Why is "The Brothers Karamazov" so difficult? What was the theme of the novel and what was the context in which it was written - what did Dostoevsky want to convey in this novel?

Why is "The Brothers Karamazov" so difficult? What was the theme of the novel and what was the context in which it was written - what did Dostoevsky want to convey in this novel?

This article was written as a link to the previous article. So, if you simply want to know why "The Brothers Karamazov" is so difficult, please see the table of contents "Conclusion - Why is "The Brothers Karamazov" so difficult?" in the table of contents.

In this work, there are various opinions on both sides of the issue.

Various opinions are quickly appearing on the Internet, such as "it's difficult," "it's not interesting," "it's boring," "it's unnecessary because the issue of God is not relevant to modern Japan," "it's not worth reading," and so on.

But I am sure that this article will get the message across.

How serious Dostoevsky was about this work, and what message he was trying to send to his readers."

Previous ArticleI seriously wondered if "The Brothers Karamazov" is really a novel about the murder of a father - reading Freud's "Dostoevsky's Murder of the Father."In the following section, we looked at how Freud applied and interpreted his theory of father-killing to Dostoevsky with reference to Freud's "Dostoevsky and Father-Killing.

Freud declared "The Brothers Karamazov" to be a novel about the murder of one's father and Dostoevsky to be a classic example of the Oedipus Complex, but after examining each one in the previous pages, it is clear that this is false.

Freud is free to read "The Brothers Karamazov" as about the "murder of fathers". And you are free to imagine and tell a story from it.

However, Freud interprets Dostoevsky only in terms of his own theory of the "father killer" and ignores the facts about Dostoevsky and the flow of events and ideas that led to the writing of his novel. Not only does he ignore the facts, but he asserts that they are not facts and uses them to reinforce his own theory. (For example, "Dostoevsky raped a girl. Dostoevsky wrote about his own experience in his novels. (For more information, please see the previous page.)

And his theory of Dostoevsky, with his father's murder as a prerequisite, is taking leaps and bounds.

."How Freud's theory works and its problems as seen in Freud's "The Childhood Reminiscences of Leonardo da Vinci"?As mentioned in the article "The Vultures", Freud basically expands his interpretation in the form of an inverted pyramid. In the case of da Vinci, he expanded his imagination from a single word "vulture" written in a note to an Egyptian goddess and the legend of Mary by Lutheran priests.

In other words, what can be associated can leap to any extent. Freud expands the father to the Tsar (Russian emperor) and Christ. And according to the Oedipus Complex, of course, both the Tsar and Christ are treated as beings that must be defeated (or killed).

This would allow for the interpretation of Dostoevsky as a revolutionary who seeks to overthrow the monarchy and an atheist who opposes Jesus.

Of course, there is no evidence for either.

Freud brings up many events and testimonies that he asserts are the basis for his theory, but the basis for his theory has been denied, as we have seen in this blog.

But Freud asserts, "This is a fact. He repeats this assertion after assertion, and then he unfolds a brilliant story that seems to make sense and overwhelms us.

But the reality was a Freudian creation story of guesswork and interpretation upon guesswork and interpretation upon interpretation.

In this article, we will discuss the background behind the writing of "The Brothers Karamazov. Freud's "father-killer theory" has been all but dismissed, but what was he actually trying to write about? Naoto Sugisato's "The Brothers Karamazov: Notes, Commentary, and Chronology" explains this in a very easy-to-understand manner.

Naoto Sugisato, The Brothers Karamazov (Notes, Commentary, and Chronological Table)

First, let us talk about the reference book we will be referring to.

Faith and death, family relationships, murder mysteries, despair and hope for life...
This new translation, the 16th in Japan, reflects the latest research findings in Russia and was created by carefully reviewing previous Japanese, English, French, and German translations, all in one volume.original versionand includes a vast amount of commentary, including secret references to overlooked biblical texts, cross-references to other works by Dostoevsky, commentary on the court and educational systems of the time related to the core of the story, and explanations of proverbs, clothing, and customs that are difficult for non-Russians to understand,Notes, Commentary, and ChronologyThis is a two-volume volume of the "The Tale of the Tiger". This definitive edition opens a new chapter in the long history of translations of this work in Japan.

【【About the Translator]
Naoto Sugisato(Naoito Sugisato)
Born in Gifu Prefecture in 1956. D. in Literature at Waseda University. Currently a part-time lecturer at Waseda University, Meiji University, and Tokyo University of Science. Specializes in 19th century Russian literature and literary theory. His major publications include "Essays: Dostoevsky and Modernity" (co-authored, Taga Publishing, 2001) and "The World of Russian Folklore" (co-authored, Gunzo, 2005), and his major translations include Nikolai Kaletnikov, "Moscow's Avant-garde Musicians" (Shin Hyoron, 1996), Mikhail Bakhtin, "Francois Rabelais's Works and the Folk Culture of the Middle Ages and Renaissance" (The Complete Works of Mikhail Bakhtin, Vol. 7, Suiseisha, 2007).

BLOG Suiseisha,Product Page.

This book is a new translation of "The Brothers Karamazov" written by Naoto Sugisato, a scholar of Russian literature, based on his latest research in Russia. What is also very nice about this book is that it comes with a set of very detailed notes and commentary.

In this issue, I would like to look at the process of establishing Karamazov and what Dostoevsky was trying to write in this novel by referring to this "Notes, Commentary, and Chronological Arc".

The Budding "Brothers Karamazov" 1 - Plans for a full-length novel "Atheism" and "The Life of the Great Sinners

Dostoevsky's first public statement about his new novel is in the December 1877 issue of "Diary of a Writer," chapter 2, section 5, "To My Readers. There he announces to his readers that after two years of publishing "The Writer's Diary," he intends to spend the following year "actually working on a certain artistic labor, which during these two years of publishing the 'Diary' had been growing in me without my noticing it" (ПCC, 26. 126).

However, it was about ten years before the first germ of the idea that would come to fruition in "Karamazov" was seen.

In December 1868, while traveling in Europe with his wife Anna Grigorievna, Dostoevsky wrote a letter to the poet Apollon Maikov, in which he described his plans for a major work entitled "Atheism.

According to the book, the protagonist is a Russian of a certain official rank, who had never been off the track before, but at the age of forty-five suddenly loses his faith in God, an atheist, a Slavist, a Westerner, a saint, a Jesuit,whip-poor-will factionfullistAfter itinerating through such places as the "Russian land," he would "finally win Christ and the Russian land, the Russian Christ and the Russian God" (ПCC, 28 KH.2, 329).

In a letter to C. I. Ivanova in January of the following year, 69, he wrote that "atheism" had made "the artistic and poetic idéecomprehensivesynthesis (in semiconductor technology)and "I want to express my opinion in something as completely as possible before I die" (ПCC,29 KH.1.24), and he expresses his extraordinary commitment to this work.

Atheism" was retitled "The Life of a Great Sinner" in December of sixty-nine, and Dostoevsky took fairly detailed creative notes through May of the following year.

In these notebooks, the intricate development of various incidents, small episodes, the detailed modeling of the main character, as well as the fleshing out of secondary and minor characters, and fragments of conversations and dialogues were concretely written down, and the concept was rapidly expanded and deepened over the course of a year or so.

According to a March 1870 letter to Mikov, this was to be a major work of about the size of Tolstoy's War and Peace, consisting of five middle stories, the subject of which was the writer's own "existence of God, from which he has suffered all his life," and the protagonist would oscillate violently between faith and unbelief (ПCC, 29 KH.1, 117).

The first story takes place in the 1840s, during the protagonist's childhood, and depicts a criminal offense.

The second episode takes place at the monastery of Bishop Chi-Hong Zadonsky, where a thirteen-year-old boy involved in a crime is placed under Chi-Hong's care, and through his interaction with the bishop, receives the lesson, "If you want to win the whole world, you must win yourself.

The third story is the protagonist's youth, when he is attracted to positivism and atheism, guilty of arrogance and contempt for mankind, and infused with the idea of amassing a fortune by a loan shark. The contrast between his great deeds and his misdeeds is palpable, and the deadly sinner's crimes reach their zenith.

In the fourth episode, the protagonist's spiritual crisis deepens, and he becomes a Sukhima monk and sets out on a pilgrimage across Russia. After an unexpected turn of events and love, he is struck by a craving for humility.

In the fifth episode, the sinner is fully resurrected, becomes a meek man who is merciful to all, and finally dies confessing his crimes after building an orphanage and becoming a philanthropist (see ПCC, 9.125-139, this section is based on Grossman).

The importance of this memo is twofold.

One concerns Bishop Chihon Zadonsky, who appears in the second story. This is modeled on the real-life 18th century saint of the same name who preached "patience, meekness, and love" (the writer has read many works by Orthodox monastic soil and preachers, including Chihon), and this developed into Chihon in "Evil Spirits" and Zosima in "Karamazov.

Another reason is that the plot of the second part of "Karamazov," which never saw the light of day due to the author's death, is considered to be closely connected to this "life of the great sinner.
Some line breaks have been made.

Suiseisha, Naoto Sugisato, The Brothers Karamazov [notes, commentary and chronology], p. 205-6.

As I mentioned in my last article, a biography by Louis BragerFreud, Dark Points of Vision."According to the "Freudian" book, Freud was an atheist and a fierce critic of religion. And since he was based in Austria, he knew little about Russia. The Christianity he knew was Catholic and Protestant.

Russian Christianity is the same Christianity, but Russian Orthodoxy is a religion with a culture quite different from Catholicism and Protestantism.

Dostoevsky himself also criticized Catholicism from the standpoint of the Russian Orthodox Church.

Freud, who is not an expert on Russia, is not familiar with Russian history, culture, or religion. He knows little about Dostoevsky's upbringing, except from the biased material he has read. Furthermore, it is doubtful that Freud, a staunch atheist, would have understood the teachings and ideology of the Russian Orthodox Church.

And Freud does not know through what ideological stream Dostoevsky wrote "The Brothers Karamazov". Freud only tries to obtain information that suits him. Based on his own theories, Freud ignored them all and declared that "Karamazov" is a novel about a father's murder.

It is only natural that this should be the case since we are reading the novel with a conclusion to begin with.

Indeed, the father's murder is written about in the novel.

Freud is free to read that as the subject matter of "Karamazov," but that does not necessarily mean that "Karamazov" is a novel about the murder of a father.

This may seem like a minor difference, but it is a crucial difference. Karamazov" is a complex work that is intertwined with various elements such as religion, politics, ideology, culture, and the historical background of Russia at that time. And what were Dostoevsky's own thoughts when he wrote the work? Even this is ignored for the simplistic reason that "Karamazov" is a novel about a father's murder, as Freud put it.

There is also a theory that in the sequel to "The Brothers Karamazov," the main character, Alyosha, becomes a revolutionary and atheist who plans to overthrow the Czar, but, as noted in the commentary above, the process of establishing "Karamazov" suggests that such a theory is highly unlikely to be valid.

As I have told you in this article previously, the attempt to make Alyosha a revolutionary and atheist was due to the ideology of the Soviet era.

I cannot go into details here, but I can say that the image of the revolutionary according to such Soviet ideology has a great affinity with Freud's talk of father-killing and atheism. The combination of Soviet ideology and Freudian theory may have given birth to the "Alyosha revolutionary theory.

Let us continue to look at the process of establishing "Karamazov".

Budding "The Brothers Karamazov" 2 - Ilyinsky Memo

The notes on the second sprout, "Ilyinsky," are in the creative notes for "The Minor".

Dmitry Ilyinsky, a retired army second lieutenant from the Tobolsk aristocracy whom Dostoevsky met in the Omsk prison in the early 1850s, was serving a 20-year sentence for the murder of his father, but was later proven innocent when the real killer was found in 1862 while writing "Death House Records".

Dostoevsky first portrays Ilyinsky in the first chapter of the first part of "The House of Death" as a debt-ridden, self-indulgent debauchee, always cheerful and good-tempered, frivolous and inconsiderate (ПCC, 4. 15-16).

Later, when the fact of his false accusation came to light, the tragedy of the young man who was falsely accused of killing his father and spent ten years in prison in vain was brought to his attention again in Part II, Chapter 7 of the same book (TaM Жe.195).

This incident seemed to have greatly stimulated the writer's creative spirit, and in September 1874, 20 years after he first met Ilyinsky and 12 years after he wrote "Record of a House of Death," Dostoevsky wrote in his creative notebook a plan for a theory with him as the main character.

'Drama. Similar to the Ilyinsky case in Tobolsk about twenty years ago. Two brothers, old fathers. One of them has a girlfriend, and the younger brother is secretly and jealously in love with her. But she loves her brother. But the older brother, a young lieutenant's assistant, is debauched and foolish, and quarrels with his father. Father disappears. He is not heard from for several days. The brothers are discussing their inheritance when suddenly the authorities dig up the body from the basement. Evidence is found against the elder brother (the younger brother does not live with him). The brother is tried and sentenced to imprisonment. [......] Twelve years later, the brother comes to visit him. The scene is one of mutual understanding in silence. Seven more years later, the brother is in government service, but he is suffering and is a hypochondriac. He confides in his wife that he killed her. Why are you telling me?" He visits his brother. His wife rushes over. The wife kneels down to the prisoner and pleads with him to keep quiet and save her husband. The convict says, 'I'm used to it,' and they reconcile. 'You've already been punished otherwise,' he says. It is his brother's birthday. The guests are gathering. They come out. I killed him. They are all deeply saddened. At the end. One comes back and the other is in the relay jail. He is dismissed (slanderer). He asks his brother to be the father of his children. 'You have stepped onto the right path!' (ПCC,17.5-6)

The importance of this plan is not too much to say. It shows that the basic framework of the main plot of the story was already being developed by this time.

Even in the creative notes for "Karamazov," which began to be prepared in the spring of 1978, Dmitry Karamazov was initially called Ilyinsky and Ivan Karamazov was called a murderer or a scholar (Alyosha was called a moron).

Or another point, it is clear that the "mysterious visitor" episode told by Elder Zosima is established in isolation from Ilyinsky's brother.

What is even more remarkable is the process of constructing a tumultuous story based on a real incident, and Dostoevsky's quick and athletic mind can be seen even in these very short notes.

The actual Ilyinsky case was an unusual but very simple one, in which he was sentenced to 20 years for the murder of his father, but was later found innocent.

However, Dostoevsky, by surrounding Ilyinsky with only two characters, his lover and the brother of the real culprit, creates a series of intricate events centering on the emotional movements of scheming, love entanglement, jealousy, treachery, suffering of sin, confession, atonement, forgiveness of sins, salvation of souls through suffering, and reconciliation between the brothers. The tragedy is a dynamic, propulsive tragedy, which can only be described as Dostoevskian in the sense that we are all familiar with.
Some line breaks have been made.

Suiseisha, Naoto Sugisato, The Brothers Karamazov [notes, commentary and chronology], p. 206-8.

Freud states that the Oedipus Complex gave rise to "Karamazov," and as you will see from this commentary, Dostoevsky's father's murder was constructed from an actual incident.

And from there, it was created while being combined with the plots of "Atheism" and "The Life of a Great Sinner" mentioned earlier.

The Emergence of "The Brothers Karamazov" 3: The Emergence of Children's Issues: Interest in the Problem of Child Abuse

One of Dostoevsky's creative ideas that surfaced in the 1870s was the novel with a child as the protagonist.

Dostoevsky has created several independent-minded, proud, animated, and unforgettable He has created several children, and during this period he envisions a full-length novel in which children are the only protagonists.

The children exchange "secret agreements to create their own children's empire," they "discuss republics and monarchies," they communicate with juvenile criminals in prison (arsonists, train overthrowers), and they leave notes that "the children are prodigal atheists" (ПCC, 16.6).

For this conception, Dostoevsky was also actively involved in the research.

In 1873, Dostoevsky visited the Petersburg Prison for Juvenile Offenders to collect data on the mental state of juveniles who had been thrown out of town, and in the summer of 1977, he had A. Ф. Koni - the prosecutor he consulted when writing Karamazov, Vol. 9: "Interrogation Before Indictment" and Vol. 12: "Mistrial" - give him a tour of the Ovta Children's Home, where he spent many hours talking with the young inmates. In the summer of 1977, he was taken on a tour of a children's reformatory in Ovta by A. F. Koni, a prosecutor who had advised him in the writing of Part IX "Pre-Indictment Interrogation" and Part XII "Mistrial" of Karamazov.

He also read the pedagogical literature of Pestalozzi, Flöbel, and Lev Tolstoy, and in March 1878, just before writing "Karamazov," he wrote to the writer and pedagogue B. B. Mikhailov, asking him to tell him about the children's "events, habits, responses, language, one-language, characteristics, family environment, faith, delinquency, innocence" (ПCC,30 KH.1.12) and asks him to tell him everything he knows about them.

It goes without saying again that this sustained interest in children is the result of the tenth volume, "The Boys," featuring Ilyusha and Korya Krasotkin in "Karamazov," as well as Ilyusha's funeral scene in the epilogue.

In relation to the subject of children, there is one issue in particular that came into focus during this period. This is child abuse.

In his Diary of a Writer, Dostoevsky discusses the Kroneberg and Junkovsky cases, in which he was charged with child abuse.

For example, the former case was this. Kroneberg, a law student with university education in Warsaw and Brussels, fell in love with a woman in Warsaw, but they did not get married and parted ways.

Later, the woman gives birth to a child, but she is unable to raise him, so she places him in a foster home in Geneva.

In 1874, Kroneberg married another woman, who took the child the following year and brought him back to Petersburg.

But the father believes that the seven-year-old girl has become so wild during her stay in Geneva that she cannot even recognize her father's face.

The abuse begins immediately under the same old pretext of discipline for misbehavior. It escalates to 15 minutes of chastisement with a "sipitzluten" (a stick made of several willow branches used for punishment in the army and in prisons).

The cruelty was so severe that the servant, distressed, filed a complaint with the authorities, and the abuse became public, and Kroneberg was prosecuted.

A jury trial is held in the Petersburg District Court on January 23-24, 1876, and a verdict of acquittal is returned, thanks in part to a well-spoken defense by the talented lawyer Spasovich.

Dostoevsky was so interested in the case that he devoted the entire second chapter of his Diary of a Writer, February 1876 (ПCC, 22, 50-73) to criticizing the defense's three-hundred-argument legal argument, which appealed to the simple emotions of the jury through sophistry and fraud, rather than the case itself, and also He also turns his attention to the evils of the jury system.

The Kroneberg case is nothing less than the first of the three cases of child abuse that Ivan Karamazov gives as evidence of the absurdity of the world created by God in "Karamazov," Book V, Chapter 4, "Rebellion.

Ivan also mentions the case of a five-year-old girl who was repeatedly chastised on a daily basis, and finally locked in a latrine in the middle of the night because she could not tell him she had a bowel movement, and made to eat feces all over her face, and an old lord who made an eight-year-old boy kick his dog because a stone he had thrown had hit his hound's leg and injured him. All of these incidents actually happened and were widely reported in the newspapers and magazines of the time, causing quite a stir.
Some line breaks have been made.

Suiseisha, Naoto Sugisato, "[Detailed notes] The Brothers Karamazov [notes, commentary, and chronology]," p. 208-9.

Dostoevsky was terribly disturbed by the abuse of children. To learn more about his feelings toward children, please visitDiary of a Writer."is very informative. It is clear what Dostoevsky was interested in and what he was trying to convey to his readers.

I was also surprised to learn that Dostoevsky was such a person when I read "Diary of a Writer. The above article is about how it happened, but I highly recommend "Diary of a Writer" because you can feel Dostoevsky's kindness and his gaze toward children.

The Budding "Brothers Karamazov" 4 - The Problem of Father and Son. "The Accidental Family.

The problem of the child is, from a different perspective, also a "father-son" problem.

Dostoevsky called it "The Accidental Family" and brought it to the foreground in the mid-1970s.

The most coherent discussion of this issue is found in the article "Diary of a Writer," July/August 1877, chapter 1, section 2 (ПCC. 25. 176-182).

The writer first tells of an unpleasant little incident he happened to encounter that summer.

On the journey, a well-dressed Russian gentleman on the train gave a young boy of about eight a cigarette at the boy's request, and the boy seemed to be used to the scene, smoking incessantly.

In this unpleasant yet trivial incident, Dostoevsky sensitively detects the decadence peculiar to transitional social conditions and extends it to the issue of the "accidental family," which he has been discussing for a long time.

The artist imagines specific scenes and, while expressing his deep concern, describes the dismal state of fathers who have lost sight of the universal principles of life, who have no fixed ideas about child-rearing and are ruled by laziness, apathy, and indifference, and the devastation of children who are left to be raised by such parents by chance, and the depressing future that awaits them.

The fathers of the "accidental family" will daily show their children "vulgarity, vile behavior to gain status and money, ugly schemes, and disgusting slavery," as well as "petty wings, domestic quarrels, quarrels, reproaches, scoldings, or curses directed at the children because of the amount of money they have to eat" (TaM Жe, 180), which will leave an indelible stain on their children's hearts. The "curse that is directed at children because of their petty wings, domestic quarrels, quarrels, reproaches, scoldings, or the abundance of food" (TaM Жe, 180) will leave an indelible stain on the minds of children.

Parents who are lazy, weak-willed, and lack patience take the help of the stick, not love or labor, in raising their children. The "command, not explanation, coercion, not admonition" (TaM Жe, 190) prevails.

Children who fall victim to irresponsible parental egoism will naturally develop cynicism, obstinacy, and a warped sense of justice, and will eventually lose their flexible minds and become cruel.

They come to short-circuit, "If there is nothing sacred, that is, if it does not matter what abominations it does" (TaM Жe, 179).

Dostoevsky lamented that children are forced to embark on life's journey with their pockets stuffed full of dirty memories, warning that "man must not leave childhood and embark on life without the germ of something positive and beautiful, nor let the next generation depart without the germ of something positive and beautiful" (TaM Жe.181). Without the sprouting of positive and beautiful things, man must not leave childhood and embark on life, and without the sprouting of positive and beautiful things, he must not let the next generation depart" (TaM Жe.181), warning that the souls of impressionable children are the ones who need great ideas and great emotions.

It was in the summer of 1877 that Dostoevsky wrote these words in "The Writer's Diary. From here to the starting point of "The Brothers Karamazov" would be only a few steps. It is now clear to all that Fyodor Pavlovich is the archetype of the "accidental family" father.
Some line breaks have been made.

Suiseisha, Naoto Sugisato, The Brothers Karamazov [notes, commentary, and chronology], p. 210-211.

Everything we have talked about so far is important, but what is said in this section is especially important.

Freudian theory asserts that the father in "The Brothers Karamazov" was modeled on Dostoevsky's own father, but in fact the "accidental family" problem discussed here was the motif.

Furthermore, to begin with, Dostoevsky's father does not resemble Karamazov's father. We discussed this in detail in our previous article, so please refer to that as well.

Conclusion - Why is "The Brothers Karamazov" so difficult?

So far, we have introduced the motivation and flow of writing "The Brothers Karamazov" with reference to "The Brothers Karamazov: Notes, Commentary, and Chronology," written by Naoto Sugisato.

This is something that is difficult to see even when reading "The Brothers Karamazov" itself, and even when reading its commentary, it is not often discussed in this depth.

However, after reading this article, you may have a better idea of how "The Brothers Karamazov" came to be and what exactly Dostoevsky was trying to say with this novel.

First of all, the fundamental theme of the novel is "atheism" and "the life of a great sinner" in the proposed work.

While these titles alone might lead one to believe that they were written with atheistic ideas, Dostoevsky's words showed that in fact the opposite is true.

Then he meets Ilyinsky, a man falsely accused of killing his father.

The problem of child abuse. The story incorporates various elements, such as the problem of "accidental families.

This is the path that Dostoevsky followed.

Knowing this background, "The Brothers Karamazov" looks different, doesn't it?

Naoto Sugisato's "[Detailed Note Edition] The Brothers Karamazov [Notes, Commentary, and Chronology]" looks at "Karamazov" in more detail from here, and various other reference books provide commentary on Dostoevsky.

Among them, I particularly recommend the following three works as introductory texts.

There are many books related to Dostoevsky that are extremely interesting and stimulating, but if you ask me if it is a good introductory book, I have to admit that it would be tough.

In that aspect, these three books are highly recommended, as you do not need to have any knowledge of Dostoevsky to learn about the depth of his work, his characteristics, and his life.

And while not a commentary on "The Brothers Karamazov" or Dostoevsky's philosophy, the following book is also highly recommended.

This is a memoir written by Dostoevsky's wife, Mrs. Anna, and provides a rare glimpse of Dostoevsky from their first meeting in 1866 to his death in 1881. I fell in love with Dostoevsky from the bottom of my heart after reading this memoir. Dostoevsky was a hopeless man who became addicted to gambling and ended up in a stupor. It is a wonderful biography that reveals many unexpected facets of Dostoevsky, such as the man who continues to write even though he suffers for his living, the man who loves his wife, the man who is devoted to his children, and so on. Please read this book, too. I am sure you will fall in love with Dostoevsky.

Now, I have talked at length about "The Brothers Karamazov".

In this work, there are various opinions on both sides of the issue.

Various opinions are quickly appearing on the Internet, such as "it's difficult," "it's not interesting," "it's boring," "it's unnecessary because the issue of God is not relevant to modern Japan," "it's not worth reading," and so on.

But if you have read this far in this article, I am sure you will understand.

How serious Dostoevsky was about this work, and what message he was trying to send to his readers."to.

Once you understand that, your view of this work will naturally be determined, won't it?

Besides, this work was written for Russian intellectuals in the first place. Therefore, a certain level of knowledge and ability is required. In other words, it is a prerequisite that the reader has knowledge of the Russian Orthodox Church as well as European and Russian affairs of the time.

So, to begin with, this work is not something that a modern Japanese person can easily understand by reading it out of the blue. Of course, it can be read without previous knowledge. But even without previous knowledge, this work has the power to make you feel its interest and depth. It is indeed a masterpiece of one of the world's leading classics. However, there is no need to feel down on yourself if you do not enjoy reading this book. If you think it is natural that you don't understand it, you will see it in a different light.

As I have told you before in this article, I was shocked when I read "The Brothers Karamazov" because I am a monk and had religious problems.

I found this work tremendously interesting because of my knowledge of religion and my own concerns about how to live as a religious person.

So, does this work make sense to those who are not interested in religion?

It never is.

To study religion is to study human history and culture, or even human beings themselves.

What were people thinking, worrying, and suffering at that time? And what kind of hope were they trying to hold on to?

That is what this novel allows us to consider. That chapter of the Grand Inquisitor, which talks about the problem of religion, is also an insight that went to the root of the human condition.

Of course, it is certainly more enjoyable if you have knowledge of the Russian Orthodox Church, the historical background of Europe and Russia at that time, and Dostoevsky himself.

So, read the reference books and other books mentioned above, and don't dismiss it as "I don't care about God," but take the time to think about it. I think that is the secret to savoring this novel more. The issue of religion cannot be mocked. Religion still has a great influence on the world's movements. The difficult thing about religion is that many things that do not appear to be religious at first glance are driven by religious principles.

Many Japanese people state, "I am not religious," but in my opinion, there are no more religious people than the Japanese. The Japanese say "I am not religious," meaning "I am not a fervent believer in any particular religion," but in reality, they clearly have a strong religious aspect.

I can't talk about it in detail in this article because it would be too long, but the issue of "what is religion" is very important to our blog. There are various articles on this subject in the blog, which I hope you will find interesting. My 2019 World Circumnavigation is written on the very topic of "What is Religion? If you read it, I hope you will feel how close religion is to us.

Religion affects our minds and actions more than we think. By learning about them, we can also learn about the origins and history of the world in which we live. Above all, it is an opportunity to rethink the very way we live in the present. Don't you think it would be a waste to dismiss it as a waste of time?

The Brothers Karamazov" offers such a wonderful opportunity.

Of course, one can read this work from many different aspects, not just the religious aspect. It is possible to read it without worrying about religion. However, I think it is important to understand Dostoevsky's intention to explore the existence of Christ in the Russian Orthodox Church to the utmost and to make it into a work of art.

The above is "What was the theme of "The Brothers Karamazov" and in what context was it written - what did Dostoevsky want to convey in this novel?

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