Lecture on The Adolescent by Dostoevsky

Introduction

• Context (1870s Russia):
  • Emy Salov Shedin declared the family novel dead.
  • However, Tolstoy's Anna Karenina and Dostoevsky's The Adolescent suggest the family was still central to Russian social life.
  • The family reflected the state of Russian society and its destiny.

Comparison of Novels

• Different Perspectives: Tolstoy vs. Dostoevsky
  • Tolstoy's Approach: Focused on the hereditary aristocracy disrupted by modernity.
  • Dostoevsky's Approach: Presented the accidental family, contrasting Tolstoy's grand aristocratic fantasy.

Themes and Analysis

• Main Theme: Problem of communion.
  • Character vs. Freedom: Man’s fate determined by character but defined by freedom.
  • Human Interaction: Influence between people is limitless, rooted in metaphysics. Social upheavals begin in family disintegration.

The Adolescent as Part of Dostoevsky’s Work

• Sequence of Major Novels: Notes from Underground, Crime and Punishment, The Idiot, Demons, The Adolescent, The Brothers Karamazov
  • Represents the journey from the underground to light.
  • The least known and discussed of his major novels.

Unique Features of The Adolescent

• Narrative Choice: First-person narrator, less literary but more naive and original.
  • Narrator (Aradi Dolgarikki): Immature and prone to anecdotes, giving the novel a distinctive tone.

Character and Plot

• Aradi Dolgarikki vs. Underground Man: Key differences
  • Youth and Resilience: Unlike the underground man, Aradi is constantly moving forward, liberated by his experiences.
  • Adolescence Significance: Age of possibilities and uncertainty.

Historical and Biographical Influences

• Emperor Ivan Antonovich: Dostoevsky's notes on Ivan's isolated development influenced his portrayal of isolated consciousness.
  • Characters: Prince Myshkin (The Idiot), Alyosha Karamazov (The Brothers Karamazov), and Aradi Dolgarikki (The Adolescent).

Interpretations and Criticism

• Different views on Vero:) Complex figure rooted in Russian intellectual life (personal and ideological conflicts).
  • Dostoevsky's Portraits of Idealists: Vero is the most serious and searching among them.

Inset Stories and Epilogues

• The novel contains several inset stories, all providing different perspectives on the same events and lending depth to the narrative
  • Vero's Family: Includes his legitimate and illegitimate children, creating an