The Story of the Decembrists in F.M. Dostoevsky’s novel The Brothers Karamazov

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Author: Anna L. Gumerova
Information about the author:

PhD in Philology, Senior Researcher, Theory of Literature Department, A.M. Gorky Institute of World Literature of the Russian Academy of Sciences. Lives in Moscow.

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Issue: 2018 no. 1
Department: HERMENEUTICS. POETICS. CONTEXT
Pages: 97-106
DOI: https://doi.org/10.22455/2619-0311-2018-1-97-106
UDK: 821.161.1
Keywords: Decembrists, The Brothers Karamazov, Natalia Fonvisina, allusion, Father Zosima.
Abstract: The article searches for possible allusions to the Decembrists in F.M. Dostoevsky’s novel The Brothers Karamazov. The novel does not mention the Decembrists directly (compared to Demons, a few chapters of A Writer’s Diary and also some Dostoevsky’s drafts). Nevertheless, some hints, for example, Zosima’s mentioning the year 1826 in his story, give us grounds to suppose that this theme appears and plays its role in the novel. It is especially important to note some possible allusions to the Decembrist Mikhail Fonvisin’s biography (he was the husband of Natalia Fonvisina, who played such an important role in Dostoevsky’s view of life) and also the connection between this theme and the epigraph to the novel.