Un Voleur Honnête

by Fyodor Dostoevsky

After his landlord experiences a break-in and theft, Astafy Ivanovich tells the man the tragic story of a man named Emelyan Ilyitch—an honest thief he once knew, and whose livelihood Astafy once found himself responsible for.

Genres: Short Stories, Classics, Fiction, Russian Literature, Russia, Literature, Audiobook

Paperback

First published January 1, 1848

About the author

Фёдор Михайлович Достоевский (Russian)

Works, such as the novels Crime and Punishment (1866), The Idiot (1869), and The Brothers Karamazov (1880), of Russian writer Feodor Mikhailovich Dostoyevsky or Dostoevski combine religious mysticism with profound psychological insight.

Very influential writings of Mikhail Mikhailovich Bakhtin included Problems of Dostoyevsky's Works (1929),

Fyodor Mikhailovich Dostoevsky composed short stories, essays, and journals. His literature explores humans in the troubled political, social, and spiritual atmospheres of 19th-century and engages with a variety of philosophies and themes. People most acclaimed his Demons(1872) .

Many literary critics rate him among the greatest authors of world literature and consider multiple books written by him to be highly influential masterpieces. They consider his Notes from Underground of the first existentialist literature. He is also well regarded as a philosopher and theologian.

(Russian: Фёдор Михайлович Достоевский) (see also Fiodor Dostoïevski)

Reviews

[s.penkevich [hiatus-will return-miss you all] · Rating 4 out of 5]

Even the minor works of Fyodor Dostoevsky have a profound and dynamic psychological inquiry that always reaches deep into my heart. If ever there is a day that feels like a piece of stale toast, Dostoevsky’s writing is butter and jam that soaks in and makes it delicious again. An early work written in 1848, An Honest Thief delivers many of Dostoevsky’s characteristic themes in their early stages in this tale of a kindly man struggling with his fatherly relationship with a man reduced to alcoholism and petty theft. Following his first novel, Poor Folk, Dostoevsky continues with his humanitarian representation of the poorer classes and the way they must survive feeling discarded from society, often with a sort of “found family” such as between lodgers like Astafy Ivanovich and Emelyan here. Heartfelt and redemptive, there is a sentimental sincerity that shines beyond the sadness of the tale and an excellent psychological portrait of custodianship and guilt.

Depiction of An Honest Man by greek painter Photis Kontoglou

Something I’ve always quite enjoyed in the short stories of Russian literature is the way the narration is often nested inside another story. Here we have three degrees of separation from the author, opening to a story of the narrator taking in Astafy Ivanovich as a lodger. But when a theft of his coat occurs and Astafy cannot catch the thief, he begins his tale about an—you guessed it!—honest thief that becomes the primary focus of the short work. Dostoevsky is far from the first to employ this nested narrative technique, certainly learning it himself from the works of his major influences, Nikolai Gogol and Alexander Pushkin, who also embedded tales within tales. I enjoy how this style frames tales as secondhand stories and shows how a tale acts upon the world in which it was told or provides context to a character in a larger story. Dostoevsky seems experimenting with it here, and quite successfully so.

‘When a man is guilty, you know, sir, he scents trouble far off, like the birds of the air before a storm.’

This tale of a guilty conscience feels a precursor to that of Raskolnikov in Crime and Punishment, and the “accidental family,” such as that of Astafy and Emelyn, is a theme he would continue to create variations on all the way up to The Adolescent (titled Accidental Family in the Richard Freeborn translation). We see both men suffering with the conscience, Astafy Ivanovich with his conflicting feelings of wanting to cast Emelyn aside ‘like the rubbish you are’ but also sacrificing his own meager share of food, water and money to care for this discarded man and hopefully help him back on his feet. He pushes him towards his own vocation of tailoring, though Emelyn’s shaky hands can’t grasp it. In Emelyn, we have the guilt of having fallen destitute due to his addictions and stealing in order to survive. We see him sleep on the steps in the cold as Astafy threatens he would make him do out of shame for returning home drunk again and even running away for four days over what we later learn is guilt for stealing from Astafy and lying about it. In this way we see how even the poor, even during their harshest moments, still are struggling to be good people in keeping with what Dostoevsky would later write in Crime and Punishment that ‘poverty is not a vice…in poverty you may still retain your innate nobility of soul.’

Alcoholism is a tragic addiction, and it is tragic to see Emelyn suffer from it. Worse, is his suffering from guilt, sitting at the window gazing into nothing nearly motionless for days, and I must confess I’m rather charmed by the phrasing that he ‘moped like an owl.’ We find a parallel to this—and one of the many ways we see Astafy filling the Emelyn role—in the story’s ‘present,’ Astafy Ivanovich sits in the same spot sewing all day on end. One could wonder if his enthusiasm to catch the thief is somehow a desire to chase down the ghost of Emelyn.

But to the matter of the title, and the bewilderment of the narrator when told about said honest thief. ‘To my thinking there is no vermin in the world worse than a thief,’ the narrator thinks, ‘another takes what you can spare, but a thief steals the work of your hands, the sweat of your brow, your time.’ Emelyn does steal more than just the expensive pants from Astafy, such as seemingly robbing him of his peace of mind as well as his rations of food and money, but Astafy brushes all that aside to characterize him as honest. Even though he has lied. And, as one should expect with Dostoevsky, there are some biblical references at play here yet again reminding me of this old meme:

First, the return of Emelyn after his three nights in the cold and Astafy’s joy in his return reads much like the Parable of the Prodigal Son. He even means to get a feast for Emelyn, and by feast I mean more bread and onions beyond his usual rationing. But the biggest theme here is the redemption through confession which calls to mind Dismas the Good (or penitent) Thief. Dismas admits to his crimes and calls Jesus innocent as he awaits death crucified himself, such as Emelyn confesses to stealing the pants upon his sudden deathbed. Astafy forgives him as he dies, much as Jesus tells the thief he will go to heaven.

It is a short and fairly inconsequential tale in Dostoevksy’s oeuvre, and a sad one at that, but the psychological nature and focus on forgiveness make it a satisfying story nonetheless. His themes are all on display and his writing seeps into you in his characteristic comforting yet thought provoking manner. While not his strongest or more memorable, An Honest Thief is still certainly worth the read.

3.5/5

[Maureen · Rating 3 out of 5]

Is there such a thing as an honest thief? Astafy Ivanovich believes there is, as he relates a tale of Emelyan Ilyich to his landlord. The man was a homeless drunkard, but Ivanovich was kind to him, took him under his wing.
A sweet tale of understanding and forgiveness.

[BookHunter M ُH َM َD · Rating 3 out of 5]

ربما تكون قد سمعت عن اللص الظريف أرسين لوبين و بالتأكيد سمعت عن اللص الشريف روبن هوود الذي يسرق من الأغنياء ليعطي الفقراء تماما كبطلنا الشعبي علي الزيبق الذي اشتهر في عهد المماليك.
و لكن اللص هنا ليس لصا أصلا و كذلك لا ينطبق عليه صفة شريف فهو سكير مدمن على الشراب و لا يفعل شيء في حياته سوى تسول الشراب و المأوى و مع ذلك فهو عزيز النفس و يبدو أنه فعلا من أصل شريف و دفعه الإدمان لسرقة سروال من الرجل الذي يأويه و لكنه سرعان ما أحس بالندم الشديد و دفع حياته ثمنا لذلك الخطأ.
قصة ساذجة جدا كأنها موعظة دينية و قصة مدرسية لولا أسلوب دوستويفسكي و ترجمة الدروبي

[فايز غازي Fayez Ghazi · Rating 2 out of 5]

رغم محبتي العميقة لدوستوفسكي، لكن هذه القصة عن شخص مثير للشفقة كانت مثيرة للشفقة ايضاً.....

[Sanjay · Rating 4 out of 5]

A woefully touching story, within a story.

[Ahmed Ibrahim · Rating 3 out of 5]

قصة قصيرة لدوستويفسكي خيرًا من عشر رواياتٍ مما تعدون.
أيكون اللص شريفًا؟ الإجابة لا في المعتاد، لكن في هذه القصة نرى نموذج له نعاصره في واقعنا إلى اليوم.. رؤية الأمر من منظور إنساني أكثر منه أخلاقي؛ لهذا قالوا أن فيسكي رائد المذهب الوجودي، وما قرأته من أعمال لفيودر إلى الآن يؤكد على هذا.

[Duane Parker · Rating 4 out of 5]

Dostoyevsky's story within a story gives us the character, Emelyan Ilyitch, maybe the saddest, most pitiful person I've come across. That's saying something because literature is full of them, especially Russian literature.

[Magdalen · Rating 3 out of 5]

Although it was sad, when you turn the last page you are left with a sweet sensation.
The story as a whole didn't have this spark that makes it distinguishable..If it wasn't written by Dostoyevsky probably it would have been just another short story.

[Praveen · Rating 5 out of 5]

“Has he a passport anyway or something of the sort?
To be sure he has, he is a good man, a man of experience; three rubles he’s promised to pay.”

Dostoevsky published many short stories, during 1846 to 1848 and this is interesting to know that his first novel ‘Poor Folks’ was also published in 1846. The wizard was getting ready to rule the world. I have encountered his non-physical style of writing in his novels Crime and punishment and the Idiot. What I mean by non-physical is his famous cerebral narration, which happens inside the head!

Last week I decided to opt for his short stories and two tales that got qualified were 'Bobok' and this one. In this tale, an elderly man (Astafy) convinced Agrafena to admit himself in the kitchen as a lodger and boarder. Agrafena is the cook, washerwoman, and housekeeper of the narrator. The narrator is the owner of the lodge. Agrafena was such a silent creature that except for some dinner inquiries she had not uttered a single word in the last six years.

This elderly man turns out to be an old soldier and he shares many stories. One day a man steals a coat from the peg in front of their eyes and this old man runs after him, but could not catch him and returns empty-handed. But he makes friends with the narrator after this deed the narrator is the owner of the house!

Once the old man starts sharing his story, it becomes a story within the story and the original narrator just disappears. My binoculars could not find him anymore. The two terms you will find in this story’s description, are 'dual-layer narration' and 'naturalistic storytelling'. The story within the story is dual-layer narration and the meaning of naturalistic prose that I comprehended initially was something which is natural. But this is not the case. It’s not being realistic. Certainly not like Chekhov’s realistic tales. Naturalism occurs when the character of humans is governed by the environment in a plot.

One day this soldier, who was a tailor too, does not find the breeches, that he had made for some wealthy men, He talks to the drunkard,

“No Astafy Ivanovitch, I never- sort of – touched your breeches.”

This was my first story of Dostoevsky. And I will remember it. If you will read this, you will find a strange thing in the dialogues. You will find the repeated utterances of all the time and though it may be highly irritating. It did not irritate me. When the story was finished, which was not a happy ending the repeated occurrences of salutations made it multifold sympathetic.

There is a very strange tone in all this narration and that tone is a tone of commiseration. If you will read it in flow you will feel as if a climax scene is going on and the compassion and sympathy are outpourings.

In the major part of the story, you will see the narrator(that old man) would be speaking to the three people at a time. First the drunkard (Emelyanoushka ), the second is the inn owner (the sir,) and the third is you (the reader). And what a wonder, this genius has constructed the game. I loved it.

It's about poor folks whom this drunkard man represented! One poor fellow who was an honest thief!

I also know that Dostoevsky experimented with many narrative techniques in his early career and this tale might have tumbled out of his experimental desk. Who knows, but this was a new tryout for me too.

A bizarre sympathetic tone throughout, I will remember for a long!

[Heba Hssn · Rating 2 out of 5]

رواية مثيرة للشفقة ......
تسائلت كثيرا ما الداعي للرجوع لضميرنا
وهنا ربما لمست بعض من الإجابة
بأن تأنيب الضمير يميتنا يُبقي داخلنا ذلك الشعور المزري لأنفسنا .
يميت داخلنا الرضا وهنا يبدأ جسمنا بالتمرد علينا
ليس الجوع والعطش ما يجعلنا نعيش
إنما الرضا عن نفسنا وعلي أفعالنا وتجنب التعارض مع ذلك الرضا ومواجهة تأنيب الضمير .....

[Chrissie · Rating 3 out of 5]

In this short, short story Dostoyevsky gives us a story within a story, a writing technique not a favorite of mine, and yet I still enjoyed it. Why? Dostoyevsky always gets under the surface of human behavior. Your head tells you to act in one way, you turn around and do the opposite. Dostoyevsky never shoves his message down your throat. He has you thinking. He shows you that what you logically should do is not what you necessarily do. There will always be a dichotomy between heart and head. Dostoyevsky understands people and he mirrors this in what he writes.

What will a person do to relieve a bad conscience?
Is it possible to change who we are?

A story about understanding another person’s existence, friendship, regret and forgiveness.

Max Bollinger narrates the audiobook. He mispronounces simple English words. His reading is stilted. Nevertheless, I could easily follow the story, so I am willing to give the narration performance two stars.

[hosein · Rating 3 out of 5]

امتیازم به داستان بالا نیست اما این دلیل بر بد بودن داستان نیست.
داستایفسکی با قدرت خارق‌العاده خودش به ما این امتیاز را می‌دهد تا وارد روح و افکار انسان‌ها بشویم.
آیا دزد شرافتمند وجود دارد؟ به عقیده داستایفسکی چنین انسانی وجود دارد. او به ما در یک داستان کوتاهِ تیره و تار انسانی را نشان میدهد که تحت شرایط خاص و از سر فقر دزدی میکند! اما تحولات روحی روانی و عذابی که بعد از سرقت مشاهده می‌شود نشان دهنده وجدان پاک این انسان است. از این داستان کوتاه معانی زیادی می‌توان استخراج کرد.

داستایفسکی در «جنایت و مکافات» میگوید: "مردی که وجدان دارد، در حالی که به گناه خود اعتراف می‌کند عذاب می‌کشد. این مجازات اوست."

از کتاب:
"آدم گناه کار همیشه اینطوره، سریع احساسات رو درک میکنه، درست مثل پرنده ای که قبل از سر رسیدن توفان باخبر میشه."

[Carmo · Rating 3 out of 5]

O Ladrão Honrado, terá sido um dos primeiros trabalhos de Dostoiévski onde o protagonista, um alcoólatra sem família e sem trabalho que vive entre o vício e a caridade alheia, enfrenta um dilema moral e se vê a braços com um sério problema de remorsos. Características que irá aprofundar em obras futuras e, quiçá, um primeiro ensaio para uma das personagens mais marcantes que viria a criar : o inesquecível Raskólnikov de Crime e Castigo .

[Flo · Rating 3 out of 5]

What was best of all, Astafy Ivanovitch would sometimes tell a story, describing some incident in his own life. In the perpetual boredom of my existence such a story-teller was a veritable treasure. One day he told me one of these stories. It made an impression on me. The following event was what led to it...

A rather slow-paced plot, and not a challenging one as Dostoyevsky got us accustomed to, but the ending - described with heartbreaking poignancy - saved the story.

April 26, 19
* Later on my blog.

[Supreeth · Rating 4 out of 5]

This guy, whose name i can never pronounce, is sad; really sad, very sad.

[سارة سمير · Rating 5 out of 5]

مؤلمة جداااا وبؤس شديد 💔

[Dave Schaafsma · Rating 3 out of 5]

An 1848 short story within a story by Fyodor Dostoevsky about a quiet loner whose housekeeper, Agrafena, persuades him to take on a lodger in a spare room. The man is an ex-soldier, poor, suffering, a drunkard and also, as it turns out, a thief; an old coat from his landlord has gone missing. Border Astafy Ivanovich, hearing the story, tells his own story of a man named Yemelyan Ilyitch—an “honest thief” he once knew and helped. The landlord is doubtful that such a person actually exists:

“To my thinking there is no vermin in the world worse than a thief. Another takes what you can spare, but a thief steals the work of your hands, the sweat of your brow, your time . . . ”

Astafy encourages Yemelyan to give up his drinking throughout the story, but it’s a struggle. Then Astafy’s riding breeches are stolen, and Yemelyan is the chief suspect. Accused, feeling guilty but in denial, Yemelyan becomes ill, drinks to excess. But in decline, he tells the truth to Astafy, and he gives him his only remaining possession of any worth, an old coat. This story is told to the landlord. What’s the point? Well, you can take different views of crime, of poverty, of human nature. Sad and sweet early work.

[Afaf Ammar · Rating 3 out of 5]

"كان قلبي ينفطر ألمًا حين أنظر إليه. وكنت أعلم أنه ينظر إليَّ... كنت أحس أنه يريد أن يقول لي شيئًا ولكنه لا يجرؤ... وأخيرًا نظرت إليه أنا. إنه لا يحوِّل بصره عني. ولكنه حين لاحظ أنني نظرت إليه أشاح بعينيه."

القصة لمست قلبي... ولا يستطيع أن يفعلها أحد مثل دوستويفسكي، ويعزف برقة على أوتار المشاعر في أغوارها البعيدة.
هنا رجل في غاية الطيبة والعطف ورقة القلب يدعى أستافي إيفانوفيتش، لم يكن السارق الشريف، بل كان الرجل العطوف الذي قدم، بدون مقابل، للسارق الشريف، المأوى وشاركه كسرة خبزه، وكانت كل ما يملك من طعام، ومنحه عطف قلبه، في عالم قليلة جدًا فيه القلوب الطيبة العطوفة مثله...

27.01.2020

[Chris_P · Rating 3 out of 5]

Ένας Τίμιος Κλέφτης

Ακόμα μία μικρή ιστορία του Ντ. η οποία, αν και μελαγχολική, αφήνει μία γλυκιά αίσθηση απροσδιόριστης φύσης στο τέλος. Ίσως να έπαιρνε και άλλη ανάπτυξη, ίσως και όχι. Σίγουρα έχει κάμποσα να πει στον μέσο αναγνώστη.

[Paperback Journeys · Rating 4 out of 5]

An Honest Thief is about a man (the narrator) who takes in a "drunkard" who eventually opens up about his life. I'd say it's mostly a story about a man who is a victim of his circumstances, having to rely on the kindness of others as he floats around in a kind of desperate bewilderment.

Dostoyevsky never ridicules this character or makes him into a punchline. He never feels wicked in any way. He wants to be good and productive but he just can't get a handle on his life.

The writing style is simple and effective, focusing on small meaningful details instead of dramatics. The portrayal of the thief’s weakness feels authentic, showing him as flawed but not beyond understanding. The gradual reveal of his story builds empathy, making it hard to view him as just a criminal. The ending ties everything together in a satisfying way that left me with a bitter sweet feeling.

The one detail that confused me is why this needed to be a story within a story. That felt like an unnecessary layer.

I enjoyed it!

4 ⭐️

[Alaska Lee · Rating 3 out of 5]

estoy, de cierta manera, bastante molesta con este final… pero la historia en por sí misma es brillante (pero no voy a engañarles, por qué tenía que terminar así?!?!).

[گیتی · Rating 2 out of 5]

تنها چیزی که نظرم رو جلب کرد، این بخش بود:

«من می‌دانستم که اگر آگرافنا به سرش بزند که کاری را بکند، بهتر است آن کار فوراً انجام بشود، وگرنه امانم را می‌برید. هر وقت چیزی خلاف میلش بود، خلقش تنگ می‌شد و به غم و غصه‌ی شدیدی می‌افتاد که دو سه هفته طول می‌کشید. در این مدت غذاهایم غیر قابل خوردن می‌شد کف منزلم کثیف می‌ماند، و چند تایی از وسایل نظافت شخصی هم گم می‌شد، و خلاصه زندگیم تبدیل می‌شد به یک رشته اتفاقات بد.»

شخصیتی کم‌‌رنگ که عصبانیتش منجر به رخ دادن اتفاق‌های پر‌رنگ می‌شه.

[Foteini Fp · Rating 5 out of 5]

Μικρό και συγκινητικό διήγημα που περιγράφει τη σχέση ανάμεσα στον Αστάφι και σε έναν μεθύστακα τον Γιεμελιούσκα τον οποίο φιλοξενεί στο σπίτι του για να τον βοηθήσει χωρίς να έχει καμία υποχρέωση απέναντί του. Όταν όμως ο Γιεμελιούσκα τον αδικεί με μια κακή πράξη του ο Αστάφι ο Ντοστογιέφσκι μας οδηγεί στο δια ταύτα της ιστορίας που είναι η συγχώρεση.

[Ritu · Rating 3 out of 5]

I was supposed to be moved by this story but I am Not.
Good story though which also happens to be my first Fyodor Dostoyevsky story.

[Yassmeen Altaif · Rating 2 out of 5]

عن الفقر والألم والعوز والجوع في قصة بسيطة وعادية.

[Mahmoud Elnaeem · Rating 5 out of 5]

كل هذا الإنقلاب في مشاعري و كل هذا الإتساع في منظوري الأُحادي الضيق و كل الخفقان في قلبي مرده قراءة ثلاثون صفحة فقط 😳 !!!...لعمري ، أن ديستوفيكي لعظيم ... كم هو رائع ... كم هو جميل و مبدع ... و كم هو إنسان و قلما تجد إنسان ... إليك كل الشُكر والوُّد والإمتنان تترى على روحك النبيلة السامية ...
طبت وطاب ثراك❤

[Miray B Y · Rating 2 out of 5]

Akın Altan'ın sesiyle dinledim, teşekkürler.

[Suad Alhalwachi · Rating 3 out of 5]

قصة قصيرة من ٣٩ صفحة وربما هو جزء من كتاب يحتوي على عدة قصص اذ تشتهر الكتب الروسية بهذا النوع من الكتب ذوات القصص القصيرة والشيقة في ذات الوقت!
ولكن وانا اقرأ القصة كنت أفكر لماذا هذا الاسم؟ انه فقير وسكير فيسرق ليشرب؟ اليس كذلك. ولكنها حبكة جيدة.

احس بأنها من القصص التي كتبها ديستوفسكي في البدايات ! ربما

(تذكرت احد المسلسلات الأمريكية اسمه اللص الشريف)

اقتباس

“- آستافي إيفانوفتش!...
هكذا ناداني، فنظرت إليه، فرأيت أنه يريد أن يتكلم. إنه يبذل جهوداً ويحرك شفتيه... وفجأة إحمر إحمراراً شديداً ونظر إلي. فما هي إلا لحظةٌ قصيرةٌ حتى إصفر إصفراراً شديداً، شديداً، شديداً... ورمى رأسه إلى وراء، وتنفّس تنفساً عميقاً، وردَّ روحه إلى الله...)."

[°•.Melina°•. · Rating 3 out of 5]

یه داستان کوتاه از داستایفسکی،
شیرین برای گوش کردن تو نیم ساعت پیاده‌روی.
《آدم گناهکار همیشه همینطوره،سریع احساسات رو درک میکنه،درست مثل پرنده‌ای که قبل از سر رسیدن توفان باخبر میشه》

[Medisa · Rating 3 out of 5]

الکی الکی صفحات آخر بغض کردم برای این دزد "شرافتمند" و راوی داستان که انقدر آدم خوبی بود.