The Premonition of Death as a Test of Faith for the Characters of the Novel The Idiot

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Author: Tatiana N. Flegentova
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Teacher of Russian language and literature, Orthodox Gymnasium “Cyril and Methodius, Equal to the Apostles”, Komsomolsky per. 55, 650003 Kemerovo, Russia.

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For citation:

Flegentova, T.N. “The Premonition of Death as a Test of Faith for the Characters of the Novel The Idiot.” Dostoevsky and World Culture. Philological journal, no. 4 (20), 2022, pp. 52–70. (In Russ.) https://doi.org/10.22455/2619-0311-2022-4-52-70
Received: 23 June 2022
Published: 25 Dec. 2022
Issue: 2022 no. 4 (20)
Department: HERMENEUTICS. SLOW READING
Pages: 52-70
DOI: https://doi.org/10.22455/2619-0311-2022-4-52-70
EDN:

https://elibrary.ru/ZQERRY
UDK: 821.161.1.0
BBK: 83.3(2=411.2)
Keywords: Dostoevsky, last minute, dialogue, conflict, salvation, compassion.
Abstract: For the Christian understanding, life is a period of time presenting trials and leading to eternity. Any instant of life is a reminder of death and at the same time it contains the potential for transfiguration. From this point of view, the “last minute” of life becomes decisive. In the Gospel, the last words of one of the villains crucified with Christ opened the way for him to forgiveness. The heroes of the novel The Idiot are immersed in “last minute” situations through the processes of telling, listening to stories about death penalty. Prince Myshkin, Nastasya Filippovna, Ippolit: each of them “feels a knife over his head.” Time turns into a continuous torture: they either bring the end closer, or seek to escape from it, becoming prisoners of the present. Ippolit, for instance, seeks to fix all the events of life into a calendar, however, he constantly makes mistakes, setting the dates of the phenomena of reality that have occurred incorrectly. The true meaning of any historical moment is the possibility of decision in a demanding situation, to establish one’s position regarding good and evil. The freedom granted to a person is a blessing and infinite mercy, one of the manifestations of which is the sympathy for others. In his “Explanation,” Ippolit tells two stories, combining them in time: “Around the middle of March.” The hero of the first one is Ivan Fomich Surikov, the “noble” eternal debtor; in the second we see a doctor who came to St. Petersburg “to explain himself,” whose second child had just been born. The sudden appearance of Ippolit in their family can be described by the simple formula “sent by God,” as he meets the circumstances and helps the young family. The maneuvering between good and evil manifests the duality of his personality. The foreboding of death turns out to be a test of faith, as it reveals the true value of a person’s life and his place in the space of time.

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