Dostoevsky

20th Century Views

by René Wellek (Editor)

Critical evaluation of Fyodor Dostoevsky has been marked by sharp and violently bitter extremes. René Wellek has assembled a wide spectrum of these varied critical attitudes toward the works of the great Russian tragedian of ideas. Dostoevsky's work is seen from psychoanalytical, existential, theological, and Marxist points of view. Professor Wellek's introduction sketches the history of Dostoevsky criticism and influence in all main countries--a task never before attempted.

Genres: Literary Criticism, Nonfiction, Russia, Literature, Criticism

180 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1962

Reviews

[Brandt · Rating 3 out of 5]

Attempting to extricate the literary intelligence of Fyodor Dostoevsky can be excruciating. At times he is the merciful perceptive articulation of society's less fortunate; notwithstanding, he later reveals the mask of psychological intermediator, analyzing the motives and intentions of humans. The literary criticism of Dostoevsky is no less conspicuous by the same polarizing critiques of bitter extremes. Either a vituperative account of his perceived inadequacies in evaluating human resoluteness or, an ecstatic approval of his ability to penetrate the unfathomable motif of human emotions.

In this collection of critical essays, former Sterling Professor of Comparative Literature at Yale University René Wellek, edits, and introduces the historical criticism of Dostoevsky's works. The included critical essays, spanning some well-known names viz., D.H. Lawrence, Sigmund Freud, and Georg Lukacs, initiate a multifaceted spectrum of the extremes of literary criticism towards the great Russian “tragedian of ideas”.

The essays include critiquing Dostoevsky's work from psychoanalytical, existential, theological, and Marxist points of view. Of important distinction, is the transition of the essay's that tend to build on one another thematically to present an interesting and penetrating view of Dostoevsky that looks to capture his essence of literary styling.

I would suggest this book to anyone looking for meaning and intent in the writings of Dostoevsky. Of particular interest, should be the way in which philosophical themes play out within each essay. As an example, in Philip Rahv's contribution “Dostoevsky in Crime and Punishment,” Rahv states,

“To have secured this effect is a triumph of Dostoevsky's creative method – a triumph because the instantaneous is a quality of Being rather than of mind and not open to question, As the vain efforts of so many philosophers have demonstrated, Being is irreducible to the categories of explanation or interpretation” (Page 17).

Or, as Eliseo Vivas writes in “The Two Dimensions of Reality”, “...injustice is inherent in the structure of human living and cannot be dislodged from it” (page 84). Both of these statements, in the abstract, have profound implications on both metaphysical and ethical philosophical theory.

Ultimately, this is a book I will keep handy and turn to when attempting to understand Dostoevsky.

[David Coody · Rating 5 out of 5]

A fair and balanced collection essays. Some extol Dostoevsky, and others eviscerate him. I think that honors the great dialectician the most.

[P.S. Carrillo · Rating 5 out of 5]

Essential reading for anyone obsessed with 19th century Russian literature. A real treasure of a book