this woman, whose behaviour was sometimes cynical and insolent, was in reality far more shy, gentle, and trusting than might have been assumed.
Bravo Dostoyevsky, Hurrah Dostoyevsky, splendissimo (idk if that’s a word) Dostoyevsky, belissimo Dostoyevsky, trés extraordinaire Dostoyevsky, for making such banger women-characters btw.
(I always appreciate that he doesn’t simply portray his ‘ruined, deranged women’ as… you know; ruined, deranged women. They are ‘more real than reality itself,’ just as the men-characters are).
