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In this book, acclaimed Dostoevsky biographer Joseph Frank explores some of the most important aspects of nineteenth and twentieth century Russian culture, literature, and history. Delving into the distinctions of the Russian novel as well as the conflicts between the religious peasant world and the educated Russian elite, Between Religion and Rationality displays the cogent reflections of one of the most distinguished and versatile critics in the field. Frank's essays provide a discriminating look at four of Dostoevsky's most famous novels, discuss the debate between J. M. Coetzee and Mario Vargas Llosa on the issue of Dostoevsky and evil, and confront Dostoevsky's anti-Semitism. The collection also examines such topics as Orlando Figes's sweeping survey of the history of Russian culture, the life of Pushkin, and Oblomov's influence on Samuel Beckett. Investigating the omnipresent religious theme that runs throughout Russian culture, even in the antireligious Chekhov, Frank argues that no other major European literature was as much preoccupied as the Russian with the tensions between religion and rationality. Between Religion and Rationality highlights this unique quality of Russian literature and culture, offering insights for general readers and experts alike.
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BETWEEN RELIGION AND RATIONALITY This page intentionally left blank BETWEEN RELIGION AND RATIONALITY E S S AY S I N R U S S I A N L I T E R AT U R E A N D C U LT U R E Joseph Frank PRINCETON UNIVERSITY PRESS PRINCETON AND OXFORD COPYRIGHT © 2010 BY JOSEPH FRANK PUBLISHED BY PRINCETON UNIVERSITY PRESS, 41 WILLIAM STREET, PRINCETON, NEW JERSEY 08540 REQUESTS FOR PERMISSION TO REPRODUCE MATERIAL FROM THIS WORK SHOULD BE SENT TO PERMISSIONS, PRINCETON UNIVERSITY PRESS IN THE UNITED KINGDOM: PRINCETON UNIVERSITY PRESS, 6 OXFORD STREET, WOODSTOCK, OXFORDSHIRE OX20 1TW ALL RIGHTS RESERVED LIBRARY OF CONGRESS CATALOGING-IN-PUBLICATION DATA FRANK, JOSEPH, 1918– BETWEEN RELIGION AND RATIONALITY : ESSAYS IN RUSSIAN LITERATURE AND CULTURE / JOSEPH FRANK. P. CM. INCLUDES INDEX. ISBN 978-0-691-14256-2 (CLOTH : ALK. PAPER) ISBN (PBK. : ALK. PAPER) 978-0-691-14566-2 1. RUSSIAN LITERATURE—19TH CENTURY—HISTORY AND CRITICISM. 2. AUTHORS, RUSSIAN—19TH CENTURY—HISTORY AND CRITICISM. 3. DOSTOYEVSKY, FYODOR, 1821–1881—RELIGION. 4. DOSTOYEVSKY, FYODOR, 1821–1881—PHILOSOPHY. 5. RELIGION AND LITERATURE—RUSSIA. 6. PHILOSOPHY IN LITERATURE. 7. RUSSIA—INTELLECTUAL LIFE—1801–1917. I. TITLE. PG3012.F73 2010 891.709'003—DC22 2009043863 BRITISH LIBRARY CATALOGING-IN-PUBLICATION DATA IS AVAILABLE THIS BOOK HAS BEEN COMPOSED IN GALLIARD PRINTED ON ACID-FREE PAPER. ∞ PRESS.PRINCETON.EDU PRINTED IN THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA 1 3 5 7 9 10 8 6 4 2 CONTENTS INTRODUCTION 1 PART I. CLASSICS ONE Poor Folk and House of the Dead 9 TWO 29 The Idiot THREE Demons 46 FOUR War and Peace 64 PART II. THE RUSSIAN TRADITION FIVE Natasha’s Dance: A Cultural History of Russia 87 SIX A Life of Pushkin 107 SEVEN Oblomov and Goncharov 118 EIGHT Lydia Ginzburg, On Psychological Prose 129 NINE Richard Pipes, Russian Conservatism and Its Critics PART III. THE DOSTOEVSKIAN ORBIT TEN Dostoevsky and Anti-Semitism 159 ELEVEN In Search of Dostoevsky 173 143 vi CONTENTS TWELVE Arkady Kovner 185 THIRTEEN J. M. Coetzee, The Master of Petersburg 196 FOURTEEN Dostoevsky and Evil