(30) Afterword - After Dostoevsky's Journey
Finally, after writing over 30 articlesDostoevsky and His Wife's Fateful Journey: Travels in Western Europe in Madness and Love.will also be the last article.
In this travelogue, Dostoevsky's wife, Mrs. AnnaRecollections."andDiary"The couple has been following in their footsteps with reference to the
Some of you may be surprised that more than half of my article, although called a travelogue, consists of quotations from Mrs. Anna.
But for me, it was a necessity. I felt uncomfortable introducing their journey based solely on my own personal subjective viewpoint. Besides, it is not every day that we get a chance to hear the direct voice of Mrs. Anna. No, almost never. Even Dostoevsky's novels are rarely read. However, the voice of Mrs. Anna is the key to understanding Dostoevsky. Dostoevsky may have a dark and grim image, but I thought that Mrs. Anna's voice would be very significant in overturning this image. That is why I have introduced Mrs. Anna's words in this way.
What was your impression of Dostoevsky when you listened to Anna's words? Did it change your image of Dostoevsky?
I fell in love with Dostoevsky from the bottom of my heart because I read Madame Anna's "Recollections".
Dostoevsky, a hopeless man who kept making his wife cry because of his gambling addiction.
Dostoevsky, a loving wife.
Dostoevsky with his children.
Dostoevsky overcame his gambling addiction by getting the best partner.
Dostoevsky, who is good at coffee and grinding it.
Various Dostoevskys are presented in this travelogue.
I love, love, love this dramatic journey of Dostoevsky and his wife Anna.
And I can only assume that their meeting was fate. As for this.(14) I can only assume that Dostoevsky's marriage to Madame Anna was predestined - why did she love him and try to protect him?"As I told you in the article "The first time they met, it was fate that brought them together.
I am also always struck by their suffering and resurrection from such a fateful encounter. I think Dostoevsky is truly a lucky man. Without his companion, Mrs. Anna, his life would have been truly ruined.
And Anna herself has grown a great deal through this trip. I have written about this many times in this travelogue, and I am amazed at how much she has grown.
For me, the trip to the city with the memory of the tripod of Dostovsky and Anna was a wonderful experience that shook me to the depths of my heart. In this travelogue, I have tried to describe all of my thoughts and feelings. I hope my thoughts and feelings have been conveyed to you in some small way.
However, there are two things I must tell you about this travelogue. I feel it would not be fair if I did not mention them. I feel it would not be fair if I did not mention them.
In this travelogue, I have ventured to touch very little on the ideological aspects of Dostoevsky's works. I was afraid that if I delved into his works or his thought, this travelogue would become difficult to write and would be too voluminous. I wanted to focus on the couple's travels and their humanity. For this reason, I dared not touch on their works or their ideology.
If you are interested in Dostoevsky's works and thoughts, we would be happy to refer you to the commentaries summarized in the following article.
List of recommended Dostoevsky commentaries.
A list of recommended commentaries on "Dostoevsky and Christianity."
The other issue is about Dostoevsky himself. I have already mentioned in this travelogue that Dostoevsky is a complex person.
It is undeniable that Dostoevsky is somewhat glorified in Madame Anna's "Recollections. This was also pointed out in the translator's commentary of "Recollections. However, the translator also points out the following.
In "Recollections," the author's efforts to be accurate and objective in describing and presenting the very multifaceted facts of Dostoevsky's life are clearly evident. The fact that she often draws on her notebooks, the memoirs and statements of contemporaries, and letters to friends of the writer is the best evidence of this. The tone of Mrs. Dostoevsky's narrative, with its thoughtfulness, complete argumentation, and unpretentiousness in conveying to Dostoevsky's readers all the advantages and disadvantages of the writer's "domestic and private life," is sure to be a favorite.
The contentious nature of this memoir is sometimes emphasized by the author. -I have often wondered why he was born in the first place," he writes. -"I have often wondered how the legends about his sombre and gloomy character, the legends I have read and heard from my acquaintances, could have come to be.
This memoir by Anna Grigoryevna is only one facet of the truth about Dostoevsky, although it may be said that thetruthThis is important.
Misuzu Shobo Publishing, translated by Yutaka Matsushita, Anna Dostoevskaya, "Reminiscences of Dostoevsky 2," P284-285
As we have said many times, Dostoevsky was a complex man. Even in "Recollections," we were to see a variety of Dostoevsky, including a gambling addict, a tantrummer, a loving wife, a father to his children, and so on. In my travelogue, I also talked about how Dostoevsky became more rounded through his travels.
But he was still a tantrummer and an unusually jealous person. He had not completely recovered from his temper tantrums, and there were days when he would sink into a depression.
More to the point, he also makes references to the war and the Jewish question in the context of the European historical situation of the time. This is one of the points on which criticism of Dostoevsky is made from a contemporary perspective.
I did not discuss this matter in this travelogue because it is beyond my control, but it is an issue that cannot be ignored in capturing Dostoevsky.
In other words, Dostoevsky is not a perfect saint.
I like Dostoevsky. But I do not blindly believe in Dostoevsky as a great man to be respected.
I love Dostoevsky as a complex human being with good and bad parts.
It is also important to make it clear that what is wrong is wrong. It is also respectful to great people.
However, it seems to me that Dostoevsky's views on war and the Jewish question are more a problem of Russia itself and Europe than of Dostoevsky as an individual. It is my personal feeling that it is problematic to dismiss them only from a modern perspective.
Dostoevsky is a huge human being. He was no ordinary man; he lived his life on a tremendous scale. He was a man who was willing to go to extremes in everything he did. His life opens our eyes to the "size of the world. And so it is with his works of fiction.
The Dostoevsky couple's trip to Europe is tantamount to a work of art told on a truly gigantic scale.
I sensed great drama in this trip. I don't know how many times I have been touched by their footsteps. I don't know how many times I have followed in their footsteps and been moved.
I like Dostoevsky. But above all, I like "Dostoevsky with Mrs. Anna.
We would be so happy if the journey of these two people could be seen by as many people as possible.
I wrote this article at the end of March 2023. It will soon be four years since I started studying Dostoevsky. This travelogue is the culmination of that time. I would like to thank all of you who have taken the time to read this article.
After this, our blog will be updated with articles about Rome, but for me personally, I will now plunge into the study of Buddhism. Finally, I am back in the mainland. I will study the history, thought, and culture of Buddhism along the route of its transmission from India, Asia, China, and Japan. My ultimate goal is to write a novel biography of Shinran Shonin. My research is now entering a new phase, and I have no regrets whatsoever after nearly four years of research on "Shinran and Dostoevsky.
I hope you will continue to keep in touch with me in the future.
This concludes "Dostoevsky and His Wife's Fateful Journey: A Western European Journey of Madness and Love.
thanks
What inspired me to embark on this trip was actually Dr. Toyofusa Kinoshita, whom I read more than three years ago.Dostoevsky, His Dialogic World.The book was called.
In this book, there is a travelogue titled "Winter Withers in Ems," and I became very interested in the places in Europe associated with Dostoevsky after reading his stories about his travels to these places. I was surprised to learn that there are places like this in Europe! I want to visit there someday myself! I thought strongly about it at the time.
It was a long time before I could realistically plan a trip in 2022, but my desire to visit Dostoevsky-related places in Europe was greatly influenced not only by Anna's "Recollections of Dostoevsky," but also by Kinoshita's book.
Then I joined the Dostoevsky Society, and Dr. Kinoshita has personally exchanged e-mails with me and taught me many things about Dostoevsky. I really appreciate the local information and words of encouragement he gave me on this trip as well. I would like to take this opportunity to thank you.
I would also like to thank Dr. Naoto Saisu, a lecturer at Nagoya University of Foreign Studies, who has been a great help to me during the trip and after my return to Japan, consulting with me on Dostoevsky and Russian literature on a daily basis. I look forward to working with him again in the future. Thank you very much.
I also want to thank my parents and family for always worrying about me. I am truly grateful to be able to study in this way. I would like to continue to do what I can for the temple and for Buddhism.
Finally, I would also like to deeply and profoundly thank all of our readers who always visit our blog. I will continue to learn as I always have. I look forward to your continued support.
March 26, 2023 Shinshu Kibeha Hakodate Kinshokuji Temple Takahiro Ueda
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