Fyodor Dostoevsky

“But how could you live and have no story to tell?”

— Fyodor Dostoyevsky 

Life & Background:

Born in 1821 in Moscow, Dostoevsky was the son of a stern, often cruel father. After his early success with Poor Folk, his involvement with a political reform group led to his arrest, a mock execution, and exile in Siberia. These experiences reshaped his worldview, driving his obsession with human suffering, morality, and redemption.

Inspirations:

Influenced by Russian Orthodoxy, Christian existentialism, and the social upheaval of 19th-century Russia, Dostoevsky’s work examines the extremes of human psychology. He engaged in philosophical battles with Western rationalism, often critiquing utopian ideas and scientific materialism.

Themes in His Work:

• Moral ambiguity and guilt: Dostoyevsky’s characters often commit crimes or immoral acts, not always out of evil intent, but from ideological conviction, desperation, or psychological instability. These actions frequently lead to intense inner turmoil, as guilt and conscience catch up with them. 

• Free will and suffering: Dostoevsky examines free will as both a defining human trait and a source of profound suffering. His characters wrestle with the burden of choice in a world without clear moral guidelines. To Dostoyevsky, freedom comes with what can often be a painful responsibility.

• Faith, doubt, and redemption: Spiritual struggle is central to many of his protagonists. His characters often grapple with questions of belief, confronting the existence of God, the nature of evil, and the possibility of salvation. 

• Madness and identity: Dostoevsky often uses madness as a way to explore the depths of human identity. His characters frequently undergo psychological crises that blur the line between sanity and insanity. 

Notable Works:

• Crime and Punishment (1866)

• The Brothers Karamazov (1880)

• Notes from Underground (1864)

• The Idiot (1869)