Dostoevsky's Artemii Gaganov -- what historical type?

[Benjamin Sher]

Dear friends:

I am working on a project having to do with Dostoevsky's Possessed and I
am very puzzled by a fascinating character by the name of Artemii
Pavlovich Gaganov, who appears in Part II, Chapter 3, The Duel. He is
the son of General Gaganov, whom Stavrogin dragged by the nose in the
earlier
part of the novel.

Dostoevsky devotes section 2 of this chapter to a detailed description
of this hot-headed young man who, deeply resentful of the affront to his
family, provokes Stavrogin until the latter challenges him to a duel.

We are told that Artemii Pavlovich, a retired colonel and a member of
the gentry, is overly preoccupied with the purity of his ancestral
lineage ("chrezvychaino dorozhat drevnost'iu i chistotoi svoego
dvorianskogo roda i slishkom ser'ezno etim interesuiutsia." Moreoever,
he hates certain Russian customs and traditions  ("russkii obychai
schital otchasti svinstvom"), especially of the Muscovite period
and, all in all, in spite of his strict fulfillment of his official
duties and responsibilites, he is at heart a dreamer who is enamored
of the middle ages, of its romantic castles and knights ("Etot tugoi,
chrezvychaino strogii chelovek, zamechatel'no khorosho znavshii
svoiu sluzhbu i ispolniavshii svoi obiazannosti, v dushe svoei byl
mechtatelem".)

Who is Aretmii Pavlovich? That is, historically and culturally speaking,
whom can we say that he speaks for? What class, what type of Russian?
Are his sympathies with the Slavophiles? Or is he a composite character?
Or just himself? If we can say that Stepan Verkhovensky is, other than
being uniquely himself, a representative of the utopian zapadnik, what
can we say about Artemii? Dostoevsky seems to see him as a
representative
of a certain type of 19th century Russian "...on prinadlezhal k tem ...
dvorianam..." But what type?

Feel free to contact me off-line.

Thank you.

Benjamin

P. S. Please note my new email address
--
Benjamin and Anna Sher
RUS: http://www.websher.net
SHK: http://www.shakespeareindex.net
Email: sher07 at mindspring.com

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