St. John 12:24, used by Dostoyevskij as an epigraph to his last and highly
acclaimed novel BpaTbJI KapaMa30BbI (The Brothers Karamazov), served as an
inspiration for Andre Gide. The title of the latter's contentious
autobiography Si le grain ne meurt (If it die ... ), is part of the same biblical verse.
The significance of Dostoyevskij's epigraph and Gide's title are critically
examined with regard to ideologies expressed in their literary works.
Analogies and contrasts are scrutinised: considerable similarities but more
discrepancies are discerned. Intense crises in Dostoyevskij's life led to an
upward movement, reflected in his oeuvre, reaching out toward Christ's
message as revealed by St. John 12:24. On the other hand, Gide started his
career imbued with the above message, but gradually he deviated from it and
died an atheist. His fascination with Dostoyevskij prompted him to write a
profound biography on the great Russian, containing a perceptive article on
The Brothers Karamazov when this novel was still practically unknown in the
West. Dostoyevskij's pre-eminence as ideological author, psychologist,
philosopher and artist is highlighted while Gide is disclosed as the moralistic
immoralist of his time.
The thesis suggested here is that Dostoyevskij's ideology of self-abnegation in
order to be regenerated into eternal life challenged Gide to reject this concept. Therein lies his paradoxical "adaptation".
The purpose is to uncover the religious perceptions in Dostoyevskij's four
major novels, to establish that his fictional characters, though never used as mouthpieces for the author, represent his universal philosophy and transmit
the author's quest for truth to the reader, and finally to examine Gide's
reaction to Dostoyevskij's influence / Classics and Modern European Languages / D. Litt. et Phil. (Russian)
| Identifer | oai:union.ndltd.org:netd.ac.za/oai:union.ndltd.org:unisa/oai:uir.unisa.ac.za:10500/18189 |
| Date | 09 1900 |
| Creators | McCreath, Agneta Antonia |
| Contributors | Misch, M. K. E., Daugherty, J. D., Buchholtz, H. P. |
| Source Sets | South African National ETD Portal |
| Language | English |
| Detected Language | English |
| Type | Thesis |
| Format | 1 online resource (215 leaves) |
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