Fyodor Dostoevsky is, of course, one of the most celebrated novelists ever to exist. He is famed for Crime and Punishment, The Idiot, The Brothers Karamazov, Notes from the Underground, and other short stories, but what makes him so great? Part of his greatness comes from the fact that he possesses those qualities which are shared among all the great Russian authors, and which set them apart. This includes a profound understanding of psychology and the human spirit. Dostoevsky, though, naturally has his own defining characteristics, which makes reading his works very different from reading, say, Tolstoy, or any other of the Russian authors.
To begin with, he is simply very interesting to read (a basic qualification for good writing, but important nonetheless -- who reads boring books?), but interesting in an idiosyncratic way. True, Dostoevsky’s writing (and characters) can be rather chaotic and all over the place. However, there is always some element of intrigue involved in his plots -- whether it be through a chilling murder, or simply a sinister love triangle (or quadrilateral, or pentagon). In the case of the latter, he manages to turn something as cliche as a drama-filled romance into something actually interesting, with thought-provoking psychological and philosophical elements. In all of his novels, there is at least one scene -- often more -- which sends a shiver down one's spine. He takes all the terror of a horror movie and concentrates it into a person: the terror of an individual's state of mind, of a sudden disquieting idea. Take Ivan Karamazov's alarm when he begins to understand Smerdyakov's sly hints as to the murder of his father.
This terror brings me to the next point; namely, how well he captures inner human turmoil. His ability to do this often manifests itself in characters who are rather too extreme to be entirely realistic. Frankly speaking, most all of them would certainly be diagnosed with bipolar disorder. However, despite this extremity, his characters can be very relatable. I do not mean that the desire to murder an elderly lady with an axe is relatable. However, the reason why Rodion Raskolnikov murdered the old lady with an axe is beyond relatable. He did it to prove himself; he wanted to know that he was above "the ordinary"; that he was "extraordinary"; that he was not merely a "louse". But, of course, Raskolnikov turns out being just like everyone else -- we are all just ordinary. That sense of mediocrity, and being able to recognize greatness, but only appreciate it and nothing more -- that is a painful and familiar feeling. Salieri knew that feeling when he heard Mozart, and Raskolnikov knew that feeling when he contemplated Napoleon. (Only this feeling led Salieri to attempt writing music, while it led Raskolnikov to kill someone). The same unlikely relatability can be said of Ivan Karamazov. I doubt that most of us see and converse with self-projected devils in our rooms (at least I certainly hope not). Yet, the deep burning questions, internal conflicts, and pangs of conscience that Ivan has, which result in his insanity and devil-seeing, are very real human struggles. In short, Dostoevsky’s over the top characters in actuality are realistic. They simply live out what we internalize. They seem psychologically extreme only because they dwell upon and act on that psychological extremity. We do not, though we are just as capable of their madness.
Furthermore, Dostoevsky’s writing leaves one with a perhaps unexpected, but very powerful sense of hope and triumph. Throughout his novels, the ugliness, bleakness, and misery of the world is blatantly shown. One does not put down one of his books fantasizing about living in the world he describes, as one might do after reading The Lord of the Rings. He describes our world with all its evil -- though his fantastical characters and plots make his writing not feel like stark realism, which I personally appreciate. However, it is not in the world that he gives the reader hope. He captures a feeling of fulfillment within oneself, enabled by the knowledge of something greater than the world. Alyosha understood this; that though the world will continue to fill our lives with hardship, and though we ourselves will stumble, we can live our lives according to something bigger than all of this, something grand and good. It does not matter if we have been cockroaches all our lives, as nothing seems capable of trampling that exultant sense of purpose with which Dostoevsky’s heroes are ultimately filled. In short, after all the struggles his characters endure, they experience peace, hope, and irrepressible joy because of the knowledge that there is meaning to life; infinite meaning which is completely unreliant on anything in the world.
Image: Pieter Bruegel the Ellder, Winter Landscape with Skaters and Bird Trap