Dostoevsky's Characters

Paper Summary:

This paper discusses that the characters in Dostoevsky's novels are not only complex creations with personalities of their own but also are an extension of the author's intellectual dilemma. The paper author illustrates this philosophical embodiment in "Crime and Punishment" and more completely in "The Brothers Karamazov". This paper points out that the characters in both novels are a rich with Freudian syndromes, amazing since they were created before Freud's writings.

From the Paper:

The fourth son, Smerdyakov, is an interesting creation. An epileptic like Dostoevsky himself, he is initially portrayed as little more than an idiot. The child of "stinking Lizaveta", the village idiot (Note the same name as the feeble-minded sister of Alyona, the pawnbroker in Crime and Punishment.), who was raped by Fyodor and died in childbirth, Smerdyakov has been kept as a servant in the household. Fyodor's repeated abuse and his foul treatment of Smerdyakov's mother are sufficient motives for his son to kill him, but a stronger motive may be Smerdyakov's admiration for Ivan and his desire to do what Ivan wants but cannot accomplish."

More papers on Dostoevsky's Characters:

• Book Review # 87233 : "Dostoevsky's "Crime and Punishment"
• Analytical Essay # 113836 : "Dostoevsky's Underground Man and Its Influences in Russian Literature"
• Analytical Essay # 8379 : "The Brothers Karamazov" by Fyodor Dostoevsky"

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