Description
Book SynopsisProfane Challenge and Orthodox Response in Dostoevsky’s Crime and Punishment presents for the first time an examination of this great novel as a work aimed at winning back “target readers”, young contemporary radicals, from Utilitarianism, nihilism, and Utopian Socialism. Dostoevsky framed the battle in the context of the Orthodox Church and oral tradition versus the West. He relied on knowledge of the Gospels as text received orally, forcing readers to react emotionally, not rationally, and thus undermining the very basis of his opponents’ arguments. Dostoevsky saves Raskol’nikov, underscoring the inadequacy of rational thought and reminding his readers of a heritage discarded at their peril. This volume should be of special interest to secondary and university students, as well as to readers interested in literature, particularly, in Russian literature, and Dostoevsky.
Table of ContentsPreface Introduction Chapter One: The Significance of Orality and the Oral Tradition: Dostoevsky Counter-Attacks Chapter Two: The Religious Symbolism of Cloth and Clothing in Crime and Punishment Chapter Three: Iconic Images in Crime and Punishment: Russia’s Western Capital Chapter Four: “The Parable of the Prodigal Son” in Crime and Punishment Chapter Five: The Significance of Alterity or “Otherness” in Crime and Punishment: Russian Culture and Western Change Chapter Six: The Epilogue Reconsidered Conclusion Bibliography Index
