Dostoevsky

[Inna Caron]

Yuliya,

I think the principle female characters in both, "Anna Karenina" and
"Brothers Karamazov," pair up rather nicely. Think along the lines
Anna/Agrafena(Grunya) vs. Kitty/Katya. The former in each pair is about
passion/temptation. The latter - purity/propriety. Note all the similarities
between Anna and Grushen'ka, and between Kitty and Katya. Then look at how
differently each author treats his pair. What does it say about their
respective worldview, position on the role of women in the society, even
their interpretation of Christian doctrine?

Of course, you can do the same with Nastasya Fillipovna vs. Aglaya, but
their fates are too similar to that of the heroines of "Anna Karenina." If
you stay with "Brothers Karamazov," you can compare the treatment each
heroine receives from her creator, and come up with a very interesting
conclusion, which will incorporate "some philosophical points and authorial
voice and intrusion."

Best wishes,

Inna Caron


-----Original Message-----
From: Slavic & East European Languages and Literature list
[mailto:SEELANGS at LISTSERV.CUNY.EDU]On Behalf Of Yuliya Lutsyk
Sent: Sunday, December 25, 2005 1:10 AM
To: SEELANGS at LISTSERV.CUNY.EDU
Subject: [SEELANGS] Dostoevsky


I am a school student in Australia, currently I am studying English
Extension 2, the highest level of English that can be undertaken in school.
We are required to write a major work over the school year. I decided upon
doing a critical analysis along the lines of "Women in 19th Century Russian
literature", I do not have the title/question of my major work completely
formulated yet, but I will be concentrating on the Russian society and its
influence on women, how this is reflected in Russian literature, perhaps
some philosophical points and authorial voice and intrusion.

 I have chosen 2 major novels for my analysis: "Anna Karenina" by Leo
Tolstoy and "Brother's Karamazov" by Fyodor Dostoevsky. I have not finished
reading "Brother's Karamazov", but I’m afraid I will not be able to analyse
the female characters in this book in depth, as they simply are not major
characters as opposed to Anna Karenina. While researching, I became aware
that in "The Idiot", Nastasiya Filipovna, is one of the main characters, as
I have not read this book, I need advice whether this text would be relevant
to my work or will I be able to complete sufficient analysis on “Brothers
Karamazov”. If anyone has any comments/suggestions/material, they would be
greatly appreciated.

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