Dostoevsky

Author: (French) André Gide
Translator: Shen Zhiming
France/France
Publisher:
Publish Date: 2006-11-01
Features: This book is a collection of texts where Gide strongly advocated for Dostoevsky as a "great writer." As a dissenter, Gide identified with Dostoevsky because he not only questioned the existence of God but also used the power of the "devil" to expose the devil, evil, and sin. Gide even believed that "Dostoevsky was as great as Ibsen and Nietzsche, perhaps even more important." Although Dostoevsky was contradictory in both his thoughts and actions, his efforts to directly articulate his ideas from the perspectives of ethics, sociology, political science, psychology, and literary theory all failed, yet he was a master at revealing the secrets of the psyche. His exploration of the minds of his novel characters was comparable to Freud's research on patients' psychology, and his novels "achieved a miracle."
Western literary trends and schools are numerous and have risen and fallen, with an endless stream of literary theory works. Almost every era has produced influential literary theorists. As literary theorists, they generally have a complete set of theories that guide and dominate the literary scene of their time.