The House of the Dead ~ Entire Book
- Bigwig1973
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Re: The House of the Dead ~ Entire Book
La Belle Dame Sans Mercy, Merci, Maria - Chartier, Keats, Hamik?
- Bigwig1973
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"Reasoning had brought him to doubt, and prevented him from seeing what he ought to do and what he ought not. When he did not think, but simply lived, he was continually aware of the presence of an infallible judge in his soul, determining which of two possible courses of action was the better and which was the worse, and as soon as he did not act rightly, he was at once aware of it." (714)
La Belle Dame Sans Mercy, Merci, Maria - Chartier, Keats, Hamik?
- Bigwig1973
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"Through its (the imp of the perverse's) promptings we act without comprehensible object; or, if this shall be understood as a contradiction in terms, we may so far modify the proposition as to say, that through its promptings we act, for the very reason that we should not. In theory, no reason can be more unreasonable; but, in fact, there is none more strong. With certain minds, under certain conditions, it becomes absolutely irresistible." (272)
La Belle Dame Sans Mercy, Merci, Maria - Chartier, Keats, Hamik?
- Bigwig1973
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I had not heard that he was rumored to have killed his own wife. I sometimes wonder if the Greek Oedipus complex, or numerous variations of it, migrated into Russia via superstition. Or, love: If one killed their own wife, then one feels control over their life or death. Or, possible mafia origins. Doesn't the mob almost always get drug into things? Apparently, if someone vouches for another in the mob, then that means something. According to Donnie Brasco, The Godfather, etc.mouseofcards89 wrote: People surmised that Dostoevsky had actually killed his own wife after this was published. In truth, he was sentenced to exile in Siberia for political sedition. At one time, he was responsible for operating a print press on behalf of a faction within the Petrashevskys, which, had it been discovered, would have meant a death sentence.
"House of the Dead" espouses Dostoevsky's primary psychological premise. Specifically, it claims that with a why you can justify any how. According to him, the worst punishment conceivable is not beating or jail time or any of those conventional avenues. Rather, it is pointless work. One must have a perceived notion of a grander purpose when it comes to one's labours, an ominous implication. It asserts that the human being can endure any succession of outrages, but must be allowed to assert a 'self.' This is why the prisoners depicted in the book are prone to spontaneous drinking bouts, destructive behaviours that are against the rules, etc. They know what is in their best interests, Dostoevsky would argue, but choose to act in contravention to those interests because doing so establishes self.
This is not a prison memoir in the sense that most people see it. It could just as easily be perceived as a social critique of the world. Many of its core ideas resonate a great deal with modern culture.
Also, I read that he was pardoned from death, but still sentenced to Siberia for his crimes.
I also don't agree that he expected human beings to endure any succession of outrages, nor do I feel that he believed that they must assert a self. I do agree that it could be a social critique, however.
La Belle Dame Sans Mercy, Merci, Maria - Chartier, Keats, Hamik?
- Abdulwahab Maryam
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I read it a while a go though...should dust it up and read it again.