Idiot

Just two years after completing Crime and Punishment, which explored the mind of a murderer, Dostoevsky produced another masterpiece, The Idiot. This time the author portrays a truly beautiful soul—a character he found difficult to bring to life because, as he wrote, "beauty is the ideal, and neither my country, nor civilized Europe, know what that ideal of beauty is.” The result was one of Dostoevsky’s greatest characters—Prince Myshkin, a saintly, Christ-like, yet deeply human figure.

The story begins when Myshkin arrives on Russian soil after a stay in a Swiss sanatorium. Scorned by St. Petersburg society as an idiot for his generosity and innocence, the prince finds himself at the center of a struggle between a rich, kept woman and a beautiful, virtuous girl, who both hope to win his affection. Unfortunately, Myshkin’s very goodness seems to bring disaster to everyone he meets. The shocking denouement tragically reveals how, in a world obsessed with money, power, and sexual conquest, a sanatorium is the only place for a saint. 

La doar doi ani dupa finalizarea Crimei si pedepsei, care a explorat mintea unui criminal, Dostoievski a produs o alta capodopera, Idiotul. De data aceasta autorul portretizeaza un suflet cu adevarat frumos - un personaj pe care i s-a parut greu sa-l aduca la viata pentru ca, asa cum a scris, „frumusetea este idealul si nici tara mea, nici Europa civilizata nu stiu ce este acel ideal de frumusete”. Rezultatul a fost unul dintre cele mai mari personaje ale lui Dostoievski - printul Myshkin, o figura sfanta, asemanatoare cu Hristos, dar profund umana. Povestea incepe cand Myshkin ajunge pe pamantul rus dupa un sejur intr-un sanatoriu elvetian.