People who have been harmed and insulted

Author: (Russian) Dostoevsky/Lou Ziliang
Publisher:
Publish Date: 2004-11-01
Features: This is one of the collections of Dostoevsky's works, depicting the persecution of the bourgeois adventurer Varkovsky against the "little people," especially two vulnerable women, and the tragedy of the two families he masterminded. The novel shows deep sympathy for the weak and mercilessly exposes and scorns the selfish, hypocritical, greedy, and despicable nature of the bourgeoisie. The Hurt and Humiliated People is one of the important works of the great Russian writer Dostoevsky in the 19th century. The novel portrays the persecution of the bourgeois adventurer Varkovsky against the "little people," especially two vulnerable women, and the tragedy of the two families he masterminded. The declining aristocrat Ignatyev is the steward of Varkovsky Duke, who diligently manages the duke's household and estates but fails to gain his recognition or trust. The two often quarrel and eventually break up, ending up in court. To destroy the Ignatyev family, Varkovsky appropriates the only estate he owned and goes to great lengths to force his son Alyosha to marry the inheritor of a million-dollar fortune, leaving the steward's daughter Nadya, who was in love with Alyosha, abandoned. Another victim is the family of the elderly Schmidt. His daughter ran away with the duke after being seduced, only to be left with nothing and destitute, leaving behind an orphaned illegitimate daughter, Nelya, who later also dies of poverty and illness. The novel shows deep sympathy for the weak and mercilessly exposes and scorns the selfish, hypocritical, greedy, and despicable nature of the bourgeoisie.