2 Fyodor Dostoevsky

It is arguable that Dostoevsky is the most complex nineteenth-

century Russian writer. Both as a man and as a writer he is, like
Gogol, difficult to 'place'; indeed, a comparison with Gogol (one
which is frequently made) 1 serves as a useful beginning in a
process of demystification of Dostoevsky, an attempt, that is,
to solve the mystery of this particular man. 2 Dostoevsky him-
self was aware of his special relationship with Gogol: the most
celebrated apocryphal remark in the history of nineteenth-
century Russian literature is that attributed to him: 'We have all
come from under Gogol's Overcoat.' 3 Dostoevsky may be more
'intellectual' than his predecessor, but there are many parallels
between them. In their own lifetimes, and more especially since,
they and their works have given rise to a kaleidoscope of con-
flicting interpretations, and have inspired many individuals and
groups in twentieth-century literature directly or indirectly. One
implication of their work is a revolutionary critique of con-
temporary - or, for that matter, any - society. Yet their own
confessed views, except for Dostoevsky's early utopian human-
ism, were deeply conservative, leading them both ultimately to
the sanctuary of the Orthodox Church. Both writers belonged
to the 'literary proletariat', coming from much lowlier origins
than were typical for nineteenth-century Russian litterateurs.
Many more parallels could be drawn, but first let us examine
the factors in Dostoevsky's background which helped shape his
position in society, his view and depiction of it.
Dostoevsky's family derived from the nobility ,4 but by the
time he was born it had become impoverished. His father, who
himself had received a seminary education, now worked as a
hospital doctor and his salary was low. However, their circum-
stances were not so straitened. In 1831 they were able to buy a
small estate, with one hundred serfs, which cost them 42 OOOR. 5
The family, though, lived for most of the year in Moscow, and
Dostoevsky spent his youth not in 'nests of gentlefolk' as

44
J. Andrew, Russian Writers and Society in the Second Half of the Nineteenth Century
© Joe Andrew 1982
 Fyodor Dostoevsky 45

Turgenev and Tolstoy did but in state flats, surrounded by a

hospital atmosphere, in a close, restricted, and rather severe
family circle. The spirit of early life informs the novels of all
three writers, in very different ways.
For Dostoevsky, then, these first years were rather gloomy.
To S. D. Yanovsky in the 1840s, for example, he talked of a
'heavy and joyless youth'. Their existence was monotonous
and strict. The family may have been a close one but any
spontaneity or boisterousness was precluded - no rough games,
no young friends and few outings. Moreover, the parents were
very religious, and the children were obliged to be the same. In
brief, it was essentially the spirit of a middle-class Victorian
household, whose ethos was to reappear in many of Dostoevsky's
later ideas.
The other factors of Dostoevsky's background are also of
importance. Because of his father's profession, he was able to
see real suffering, and he was to remain exposed to and fascin-
ated by suffering through imprisonment, illness and death. He
grew up mainly in an urban environment, and this affected his
whole view of reality, quite apart from the city providing one
of the main themes of his work. His childhood, moreover, was
rather solitary: from his earliest years he preferred his own
company and withdrew into dreams of mystical Romanticism
and the 'religion of the heart' .6 This general picture was height-
ened by a number of deaths: in 1837 his first literary idol,
Pushkin, and then his mother died, and Dostoevsky was deeply
upset by both. His father took to drink, and he too was soon to
die, in 1839. 7
Dostoevsky's formal education did little to improve his pos-
ition, and what he did learn at this time came from his own
omnivorous reading. His education began at home, and most of
it came from his parents, in particular his rather severe father, 8
who insisted that everything be learned by heart. His real edu-
cation, though, derived mainly from the regular family readings,
both of the classics - Karamzin, Lomonosov, Derzhavin, Zhuk-
ovsky and, in particular, Pushkin- and of more recent historical
works, especially by Sir Walter Scott. This pattern was repeated
at all his educational institutions. In 1834, he entered the private
Chermak school, a reasonable school, but Dostoevsky spent
much of his time, as always, avidly reading. Dreary reality once
more was replaced by poetry and romantic dreams. Eventually,