The Brothers Karamazov 2024 - Week 4

[Gem , Moderator]

The Brothers Karamazov
Week 4 - Part Two, Book IV

1) Father Ferapont seems to be a bit different from the other Fathers/Monks/Elders that we have seen in the book. How do you compare him to Elder Zosima and the other elders in the monastery? What do you think of him? His beliefs, actions, and statements?

2) Book IV's title is different in every translation I've seen. In P&V it is called Strains, in Garnett's it is entitled Lacerations, and in McDuff's it's called Crack-ups. Here is the note McDuff included: "Crack-ups:In Russian, nadryvy can be translated approximately as "cracks", "ruptures", "harrowings", but also as "hysteria". Nadryv, like its French parent déchirement, connotes a breaking, tearing, and straining beneath an intolerable weight of mental, emotional, and spiritual suffering. It is a constantly recurring theme throughout the novel. "Crack-up" is offered as a near equivalent.

It's such an apt title (regardless of translation) because there are so many self-inflicted wounds done by the characters to themselves. The tension is palatable in this part of the book.

Dmitri - tortured because he feels he is doing a wrong to Katerina, while at the same time pining after Grushenka

Katerina - fooling herself into thinking she's in love with Dmitri

Ivan - pining away after Katerina, though she's "in love" with Dmitri

Captain Snegiryov - his humiliation

Even Alyosha is feeling the strain:

"And most important of all, which of them was he, Alyosha, to feel sorry for? And what was he to wish for each one? He loved them both, but what was he to wish for each of them amidst such terrible contradictions? In all this muddle one might completely lose one's way, but Alyosha's heart could not tolerate the unknown, as the character of his love was forever active. A passive love was something of which he was not capable; the love conceived within him, he had once went to assist. For that it was necessary to set a goal, to have a firm knowledge of what was good and desirable for each of them and, having ascertained the correctness of the goal, to proceed towards the natural next step of helping them. In all this, however, there was in place of a firm goal nothing but vagueness and muddle. That word 'hysteria' that had been uttered just now! What did he understand even of that? Of all this muddle he did not comprehend even the first word!"

Anyway, so what are your thoughts on this hopeless muddle they find themselves in?

3) This novel exposes us to the different social classes in Russia There are the relatively rich Karamazovs - Fyodor is a landowner and a business owner. But there are also the serfs, called "souls" who are owned by these landowners. And then there are the poor, trying to make ends meet such as Captain Snegiryov and his family.

In all this, we see the value of money, money, money.

From Fyodor's point of view:

"I could marry Grushka right now if I wanted to. Because with money one only needs to want, Alexei Fyodorovich, sir, and one gets everything. That’s just what Ivan is afraid of, and he’s keeping an eye on me to see that I don’t get married, and that’s why he’s pushing Mitka to marry Grushka: he wants to keep me from Grushka that way (as if I’d leave him any money even if I don’t marry Grushka!), and on the other hand, if Mitka marries Grushka, then Ivan can take his rich fiancée for himself—that’s how he figures! He’s a scoundrel, your Ivan!”

And from the poor's point of view:

"And that is how our children… the children of the despised but noble poor—learn the truth on earth when they’re just nine years old, sir. The rich ones—what do they know? In their whole lives they never sound such depths, and my Ilyushka, at that very moment in the square, sir, when he kissed his hand, at that very moment he went through the whole truth, sir. This truth, sir, entered into him and crushed him forever,”

Papa,’ he asked, ‘Papa, is it true that the rich are stronger than anybody in the world?’ ‘Yes, Ilyusha,’ I said, ‘no one in the world is stronger than the rich.’

Any thoughts on the author's portrayal of social class? poverty?

4) A fair bit of time (3 chapters) is spent on the storyline of Dmitri and the Captain (Captain Nikolai Ilyich Snegiryov), and how Dmitri's actions have affected the captain's family, and especially his young son, Ilya. This is the captain dragged by his beard in front of the whole town by Dmitri, and how Ilya witnessed this and begged Dmitri for mercy.

Why did the author focus so much on this event? Why is it so important?

[Neil]

My notes so far…….

Father Ferapoint doesn’t seem to like the conventional religious practices that much, I think there’s more to this guy that has been revealed thus far, it wouldn’t surprise me if he turned out to be an atheist.

Garnett is my favourite Russian translator (I’m a little biased because she was the mother of Bunny Garnett from the Bloomsbury group), I like the idea of the description lacerations because laceration can be accidental or self-inflicted both would apply to the storyline.

Regarding the social classes I have noticed (and this also applies to other Russian novels) that there seems to be someone disabled either mentally or physically in most families. This makes me suspect inter breeding as in those days it was customary for cousins to marry (or even worse). It doesn’t seem so much of a problem to the higher classes, but my conjecture is they simply kept those unfortunate people out of the way (or even worse).

When it comes to the captain’s young son Llya I think there might be more of him to come. He may even turn out to be vengeful murderer who knows!

[Nancy]

This section moved along better than the previous one for me. I'm impressed by Alyosha's patience with his family, as well as his concern for such a dysfunctional group. His reaction to the little boy Llya also illustrates his commitment to love and peace. My one concern in this regard is that by constantly trying to do the bidding of others and to reconcile everyone's problems, he is being used and manipulated. Maybe I feel that way because I would never have his patience. I'm also wondering what will happen to Alyosha and the other followers of the Elder when that good man dies.
The gulf between the rich and the poor meshes historically with what I know about Russia before the Bolshevik revolution. Unfortunately, it can also be said of other countries to a great extent.

[Neil]

I touched on disability in my last comments but forgot to mention Lise. I really like her character as she is so contrary and has a certain naughtiness which I find charming. As well as being in a wheelchair (poor soul) she also appears to be what we would call today Aspergic or words to that effect. We all know that she has a bigger role to play in the novel. I am looking forward to this and I hope that there is a twist in the tail that will surprise us.

[Tom]

I find that the characters go off into rambling diatribes - losing themselves in self-pity, theology or madness, with long paragraphs of dialogue. I found this with Crime and Punishment, not only with the main character. Is this characteristic of much of Russian writing at the time? Do people know what I mean here?

[Gem , Moderator]

Tom wrote: " Is this characteristic of much of Russian writing at the time? Do people know what I mean here?"

Second question first, yes, I know what you mean.

It has been my experience that there seems to be a lot more of philosophical ponderings of the Russian writers in this period, from my limited experience. There seems to be a lot of information thrown at the reader about the character and/or circumstance as well as the character's internal musing, conflict, spiritual, and philosophical thoughts.

[Pillsonista]

Nancy wrote: "I'm also wondering what will happen to Alyosha and the other followers of the Elder when that good man dies."

This is an interesting train of thought to follow while keeping in mind the biblical passage that Dostoevsky quotes before the opening of the novel (John 12:24, KJV):

Verily, verily, I say unto you, Except a corn of wheat fall into the ground and die, it abideth alone: but if it die, it bringeth forth much fruit.

Think of the main characters: Fyodor Pavlovich, Dmitri, Ivan, Alyosha, Smerdyakov, etc. What will be born of their memory? What can be created from their lives? What kind of fruit will they 'bringeth forth'?

Dostoevsky is very assured that goodness will only be born from the memory of one of these characters. The rest, all too human as they are, will simply return unto dust.