Constance Garnett war eine maßgebliche englische Übersetzerin russischer Literatur des 19. Jahrhunderts. Sie war maßgeblich daran beteiligt, die Werke von Leo Tolstoi, Fjodor Dostojewski und Anton Tschechow erstmals in großem Umfang dem englischsprachigen Publikum vorzustellen. Ihre Übersetzungen prägten maßgeblich die Rezeption und das Verständnis dieser ikonischen russischen Autoren in der westlichen Welt. Garnetts Bemühungen machten ihre tiefgründigen literarischen Beiträge einem globalen Publikum zugänglich und beliebt.
Dostojewsksijs letzter großer Roman
Die drei Söhne des lüsternen und närrischen alten Karamasow kehren in das Elternhaus zurück. Voll Hass und Verachtung wünschen sie seinen Tod herbei, und kurz danach wird der Vater tatsächlich ermordet aufgefunden. Alles deutet auf Dimitrij hin, den ältesten Sohn und Rivalen des Vaters bei der begehrenswerten Gruschenka. So beginnt die berühmte Kriminalgeschichte, die den Leser auf vielen Seiten- und Irrwegen immer tiefer in die Verstrickungen von Verbrechen und Schuld mit hineinzieht, und erst am Ende kommt die Auflösung. Doch im Mittelpunkt steht nicht das kriminelle Delikt als solches: es sind die tragischen Konflikte der Brüder, von denen jeder ein Lebensprinzip verkörpert, das in einem fortschreitenden Erkenntnisprozess infrage gestellt wird.
Nach einem Sanatoriumsaufenthalt kehrt der kindlich-naive und an Epilepsie leidende Fürst Myschkin nach Rußland zurück. Sein demütiges und mitleidendes Wesen wirkt anziehend auf seine von Schmerz, Schuld und Bosheit geprägte Umgebung. Immer weiter verstrickt er sich in die Ränkespiele um die schöne Nastasja und seinen Rivalen Rogoschin. Neben Cervantes’ Don Quijote und Dickens’ Mr Pickwick gehört der tragikomische Held aus Dostojewskis drittem Roman als Verkörperung des Sittlich-Schönen zu den großen idealistischen Figuren der Weltliteratur.
Der zweite große Roman des russischen Schriftstellers Lew Nikolajewitsch Tolstoj zeichnet ein vielschichtiges Porträt der russischen Gesellschaft der Zarenzeit. Zentrales Thema dieses Romans ist die tragische Liebsbeziehung der Titelheldin Anna Karenina.
In Schuld und Sühne verbinden sich psychologischer Spürsinn und mystische Weltanschauung, Kriminalgeschichte und Heilsgeschehen: der vollkommenste der fünf großen Romane Dostojewskis.
Man is sometimes extraordinarily, passionately, in love with suffering...
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8 Lesestunden
Fyodor Dostoyevsky was born on 11th November 1821. He was introduced to literature very early. At age three, it was heroic sagas, fairy tales and legends. At four his mother used the Bible to teach him to read and write. His immersion in literature was wide and varied. His imagination, he later recalled, was brought to life by his parents' nightly readings. On 27th September 1837 tragedy struck. Dostoyevsky's mother died of tuberculosis. Dostoyevsky and his brother were now enrolled at the Nikolayev Military Engineering Institute, their academic studies abandoned for military careers. Dostoyevsky disliked the academy, his interests were drawing and architecture. His father died on 16th June 1839 and perhaps triggered Dostoyevsky's epilepsy. However, he continued his studies, passed his exams and obtained the rank of engineer cadet. Dostoyevsky's first completed work was a translation of Honoré de Balzac's novel Eugénie Grandet, published in 1843. It was not successful. He believed his financial difficulties could be overcome by writing his own novel. The result was 'Poor Folk', published in 1846, and a commercial success. His next novel, 'The Double', appeared in January 1846. Dostoyevsky now became immersed in socialism. However, 'The Double' received bad reviews and he now had more frequent seizures. With debts mounting he joined the utopian socialist Betekov circle, which helped him to survive. When that dissolved he joined the Petrashevsky Circle, which proposed social reforms. The Petrashevsky Circle was then denounced and Dostoyevsky accused of reading and distributing banned works. Arrests took place in late April 1849 and its members sentenced to death by firing squad. The Tsar commuted the sentence to four years of exile with hard labour in Siberia. His writings on these prison experiences, 'The House of the Dead' were published in 1861. In Saint Petersburg that September he promised his editor he would deliver 'The Gambler', a novella on gambling addiction, by November, although work had yet to begin. It was completed in a mere 26 days. Other works followed but a different approach helped immensely. In 1873 'Demons' was published by the "Dostoyevsky Publishing Company". Only payment in cash was accepted and the bookshop was the family apartment. It sold around 3,000 copies. However, Dostoyevsky's health continued to decline, and in March 1877 he had four epileptic seizures. In August 1879 he was diagnosed with early-stage pulmonary emphysema. He was told it could be managed, but not cured. On 26th January 1881 Dostoyevsky suffered a pulmonary haemorrhage. After the second the doctors gave a poor prognosis. A third haemorrhage followed shortly afterwards. Fyodor Dostoyevsky died on 9th February, 1881.
