Aglaya was waiting for a man who could lead her out of her ossified, decaying environment. At first, she represented the prince as such a savior, then a certain Pole-revolutionary.

There are more interesting characters in the book, but we do not want to drag out the article too much, so if you need a character description that is not here, write about it in the comments. And she will appear.

Topics and issues

1. The theme of the novel is very diverse. One of the main issues highlighted in the text is greed. The thirst for prestige, status, wealth makes people commit vile deeds, slander each other, betray themselves. It is impossible to succeed in the society described by Dostoevsky without having patrons, a noble name and money. In tandem with self-interest there is vanity, especially inherent in General Yepanchin, Ghana, Totsky.
2. Since The Idiot is a philosophical novel, it develops a great wealth of themes, an important one being religion. The author refers to the topic of Christianity repeatedly, the main character involved in this topic is Prince Myshkin. His biography includes some biblical allusions to the life of Christ, and he is given the function of "savior" in the novel. Mercy, compassion for one's neighbor, the ability to forgive - this is learned from Myshkin and other heroes: Varya, Aglaya, Elizaveta Prokofievna.
3. Love presented in the text in all its possible manifestations. Christian love, helping one's neighbor, family, friendship, romantic, passionate. In Dostoevsky's later diary entries, the main idea is revealed - to show three varieties of this feeling: Ganya - vain love, Rogozhin - passion, and the prince - Christian love.

Here, as well as with the heroes, it is possible to analyze the themes and problems for a long time. If something specific is still missing for you, please write about it in the comments.

the main idea

The main idea of ​​Dostoevsky is to show the decomposition of Russian society in the layers of the intelligentsia. In these circles, there is spiritual decline, philistinism, adultery, and double life is practically the norm. Dostoevsky sought to create a "beautiful person" who could show that kindness, justice and sincere love are still alive in this world. Prince Myshkin is endowed with such a mission. The tragedy of the novel lies in the fact that a person who seeks to see only love and kindness in the modern world dies in it, being unadapted to life.

The meaning laid down by Dostoevsky is that people still need such righteous people who help them look themselves in the face. In a conversation with Myshkin, the heroes get to know their soul and learn to open it to others. In a world of falsehood and hypocrisy, this is very necessary. Of course, it is very difficult for the righteous themselves to get used to society, but their sacrifice is not in vain. They understand and feel that at least one corrected fate, at least one caring heart, awakened from indifference, is already a great victory.

What does it teach?

The novel "The Idiot" teaches to believe in people, in no case to condemn them. The text contains examples of how society can be instructed without placing oneself above it and without resorting to direct moralizing.

Dostoevsky's novel teaches to love, first of all, for salvation, always to help people. The author warns that about low and rude deeds committed in haste, after which one will have to regret, but repentance may come too late, when nothing can be corrected.

Criticism

Some contemporaries called the novel "The Idiot" fantastic, which caused the writer's indignation, since he considered it the most realistic work. Among researchers over the years, from the moment the book was created to the present day, various definitions of this work have arisen and continue to arise. So, V. I. Ivanov and K. Mochulsky call The Idiot a tragedy novel, Y. Ivask uses the term evangelical realism, and L. Grossman considers this work a novel-poem. Another Russian thinker and critic M. Bakhtin studied the phenomenon of polyphonism in Dostoevsky's work, he also considered The Idiot a polyphonic novel, where several ideas develop in parallel and several voices of heroes sound.

It is noteworthy that Dostoevsky's novel is of interest not only to Russian researchers, but also to foreign ones. The writer's work is especially popular in Japan. For example, critic T. Kinoshita notes the great influence of Dostoevsky's prose on Japanese literature. The writer drew attention to the inner world of a person, and Japanese authors willingly followed his example. For example, the legendary writer Kobo Abe called Fyodor Mikhailovich his favorite writer.

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The whole novel is filled with deep symbolic content. In every plot, in the image of every hero, Dostoevsky strives to put one or another hidden meaning. Nastasya Filippovna symbolizes beauty, and Myshkin symbolizes Christian grace and the ability for forgiveness and humility. The main idea is the opposition of the ideal image of the righteous Myshkin and the cruel surrounding world of Russian reality, human baseness and meanness. It is precisely because of the deep disbelief of people, their lack of moral and spiritual values, that we see the tragic ending with which Dostoevsky ends his novel.

Analysis of the work

History of creation

The novel was first published in 1868 on the pages of the Russky Vestnik magazine. The idea of ​​the work was born by Dostoevsky after the publication of "Crime and Punishment" during a trip to Germany and Switzerland. In the same place, on September 14, 1867, he made the first entry regarding the future novel. Further, he went to Italy, and in Florence the novel was completed completely. Dostoevsky said that after working on the image of Raskolnikov, he wanted to bring to life a different, completely ideal image.

Features of the plot and composition

The main feature of the composition of the novel is an overly drawn-out climax, which gets its denouement only in the penultimate chapter. The novel itself is divided into four parts, each of which, according to the chronology of events, smoothly flows into another.

The principles of the plot and composition are based on the centralization of the image of Prince Myshkin, all the events and parallel lines of the novel unfold around him.

Images of the main characters

The main character - Prince Myshkin is an example of the embodiment of universal goodness and mercy, this is a blessed person, completely devoid of any kind of shortcomings, like envy or malice. Outwardly, he has an unattractive appearance, awkward and constantly causes ridicule of others. In his image, Dostoevsky puts the great idea that it doesn’t matter what a person looks like, only the purity of his thoughts and the righteousness of his actions are important. Myshkin infinitely loves all the people around him, is extremely disinterested and open-hearted. It is for this that he is called the “Idiot”, because people who are used to being in a world of constant lies, the power of money and debauchery absolutely do not understand his behavior, consider him sick and insane. The prince, meanwhile, is trying to help everyone, seeking to heal other people's spiritual wounds with his kindness and sincerity. Dostoevsky idealizes his image, even equating him with Jesus. By "killing" the hero at the end, he makes it clear to the reader that, like Christ, Myshkin has forgiven all his offenders.

Nastasya Filippovna is another symbolic image. An exceptionally beautiful woman who is able to strike any man in the heart, with an insanely tragic fate. Being an innocent girl, she was molested by her guardian and this overshadowed her whole future life. Since then, she has despised everything, both people and life itself. Its entire existence is directed towards deep self-destruction and self-destruction. Men trade her like a thing, she only contemptuously observes this, supporting this game. Dostoevsky himself does not give a clear understanding of the inner world of this woman; we learn about her from the lips of other people. Her soul remains closed to everyone, including the reader. She is a symbol of eternally elusive beauty, which in the end never got to anyone.

Conclusion

Dostoevsky admitted more than once that The Idiot is one of his favorite and most successful works. Indeed, there are few other books in his work that so accurately and fully managed to express his moral position and philosophical point of view. The novel survived many adaptations, was repeatedly staged in the form of performances and operas, and received well-deserved recognition from domestic and foreign literary critics.

In his novel, the author makes us think about the fact that his “idiot” is the happiest person in the world, because he is able to sincerely love, enjoys every day and perceives everything that happens to him as an exceptional blessing. This is his great superiority over the rest of the characters in the novel.

The novel The Idiot, on which the writer worked in Switzerland and Italy, was published in 1868. Two years have passed since the writing of Crime and Punishment, but the writer still tried to portray his contemporary in his extreme, unusual life situations and states. Only the image of a criminal who finally came to God. Here it gives way to the ideal man, who already carries God in himself, but perishes (at least as a full-fledged person) in the world of greed and unbelief. If Raskolnikov thinks himself "a man and a god", then the main character of the new novel, Lev Myshkin, according to the writer's intention, is such. The main idea of ​​the novel is to depict a positively beautiful person. There is nothing more difficult than this in the world, and especially now. All writers, not only ours, but even all European ones, who undertook to depict a beautiful person, always gave in.

Because the task is immeasurable... There is only one positively beautiful person in the world – Christ. At first glance, the idea of ​​the novel seems paradoxical: in the "idiot", "fool", "holy fool" to portray "quite a wonderful person."

But we should not forget that in the Russian religious tradition, the weak-minded, like the holy fools, who voluntarily assumed the form of madmen, were seen as pleasing to God, blessed, it was believed that higher powers spoke through their lips. In the drafts for the novel, the author called his hero "prince Christ", and in the text itself the motifs of the Second Coming sound persistently. The first pages of the work prepare the unusualness of Lev Nikolaevich Myshkin. An oxymoron (a combination of incongruous) is the name and surname; the author's characterization of appearance is more like an icon-painting portrait than the appearance of a person in the flesh.

He comes from the Swiss "far away" to Russia, from his own illness to the sick, socially obsessed St. Petersburg society. The Petersburg of Dostoevsky's new novel is different than Petersburg, because the author realistically recreates a specific social environment - the metropolitan "half world". This is the world of cynical businessmen, the world of aristocratic landowners adapted to the requirements of the bourgeois era, such as the owner of estates and factories, General Yepanchin, or a member of trading companies and joint-stock companies. This is the world of careerist officials, like the "impatient beggar" Ivolgin, the world of millionaire merchants, such as Parfen Rogozhin. These are their families: wives, mothers, children; these are their kept women and servants. Their mansions, apartments and cottages...

On this Wednesday, as a relative of the Epanchins, Lev Nikolayevich Myshkin, a descendant of an impoverished princely family, appears (however, in the course of the action, the author endows the hero with an unexpected state - a solid inheritance). He was orphaned early, was extremely weak in health, experienced abandonment, loneliness.

He grew up in Switzerland, in close proximity to peasants and children. There is a lot of childishness in him: meekness, sincerity, gentleness, even childish awkwardness (remember, for example, the episode with the broken "Chinese vase"); and in this the conscious ideological orientation of the Christian writer is obvious, because the Gospel speaks of the special closeness of children to the Kingdom of Heaven.

Myshkin was brought up, apparently, by a follower of the French philosopher and writer Rousseau, who created the theory of the formation of a "natural" person close to nature and wrote a number of novels on the topic of education.

Myshkin is close to the heroes of Rousseau with his spontaneity and spiritual harmony. Another literary parallel is clear in the character of the hero - with the image of Don Quixote, the hero most revered by Dostoevsky in world literature. Like Don, Quixote, Myshkin amazes everyone with his naive faith in goodness, justice and beauty.

He passionately opposes the death penalty, assuring that "murder by sentence is disproportionately worse than the murder of a robber." He is sensitive to any other person's grief and active in his sympathy. So, in Switzerland, he managed to unite children with compassion for a seriously ill, despised by all girl - "fallen" Marie and make the rest of her life doomed to death almost happy. Appeasement is trying to bring into the soul of another mortally ill person - the disbelieving, embittered and desperate Ippolit Terentyev: "Pass us and forgive us our happiness."

But first of all, according to the writer's intention, the main characters of the novel, Nastasya Filippovna, Parfen Rogozhin and Aglaya Yepanchina, were to experience the tangible positive influence of Myshkin. The relationship between Myshkin and Nastasya Filippovna is illuminated by a legendary mythological plot (Christ delivering the sinner Mary Magdalene from demonic possession). The full name of the heroine - Anastasia - in Greek means "resurrected"; the surname Barashkova evokes associations with an innocent atoning sacrifice. The author uses special artistic techniques, emphasizing the significance of the image, preparing the perception of the heroine by Myshkin: this is a conversation on the train between Lebedev and Rogozhin about the brilliant St. depicts the fate of a Parisian courtesan); this is a portrait image of a woman that struck the prince, replete, in his perception, with direct psychological details: deep eyes, a thoughtful forehead, a passionate and, as it were, arrogant facial expression. The author uses special artistic techniques, emphasizing the significance of the image, preparing the perception of the heroine by Myshkin: this is a conversation on the train between Lebedev and Rogozhin about the brilliant St. depicts the fate of a Parisian courtesan); this is a portrait image of a woman that struck the prince, replete, in his perception, with direct psychological details: deep eyes, a thoughtful forehead, a passionate and, as it were, arrogant facial expression.

Desecrated honor, a sense of her own depravity and guilt are combined in this woman with a consciousness of inner purity and superiority, exorbitant pride - with deep suffering. Not of her own free will, she became the kept woman of Afanasy Ivanovich Totsky, who cynically considered himself a "benefactor" in the past of a lonely helpless girl.

Deciding to marry one of Yepanchin's daughters, he "attaches" Nastasya Filippovna, marrying Galya Ivolgin with a good dowry. At her own birthday party, Nastasya Filippovna plays an eccentric scene.

Offers Ghana and all the assembled "gentlemen" to pull out of the blazing fireplace the wad she threw with one hundred thousand rubles - Rogozhin's ransom for her favor. This episode is one of the strongest in the novel. The characters of the main "candidates" for Nastasya Filippovna also appear in it: unable to withstand the split (greed and the remnants of dignity are fighting in him), he faints. Possessed by passion, possessive by nature, Rogozhin takes the heroine away. Her "benefactors" are perplexed about the ridiculous, from their point of view, woman's claims to true happiness, pure love. In essence, only Myshkin deeply understands her hidden dream of moral renewal. He "believed at first sight" in her innocence, compassion and pity speak in him: "I cannot bear Nastasya Filippovna's face." Considered Yepanchina's fiancé and experiencing a feeling of falling in love with her, he nevertheless, at the moment of the decisive meeting with both women, arranged for her, unconsciously chooses Nastasya Filippovna.

Myshkin's irrational, impulsive impulse confirms the essence of the deep foundations of his personality, realizes the meaningful life credo of the hero. The hero's throwing between two women, which since the time of "Humiliated and Insulted" has become a stable feature of the writer's artistic method, in "The Idiot" testifies not to Myshkin's double nature, but rather to her immense responsiveness. There is no single answer to the most important questions of human life in The Idiot, but there is a light of hope. In addition to the "positively beautiful person", they live in the novel and serve the good in their own way, Vera Lebedeva, Kolya Ivolgin. Kolya is the first representative of the "Russian boys". So in the world of Dostoevsky's novels young people are called who are looking for an ideal, justice and world harmony. This is Arkady Dolgoruky - a hero. So in the world of Dostoevsky's novels young people are called who are looking for an ideal, justice and world harmony. This is Arkady Dolgoruky - a hero.

The preaching of the writer's socio-historical views, put into the mouth of the inspired Myshkin, is filled with faith in Russia. "Whoever has no soil under himself, he does not have God."

And let him turn to the hypocritical, preoccupied only with their own predatory interests of the highest nobility at one of the evenings at the Yepanchins, let him be deceived in it! Dostoevsky, an artist and thinker, turns pathetic words. It seems that not only in the social, moral, but also in the metaphysical (that is, general philosophical) sphere, the ideas preached by the central character fail.

Reconciled with the very foundations of being, Ippolit Terentyev, Myshkin's ideological opponent in the novel, dies. Like an underground man who yearns for faith, he does not accept it because of the destructive power of nature. There is no single answer to the most important questions of human life in the novel, but there is a light of hope. In addition to a positively beautiful person, they live in the novel and serve the good in their own way, Vera Lebedeva, Kolya Ivolgin.

Kolya is the first representative of Russian boys. So in the world of Dostoevsky's novels young people are called who are looking for an ideal, justice and world harmony - this is Arkady.

Also, of course, Alyosha Karamazov about the fateful relations between Russia and Europe for mankind, not only to the heroes of the novel, but also to the modern reader, to the descendant. Preaching the idea, he believes that the godless, or Catholic, West, socialism or bourgeoisism generated by it, must be defeated "only by thought, by the Russian God and Christ." Publicistic beginning, ideological bias - distinctive

signs of the method of all Dostoevsky's "late" novels. "Demons" (1870-1871) to the greatest extent embodied these qualities and received a capacious genre definition - a novel - a pamphlet.

The title of the novel is inspired by Pushkin's poem of the same name and the biblical parable about the demons that have taken possession of pigs. The title of the novel is inspired by Pushkin's poem of the same name and the biblical parable about the demons that have taken possession of pigs.