The Idiot is a novel written by the
RussiaRussia , officially known as both Russia and the Russian Federation , is a country in northern Eurasia . It is a semi-presidential republic, comprising 83 federal subjects...
n author Fyodor Dostoyevsky and first published in 1868. It was first published serially in Russian in
Russky Vestnik, St. Petersburg, 1868-1869.
The Idiot is ranked, along with other works from Dostoevsky, as one of the most brilliant literary achievements of the Russian "Golden Age" of Literature. It would not be translated into English until the twentieth-century.
Plot
Prince Lyov Nikolayevich MyshkinPrince Lyov Nikolaevich Myshkin is the protagonist of Dostoevsky's The Idiot.Dostoyevsky wanted to create a character that was "entirely positive... with an absolutely beautiful nature," and a good way to make such a character plausible in 19th century St Petersburg society was to make him an "idiot"...
Age 26, returns to Russia after a long absence. Myshkin suffers from
epilepsyEpilepsy is a common chronic neurological disorder characterized by recurrent unprovoked seizures...
(just like Fyodor Dostoyevsky himself) and is prone to seizures, although, this had been treated with some success in
SwitzerlandSwitzerland , officially the Swiss Confederation , is a federal republic consisting of 26 states named cantons, with Bern as the seat of the federal authorities...
by one "Dr. Schneider". The Myshkin family line is said to end with him and his cousin, Lizaveta Prokofyevna, who is the wife of Ivan Fyodorovitch Epanchin, and mother to Adelaida, Alexandra, and Aglaia - Nastasya filippovna's rival.
On the train to
Saint PetersburgSaint Petersburg is a city and a federal subject of Russia located on the Neva River at the head of the Gulf of Finland on the Baltic Sea. The city's other names were Petrograd and Leningrad...
, Myshkin meets and befriends the dark and enamoured Rogozhin, and the quasi-lawyer Lebedyev. Rogozhin tells the prince about his passion for Nastasya Filippovna, a beautiful, pale, suffering woman with a dwindling reputation, having been once kept as a concubine by the wealthy Afanasy Ivanovitch whom, along with General Ivan Epanchin, later attempt to marry her to Gavril "Ganya" Ardalionovitch. Myshkin arrives in Petersburg and goes to the home of General Epanchin, who is, once again, married to the only other living member of the Myshkin line, and reason for Myshkin's visit. Myshkin learns that Ganya, a young go-getter and secretary of the General, wants to marry Nastasya for her dowry (75,000 rubles.) The prince feels an irresistible desire to meet her after hearing about her and even more so when he views a painting of
her face in the General's office. It is at this time that Myshkin, although not dressed for the occasion, meets the Epanchin women, whom he impresses with a story about a young girl he knew in his convalescence who suffered deeply, and another about the events of an execution. Myshkin tells Alexandra to paint a picture depicting an execution.
At Nastasya's
name dayA name day is a tradition in many countries in Europe and Latin America of celebrating on a particular day of the year associated with the one's given name. The custom originated with the Catholic and Orthodox calendar of saints, where believers, named after a particular saint, would celebrate...
party, having told her she was "perfection," Myshkin goes into the living room and finds a group of people including General Epanchin, Afanasy Ivanovitch, Ferdyschenko, Darya, etc. During this awkward occasion, Rogozhin, along with a drunken scandalous party (Lebedyev, Keller, etc.) arrives drunk and ultimately offers the beautiful Nastasya $100,000 roubles to follow him to their equal fates. She takes the money and throws it into the fire, beckoning Ganya to grab the money out of the fire and it would be all his, showing his lust for money. However, Ganya does not satisfy her, only to end up fainting from the sight of burning notes. The prince perceives the despair of Nastasya and proposes to her in order to save her from her situation, the same time hearing Myshkin is to inherit a fortune, she accepts him. However, perhaps believing the Prince's offer stems from pity, or that she is not worthy of his love, and flees with Rogozhin. This scene ends with Myshkin chasing Nastasya and Rogozhin in their carriages, to which Afanasy refers to Natasya as an "uncut diamond" - ending Part One.
Having returned to Petersburg from Moscow, Myshkin goes searching for Nastasya and meets up with Rogozhin. At this point, the Prince learns, from Rogozhin, that Natasya loves him, but leaves him because she feels she will destroy him. Later, after devoting his friendship to Myshkin, Rogozhin tries to kill his friend with a knife, but is hindered when, due to the stress of the situation, Myshkin falls into an epileptic seizure. There is no telling why Rogozhin didn't kill him, but either way, Myshkin later forgives Rogozhin.
Over the course of the novel, Myshkin grows closer to the General's daughter, Aglaya, but Nastasya's actions culminate in a final meeting between the two women at Darya Alexeyvna's home, where Aglaya confronts Nastasya but soon flees. Myshkin moves to leave with Aglaya, but stops when Nastasya questions the fact that he would leave with her and she faints into his arms. He makes arrangements to marry Nastasya for fear she will return to Rogozhin. On the day of the marriage, however, Nastasya again runs away with Rogozhin, who then kills her.
The novel ends with Myshkin and Rogozhin lying together by the body of Nastasya: Myshkin comforts the raving Rogozhin; Rogozhin is sentenced to labor in Siberia; Aglaya rushes into an unhappy marriage with a man who claims to be a Polish count.
Major themes
Dostoyevsky's motives for writing
The Idiot stem from his desire to depict the "positively good man". This man is naturally likened to
ChristChrist is the English term for the Greek meaning "the anointed". It is a translation of the Hebrew . The term "Christ" was a title rather than a proper name. In the four gospels in the New Testament, the word "Christ" is nearly always preceded by the definite article...
in many ways. Dostoyevsky uses Myshkin's introduction to the Petersburg society as a way to contrast the nature of Russian society at the time and the isolation and innocence of this good man. This is highlighted by his conflicts and relationship with Rogozhin. Indeed, Myshkin and Rogozhin are contrasted from the outset. Myshkin is associated with light, Rogozhin with dark. For example, in their initial descriptions on the train, Myshkin is described as having light hair and blue eyes, while Rogozhin has "dark features". Rogozhin's house is submerged in darkness, with iron bars on the windows. He is not only an embodiment of darkness, but surrounded by it. The two characters are clearly antithetical. If Myshkin should be seen as Christ, Rogozhin could easily be seen as the
DevilThe Devil is believed in certain religions and folklore to be a powerful, supernatural entity that is the personification of evil and the enemy of God and humankind. The Devil is commonly associated with heretics, infidels, and other unbelievers...
. "Rog", in Russian, means horn, adding credence to such an assertion, although the primary association of his name is with
rogozha ("bast"), possibly hinting at his humble origins.
Despite their difference, they are both after Nastasya Filippovna — good and bad (and mediocre, in the image of Ganya) strive for the same thing. Love itself is shown in various manifestations, spurred by various motives. While vain Ganya wishes to marry Nastasya in order that he might, through acquisition of a large dowry, spark some of the individuality which he senses he lacks, Rogozhin loves Nastasya with a deep passion. Myshkin, however, loves her out of pity, out of
Christian loveAgape is one of several Greek words translated into English as love. Many have thought that this word represents divine, unconditional, self-sacrificing, active, volitional, and thoughtful love...
. This love for her supersedes even the romantic love he has for Aglaya. It is important to note that Aglaya developed a great appreciation for Myshkin's purity of heart and capacity for empathic love, even that he felt for Nastasya. Aglaya and her sisters came to identify Myshkin with the protagonist of a famous Russian poem by Pushkin, "The Poor Knight", because of the Prince's
quixoticQuixotism means engaging in foolish impracticality in pursuit of ideals ; especially : those ideals manifested by rash, lofty and romantic ideas; or extravagantly chivalrous action. It also serves to describe an idealism without regard to practicality...
, tragic quest to defend the honor of Nastasya in the face of the ridicule, and at times contempt, he faced from all his acquaintances. And she grew to love him not in spite of this, but even more so because of it. At a gathering at the Prince's home that included her family and several of the Prince's friends, Aglaya flushes hotly when Kolya enigmatically and ironically declares "There's nothing better than the Poor Knight!" Though the comment is partially mocking him, in the depths of Algaya's heart she agrees with this fully. In the end, though, Aglaya cannot completely eradicate her jealousy of Nastasya, and cannot attain to the heights of the Prince's sympathetic love when he apparently scorns her in a final effort to save Nastasya.
There is a parallel between Rogozhin and the Russian upper-class society. The materialistic society which praises the values Myshkin represents and professes itself to be "good", cannot accommodate Prince Myshkin; Rogozhin, though he truly loves Nastasya, commits murder in the end. Nastasya herself has been corrupted by a depraved society. Her beauty and initial innocence have led Totsky (perhaps the most repugnant of characters in the novel) to keep her as a concubine and she falls into a quasi-madness.
Film, TV or theatrical adaptations and references
- Several filmmakers have produced adaptations of the novel, among them Akira Kurosawa
was a Japanese film director, producer, screenwriter and editor. In a career that spanned 50 years, Kurosawa directed 30 films. He is widely regarded as one of the most important and influential filmmakers in film history...
's The Idiot (1951 film), The Idiot (1958 film)The Idiot , is a Soviet film directed by Ivan Pyryev. It is based on the eponymous novel by Fyodor Dostoevsky.-Cast:*Yuri Yakovlev - Prince Myshkin*Yuliya Borisova - Nastasia Philippovna*Nikita Podgornyj - Ganya Ivolgin...
, a Russian version by Ivan PyryevIvan Aleksandrovich Pyryev was a Russian film director and screenwriter remembered as the high priest of Stalinist cinema...
, and Mani KaulMani Kaul is an Indian film director. He graduated from the Film and Television Institute of India where he was a student of Ritwik Ghatak and later became a teacher...
's HindiStandard Hindi, also known as High Hindi, Nagari Hindi or Literary Hindi is a standardised register of Hindi. It is one of the 22 languages with official status in India, and is used, along with English, for administration of the central government.Standard Hindi is a sanskritised register derived...
version, Idiot (1992 film)Idiot is a Hindi film based on Fyodor Dostoevsky's novel, The Idiot. It was directed by Mani Kaul and starred Shahrukh Khan and Ayub Khan-Din. The film debuted at the New York Film Festival on 8 October 1992, although it was originally made for television...
.
- Christian Bale
Christian Charles Philip Bale is an English actor. In addition to starring roles in big budget Hollywood films, he has long been heavily involved in films produced by independent producers and art houses....
's character in The MachinistThe Machinist is an English-language Spanish-made psychological thriller film directed by Brad Anderson that was released in 2004. The film was written by Scott Kosar, and starred Christian Bale...
is seen reading The Idiot in the opening minutes of the film
- In 2003 Russian State Television produced a 10-hour TV-series
The Idiot is a costume drama TV series produced by Russia TV Channel in based on Fyodor Dostoevsky's novel with the same title.Series script is very close to original text of Dostoevsky, well-known Russian actors and playing in the film, and, according to additional materials on DVD, serious...
of the work.
- In 1999 Czech
The Czech Republic was a seedbed for many acclaimed film directors.Three Czech/Czechoslovak movies that won the Academy Award for Best Foreign Language Film were The Shop on Main Street by Ján Kadár and Elmar Klos in 1965, Closely Watched Trains by Jiří Menzel in 1967 and...
director Saša Gedeon produced a modern cinematic reinterpretation of The Idiot entitled The Return of the Idiot (Návrat idiota).
- The Polish
The history of cinema in Poland is almost as long as history of cinematography, and it has universal achievements, even though Polish movies tend to be less commercially available than movies from several other European nations....
director Andrzej WajdaAndrzej Wajda is a Polish film director. Recipient of an honorary Oscar, he is perhaps the most prominent member of the unofficial "Polish Film School"...
adapted the last chapter of The Idiot as the feature film NastasjaNastasja is a Polish/Japanese film released in 1994, directed by Andrzej Wajda.The film is an adaptation on the last chapter of Fyodor Dostoyevski's novel The Idiot, in which Prince Mishkin and Rogozin return to the past in a conversation over the dead body of Nastasja...
in 1994.
- The Russian composer Nikolai Myaskovsky
Nikolai Yakovlevich Myaskovsky was a Russian composer...
planned an opera on The Idiot during World War IWorld War I , also known as the First World War, the Great War, and the War to End All Wars, was a global military conflict which involved most of the world's great powers, assembled in two opposing alliances: the Triple Entente and the Triple Alliance...
, but did not complete it.
- The Harlan Ellison
Harlan Jay Ellison is an American writer. He has written in many genres, but principally science fiction.His published works include over 1000 short stories, novellas, screenplays, teleplays, essays, and a wide range of criticism covering not only literature, but film, television, and print media...
short story Prince Myshkin and Hold the Relish features a friendly debate on Dostoevsky and The Idiot between the narrator and a vendor at Pink's Hot DogsPink's Hot Dogs is a landmark hot dog restaurant in the Hollywood district of the city of Los Angeles.-History:Pink's was founded by Paul and Betty Pink in 1939 as a pushcart near the corner of La Brea and Melrose. The Great Depression was still having an impact on the country, and money was scarce...
in Los Angeles.
- In 2008, the theatre director Katie Mitchell
Katrina Jane Mitchell OBE is an English theatre director. She is an Associate of the Royal National Theatre.She has been described as "a director who polarises audiences like no other" and "the closest thing the British theatre has to an auteur"...
premiered "...some trace of her", a multimedia exploration of the novel's central themes.
- The famous Russian director Andrei Tarkovsky
Andrei Arsenyevich Tarkovsky was a Russian filmmaker, writer, film editor, film theorist and opera director....
planned an adaptation after The Idiot, but had died before it was realized.
- The German novelist Hermann Hesse
Hermann Hesse was a German Swiss poet, novelist, and painter. In 1946 he received the Nobel Prize in Literature...
wrote in 1919 a short piece about the book called Thoughts on The Idiot of Dostoevsky, later released in a compilation of essays called My Belief: Essays on Life and ArtMy Belief: Essays on Life and Art is a collection of essays written by the German author Hermann Hesse between 1904 and 1961, edited by Theodore Ziolkowski and first published in English in 1976...
.
- In Act 1, Scene 2 of Mel Brooks
Melvin "Mel" Kaminsky , better known by his stage name Mel Brooks, is an American film director, screenwriter, composer, lyricist, comedian, actor and producer, best known as a creator of broad film farces and comic parodies. Brooks is a member of the short list of entertainers with the distinction...
' musical The ProducersThe Producers commonly refers to Mel Brooks' series of comedic works about two con-men who attempt to cheat theatre investors out of their money:* The Producers , a film written and directed by Mel Brooks starring Zero Mostel and Gene Wilder...
, Max Bialystock jokingly addresses Leo Bloom as "Prince Miskin." This also occurs in the original filmThe Producers is a comedy film written and directed by Mel Brooks, which tells the story of a theatrical producer and an accountant who attempt to cheat their investors by deliberately producing a flop show on Broadway...
.
- In the 1998 pilot episode of T.V. show "Seven Days," Frank Parker (played by Jonathan LaPaglia) has a copy of The Idiot on his desk inside the insane asylum.
Translations to English
Since
The Idiot was first published in Russian, there have been a number of translations to English over the years, including those by:
- Frederick Whishaw (1887)
- Constance Garnett
Constance Clara Garnett was an English translator of nineteenth-century Russian Literature...
(1913)
- revised by Anna Brailovsky (2003)
- Eva Martin (1915)
- David Magarshack
David Magarshack was a Latvian-born translator and biographer of Russian authors, best known for his translations of Dostoevsky....
(1955)
- Henry and Olga Carlisle (1980)
- Alan Myers
Alan Myers is a noted translator, born in South Shields, County Durham, in 1933. He attended the University of London 1957-60; and Moscow University 1960-61...
(1992)
- Richard Pevear
Richard Pevear is a poet and translator. He is best known for his translations in collaboration with his Russian-born wife, Larissa Volokhonsky, on literature principally in Russian. He has also translated works from the French, Italian and Greek.Pevear earned a B.A. degree from Allegheny...
and Larissa VolokhonskyLarissa Volokhonsky is a Russian-born translator who frequently collaborates with her American-born husband, Richard Pevear, on translations of works mainly in Russian, but also French, Italian, and Greek...
(2002)
- David McDuff (2004)
- John W. Strahan (1965)
The
Constance GarnettConstance Clara Garnett was an English translator of nineteenth-century Russian Literature...
translation has for many years been accepted as the definitive English translation, but more recently it has come under criticism for being dated. The Garnett translation, however, still remains widely available because it is now in the
public domainThe public domain is a range of abstract materials—commonly referred to as intellectual property—which are not owned or controlled by anyone. The term indicates that these materials are therefore "public property", and available for anyone to use for any purpose...
. Some writers, such as Anna Brailouvsky, have based their translations on Garnett's. Since the 1990s new English translations have appeared that have made the novel more accessible to English readers.
The
Oxford Guide to Literature in English Translation (2000) states that the
Alan MyersAlan Myers is a noted translator, born in South Shields, County Durham, in 1933. He attended the University of London 1957-60; and Moscow University 1960-61...
version is the best currently available, though since then, new translations by David McDuff and Pevear & Volokhonsky have also been well received.
External links