“There is a ghost in the hall.” Religious, Mystical, and Philosophical Motives in Dostoevsky’s Novel The Idiot

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Author: Artem S. Bykov
Information about the author:
Psychologist, employee of St. Petersburg SBSSI “Psychoneurological Internat No. 6,” Primorskoe St., 675, 197729 Smolyachkovo, St. Petersburg, Russia.

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For citation:
Bykov, A.S. “‘There is a ghost in the hall.’ Religious, Mystical, and Philosophical Motives in Dostoevsky’s Novel The Idiot.” Dostoevsky and World Culture. Philological journal, no. 2 (30), 2025, pp. 46–106. (In Russ.) https://doi.org/10.22455/2619-0311-2025-2-46-106
Received: 15 Apr. 2024
Approved after reviewing: 25 Dec. 2024
Published: 25 June 2025
Issue: 2025 no. 2 (30)
Department: HERMENEUTICS. SLOW READING
Pages: 46-106
DOI: Visit Website
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UDK: 821.161.1.0+14+82.0
BBK: 83.3(2Рос=Рус)+87+83
Publication Type: Research Article
Keywords: Dostoevsky’s novel The Idiot, the phenomenon of the knight errant, the philosophy of the “moment,” Holbein’s Christ, paideia in the context of the Platonic myth of the cave, horror, the sacramental word, compassion.
Abstract: As a direct continuation of the literary line established by the Spanish writer Miguel de Cervantes in Don Quixote, The Idiot presents itself as a ruthless challenge to the subjectively contemplated idealistic space, in which the writer maintains strict consistency within the framework of realism (inspired by Gogol’s reality and Belinky’s influence), while trying to find a gap capable of opening the shrinking “narrowness” of the nihilistic realm of horror. In this article, we will focus on the definition and comprehension of the proposed reality, adhering to its limits to reveal the author’s creative intent in the novel. Moreover, based on the central theme of the “moment,” we will turn to a consideration of the paideia in the context of Plato’s myth of the cave (as the “fourth step,” implying a return to the cave after contemplation of the withdrawn Sun). The parallels with the philosophical views of Plato and other authors (Hölderlin, Kierkegaard, Nietzsche, Heidegger, etc.) will be necessary to consistently explore the tragedy of “the deepest and most fatal mystery of man,” who perishes under the onslaught of the contradictions of existence (in the face of horror) and loses the sacramental word at the fatal moment. The key aim of the article is to comprehend the mystical component of the novel’s final scene from a philosophical perspective. In particular, using the central symbol of The Dead Christ in the Tomb by Holbein as a visual illustration of the novel’s religious-mystical and philosophical idea, its, we will structure our analysis of the final events to adequately reflect the necessity of the author’s introduction of the “ghost in the hall.” In the section “Instead of a Conclusion,” the author attempts to detail the significance of this, which precedes the protagonist’s transformation.

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