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A Decisive Influence on Dostoevsky's "The Brothers Karamazov"! Georges Sand's monastic novel "Spiridion".
I was inspired to read this book by Georges Sand's previous introduction to theJeanne."was the catalyst.
Georges Sand was a major influence on Dostoevsky. I wanted to read more of Sand's work, and when I was looking for a book on him, a surprising phrase jumped out at me. It was written in large letters on the obi of the book.
The work was a decisive influence on Dostoevsky's "The Brothers Karamazov."
What?
I couldn't believe my eyes.
I have read various Dostoevsky works and reference books, but this is the first time I have heard that Georges Sand's work had a decisive influence on "The Brothers Karamazov". This was a surprise to me.
So I decided to read this book as soon as I could.
Relationship to The Brothers Karamazov
The commentary I read in Fujiwara Shoten's "Spiridion" translated by Kazumichi Ohno stated the following.
The Spiridion was said to have had a profound influence on later writers such as Renan, Matthew Arnold, and Emerson. In particular, Dostoevsky seems to have studied it so deeply that Hark and other scholars have said that the dialogue between Zosima and Alyosha in his "The Brothers Karamazov" is based on that between Alexi and Angelo in this book. Dostoevsky felt that Sand had already begun to think about the great question of what all mankind should live on in solidarity in an age in which God (or at least the established God) is dying. It is astonishing that a young woman of 34 years old could seriously tackle such a big question. It should be pointed out that Sand, in writing this work, was aware of the same issues as the great writers of the time, such as Balzac, Hugo, and Michelet.
Fujiwara Shoten, Kazumichi Ohno translation, Spiridion, p. 321
Spiridion" is a story set in a monastery about a soulful and thoughtful young man and the interaction between him and an old monk who has a profound influence on him.
Indeed, when you read this piece.The Brothers Karamazov.In many scenes, the protagonist, the apprentice monk Alyosha, is reminiscent of Elder Zosima of the
Perhaps it is not so far-fetched to say that they are having a "decisive impact.
Summary and Synopsis of "Spiridion"
Georges Sand's "Spiridion" was published in 1839, and a partially revised second edition was re-released in 1842, which is considered the definitive version. 1842 means that Dostoevsky was 21 years old at the time. Dostoevsky was 21 years old in 1842, a time when he was at the height of his youthful vigor.
Let's take a quick look at the synopsis.
A mystical philosophical novel set in an eighteenth-century monastery, a world apart from the rest of the world. The life of the monk Spiridion, who defied the corrupt and skeletonized faith and tried to inherit the truth of the Gospel of Jesus, is told by his grandson Alexi, who overlaps his own spiritual wanderings with the life of the monk. Alexi, like Spiridion, despaired of the reality of Catholicism, and for a time he leaned toward Protestantism, then was drawn to the atheistic philosophy of the 18th century. Finally, he discovers the teachings of the "eternal gospel," a new faith that transcends Christianity, when he uncovers Spiridion's tomb, and he hears in it the dream of solidarity and liberation for all humanity. Sand depicted through the lives of his protagonists that heretical ideas born out of orthodoxy are the future.
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As mentioned earlier, "Spiridion" is a novel set in a monastery.
The protagonist is Angelo, an apprentice monk. He was a serious, religious, and thoughtful young man who devoted himself to his studies with sincerity.
But he continues to be hated and harassed by the entire monastery for some reason. It is so painful that no matter how much he pleads, no one will tell him why.
Your heart knows that best!"
If you don't open your heart to me with a sincere and perfectly obedient heart, I can't do anything for you.
They will be shunned.
I want to make it clear that Angelo did nothing wrong. Rather, he behaved in a respectable manner that could be called an example. He was diligent in his studies, never missed a prayer, and sought God more sincerely than anyone else.
So why should he be bullied so much?
This will be one of the key elements of the novel.
Angelo's suffering was saved by an old monk named Alexi, who appears in the synopsis above.
He was also an eccentric man who did not associate with the other monks and kept to solitude and prayer. From this man, however, Angelo learns the secrets of the monastery and the true meaning of faith.
From the middle of the film, "Spiridion" proceeds almost entirely through the monologue of Father Alexi.
Why was Angelo, a serious friar, bullied?
To Angelo, who is bullied and in despair, Father Alexi says, "I am not a good person to be bullied, but I am a good person to be bullied.
I know why the monks will be so mean to you, so hard-nosed and systematic. They are afraid of those who have the spirit of justice and natural fairness, so they behave that way toward them.
They sensed in you a kind hearted person, someone who is vulnerable to insults and compassionate to suffering, someone who is hostile to brutality and cowardly passions. They thought that what they found in such a person was not their accomplice, but their judge.
And he wants to do to you what he does to all those who frighten them because of their virtue and confound them because of their innocence.
By exhausting and persecuting you, they want to extinguish in you all notions of right and wrong, and to diminish in you all your virtuous mental faculties through futile suffering.
By means of vile intrigues, unspeakable mysteries, and unjust punishments, they want to make it a habit to live harshly in their love and appreciation of you.
And they are trying to make it a habit to live without empathy for others, losing all trust and neglecting all friendships.
They want to make you despair of the goodness of the Master, disgust you with prayer, lie to you in confession, and make you betray your brothers.
In other words, they want to make you a vindictive, black-hearted, slanderous, snitching, evil, stupid, and horrible person.
What they are trying to teach is that the best thing to do is to indulge and neglect in indulgences such as binge drinking and eating, and that to give oneself over peacefully to such things requires corrupting and sacrificing everything, abandoning all memories of greatness, and killing every noble instinct.
And they want to teach you hypocritical hatred, patient revenge, cowardly behavior, and cruelty. They want your soul to die because you were nourished by nectar, because you loved gentleness and purity. In a word, he wants to make you a monk.
My son, this is what they have tried to do. This is what they have all unanimously been doing throughout. Some do it by calculation, others instinctively, the best out of weakness, out of obedience and fear.
Fujiwara Shoten, Kazumichi Ohno's translation of "Spiridion," p. 33-34.
Some line breaks have been made.
This is intense...
Because of his kind heart and virtues, Angelo was bullied.
To the bad-hearted, Angelo was not an accomplice, but a silent judge. That is why the other friars attacked him in blood and tried to drag him down to their ...
This was the truth.
This was done in a monastery, a sacred community based on faith in God.
Georges Sand does not seem to have a very good impression of the existing Catholic Order.
The cult, which at first harbored a pure spirit, has become cozy with society over time and has lost those who truly seek God.
That is what Sand is criticizing.
Strictly speaking, it is more complicated than that, but to put it succinctly, she herself is not seeking the "Christianity of submission" of such a cult, but a faith that is one-to-one with God himself.
In the work, Sand also has Father Alexi state.
What God wants is for us to move on. God has his prophets rise up in the midst of the stream of the ages in order that the various generations may move forward as befits mankind. Not to keep them chained up behind him as befits a lowly herd of cattle. When Jesus healed the lame man, he did not say, "Bow down and follow me. But, "Arise and walk.
Fujiwara Shoten, Kazumichi Ohno translation, Spiridion, p. 283
God is not there to make man bow down and submit. He is there to make man stand up and walk forward."
This is the core of Father Alexi's faith. And this is the message Sand conveys to us in this work.
This is one of the main themes of The Brothers Karamazov,Chapter of the Grand Inquisitor."It also seems to be connected to the serious subject matter discussed in
And one last quote. This was the most surprising word I found in this piece.
I came to understand the Word of God when I came to understand friendship, and through friendship, charity, and through charity, the inspiration of the friendship of mankind.
Angelo, please keep these handwritten books here for the few moments I can still be with you.
When I am gone from this world, do not bury them with Me. The time has come when the truth must no longer sleep in the grave, but work in the light of day and move the hearts of people of good will.
My child, you must reread these Gospels. And as you annotate them, you will relearn history. Your head has been so filled with facts, references, and quotes by me that you have become like a book that carries life within itself but does not realize it. In this way, for thirty years, I, too, have turned my own intellect into parchment.
He who reads and examines everything and understands nothing is the worst of the ignorant. And he who understands the wisdom of God without knowing how to read is the greatest philosopher on earth.
Now, my child, accept my parting words. Prepare to leave the convent and return to the real world."
Fujiwara Shoten, Kazumichi Ohno translation, Spiridion, p. 301
Some line breaks have been made.
."Now, my child, accept my parting words. Prepare to leave the convent and return to the real world."
This surprised me from the bottom of my heart. I had goosebumps the moment I read it.
What could be so surprising?" you may ask.
But what is there to hide?Leave the monastery and go out into the real world."These words are also given to Alyosha by his teacher, Elder Zosima, in "The Brothers Karamazov.
What is more, there is a story that Shinran Shonin, the founder of Jodo Shinshu, was similarly encouraged by Honen Shonin, the founder of the Jodo sect, to "live in the secular world.
I can't go into a detailed explanation here because it would get into a difficult theological discussion,Leave the monastery and go out into the real world."The words "I am a good person," are very important.
Conclusion
It is not known exactly how Dostoevsky based "The Brothers Karamazov" on this work. He did not write "The Brothers Karamazov" until about 35 years after the book was published.
Moreover, I am not sure if he read Georges Sand again at that time. (In 1876, when Georges Sand died, he wrote an obituary, so perhaps he read it again at that time. *Dostoevsky praised it! French woman writer Georges Sand's masterpiece "Jeanne".(See also.)
So, while it is difficult to say whether or not this work had a decisive influence on "The Brothers Karamazov," its impact on Dostoevsky's internal life cannot be overlooked.
It is a work that allows us to imagine what kind of image Dostoevsky received about Catholicism and about monasteries. In that sense, it was a very interesting work.
The above is a synopsis of Georges Sand's "Spiridion," a definitive influence on "The Brothers Karamazov! Sand's Monastic Novel".
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