International journal

Speech Genres

ISSN 2311-0759 (Online)
ISSN 2311-0740 (Print)


For citation:

Gaponenkov A. A. Religious and philosophical dialogues in Dostoevsky’s novel Demons. Speech Genres, 2023, vol. 18, iss. 2 (38), pp. 132-137. DOI: 10.18500/2311-0740-2023-18-2-38-132-137, EDN: RFLKOA

This is an open access article distributed under the terms of Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License (CC-BY 4.0).
Full text:
(downloads: 403)
Language: 
Russian
Heading: 
Article type: 
Article
UDC: 
821.161.1.09-31+929Достоевский
EDN: 
RFLKOA

Religious and philosophical dialogues in Dostoevsky’s novel Demons

Autors: 
Gaponenkov Alexey A., Saratov State University
Abstract: 

Philosophical dialogue as a genre generated by ancient culture has become an integral part of F. M. Dostoevsky’s novels. There it acquired a distinctly religious character. In this sense, the theory of M. M. Bakhtin about polyphonic dialogue in Dostoevsky’s novels does not allow to fully explain its (dialogue’s) mystical-religious content, and even more so the hidden author’s modality – Christian assessment (“pointing finger, passionately raised”). Moreover, the question of faith in the polyphonic dialogue is not raised at all. Bakhtin confines himself to the dialogue of the “speech activities” of the subjects, the characters’ minds “in the realm of the word”, “the image of the idea” as a “living event”. The article highlights a special religious and philosophical dialogue in Dostoevsky’s novel on the example of Demons. It is proved that the characters of such a dialogue philosophize, i.e. act not only as those with external, effective, psychological characteristics, but as spokesmen for a certain intellectual activity, an established concept of life, which they usually translate into philosophemes, mental images. Religious-philosophical dialogue is also present when conducted at the level of metaphysical depths, with a creed, a manifestation of religious feeling, when the question of the Absolute is being resolved. Deep drama, appeal to the eternal problems of existence, the ultimate expansion of the artistic space of the topics, the subjects of dialogue limit the plot peculiarities and the characters’ details. There is a feeling of a direct connection between the two minds in the darkest corners of the man’s spirit: “Here the devil is fighting with God, and the battlefield is the hearts of people” (XIV, 100). 

Reference: 
  1. Bakhtin M. M. Problemy poetiki Dostoyevskogo [Problems of Dostoevsky’s Poetics]. Moscow, Sovetskaya Rossiya Publ., 1979. 320 p. (in Russian).
  2. Berdyayev N. A. Dostoevsky’s Worldview. Berdyayev N. A. O russkikh klassikakh [About Russian Classics]. Moscow, Vysshaya shkola Publ., 1993, pp. 107– 223 (in Russian).
  3. Berdyayev N. A. Spirits of the Russian Revolution. Berdyayev N. A. O russkikh klassikakh [About Russian Classics]. Moscow, Vysshaya shkola Publ., 1993, pp. 75– 107 (in Russian).
  4. Bulgakov S. N. Russian tragedy. Bulgakov S. N. Sochineniya: v 2 t. [Works: in 2 vols.]. Moscow, Nauka Publ., 1993, vol. 2, pp. 499–526 (in Russian).
  5. Dostoyevskiy F. M. Polnoe sobranie sochinenii: v 30 t. [Complete works: in 30 vols.]. Leningrad, Nauka Leningrad. otd-nie Publ., 1972–1991 (in Russian).
  6. Ivanov V. I. Sobranie sochinenii: v 4 t. [Collected works: in 4 vols.]. Bryussel’, Zhizn’ s Bogom Publ., 1987. (in Russian).
  7. Saraskina L. I. “Besy”: roman-preduprezhdeniye [“Demons”: A Novel-warning]. Moscow, Sovetskiy pisatel’ Publ., 1990. 480 p. (in Russian).
  8. Skaftymov A. P. Nravstvennyye iskaniya russkikh pisateley [Moral Quests of Russian Writers]. Moscow, Khudozhestvennaya literatura Publ., 1972. 543 p. (in Russian).
  9. Stepun F. A. Dostoevsky’s Worldview. In: O Dostoyevskom: Tvorchestvo Dostoyevskogo v russkoy mysli 1881–1931 godov [About Dostoevsky: Dostoevsky’s Creativity in Russian Thought in 1881–1931]. Moscow, Kniga Publ., 1990, pp. 332–352 (in Russian).
Received: 
05.06.2022
Accepted: 
29.08.2022
Published: 
31.05.2023