“The Idiot” Savant: On Fyodor Dostoevsky’s Idiot
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“The Idiot” Savant: On Fyodor Dostoevsky’s Idiot
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Re: “The Idiot” Savant: On Fyodor Dostoevsky’s Idiot
#2Doesn't the word 'savant' imply wisdom? Prince Myshkin is as naive as they come. I would think someone in his shoes wouldn't mind being walked all over like he is in the book.
"Do not give what is holy to the dogs; nor cast your pearls before swine, lest they trample them under their feet, and turn and tear you in pieces."
Re: “The Idiot” Savant: On Fyodor Dostoevsky’s Idiot
#3The novel is beautiful, and it's beauty is not in a traditional story arch, it's in the flawed characters. The mystery of whether Myshkin is an idiot remains through and with every scene that thought is put into question. Dostoevsky was not know for his structure, but for his characters and their meditations on life and religion.
Re: “The Idiot” Savant: On Fyodor Dostoevsky’s Idiot
#4TLDR;
Dostoevsky was considered to be a genius by many, but gave nearly every dime he ever made away, a condition that led to his unpayable debts, which he exacerbated by gambling, which led to exile.
Early in life, moments away from being executed, Tsar Nicholas spared him and the other prisoners from death but sent him to a Siberian prison for four years.
He suffered from epilepsy and had a fit while his wife went into labor. Unable to call for a midwife for "hours" their child died, and Dostoevsky blamed himself.
The Idiot breaks a lot of literary conventions, but it works, just as Dostoevsky lived a broken life, and yet is considered by many a genius.
The article is very good. I recommend reading it in full.
Re: “The Idiot” Savant: On Fyodor Dostoevsky’s Idiot
#5Doesn't the word 'savant' imply wisdom? Prince Myshkin is as naive as they come. I would think someone in his shoes wouldn't mind being walked all over like he is in the book. "Do not give what is holy to the dogs; nor cast your pearls before swine, lest they trample them under their feet, and turn and tear you in pieces."
The oxymoron "idiot savant" was used for the first time by John Down during his studies. The etymology is in the scientific literature.
Today we would use a less controversial term like "savant syndrome"... It seems appropriate given the title of the book (and the plot).
I always took it as an eulogy to the plasticity of the human intellect: we always have something to learn from anybody.
Re: “The Idiot” Savant: On Fyodor Dostoevsky’s Idiot
#6This novel, along with 'Crime and punishement' deal with completely opposite personalities. One has a very optimistic view of the world, the other, Raskolnikov from Crime and Punishment, despises it and justifies violent crime with this mentality. Wonderful works, both of them. Unlike many, I read TBK first and decided to read Dostoevsky's other works and fell in love. Notes from the underground will always hold a special spot in my heart because of how much I can relate to the protagonist unfortunately.
Can anyone recommend other similar works of literature? I haven't read many books like this but I found Siddhartha, Narcissus and Goldmund and Steppenwolfe by Herman Hesse to be on the same lines (deal with existentialism).
Re: “The Idiot” Savant: On Fyodor Dostoevsky’s Idiot
#7Doesn't the word 'savant' imply wisdom? Prince Myshkin is as naive as they come. I would think someone in his shoes wouldn't mind being walked all over like he is in the book. "Do not give what is holy to the dogs; nor cast your pearls before swine, lest they trample them under their feet, and turn and tear you in pieces."
He is naive, but seems to be self aware. He does realize he is not street smart, but being naive implies he is unaware of this. Prince Myshkin doesn't want to change and well realizes the cunning nature of some people around him.
He still isn't a savant, but calling him naive wouldn't be accurate either considering he did have diminished mental and physical faculties.
Re: “The Idiot” Savant: On Fyodor Dostoevsky’s Idiot
#8This novel, along with 'Crime and punishement' deal with completely opposite personalities. One has a very optimistic view of the world, the other, Raskolnikov from Crime and Punishment, despises it and justifies violent crime with this mentality. Wonderful works, both of them. Unlike many, I read TBK first and decided to read Dostoevsky's other works and fell in love. Notes from the underground will always hold a sp…
I think you would like Dead Souls by Gogol. It has the same kind of biting criticism as the idiot, but it's a bit darker (if I remember right) - not as dark as C&P, but darker than the idiot
Re: “The Idiot” Savant: On Fyodor Dostoevsky’s Idiot
#9TLDR; Dostoevsky was considered to be a genius by many, but gave nearly every dime he ever made away, a condition that led to his unpayable debts, which he exacerbated by gambling, which led to exile. Early in life, moments away from being executed, Tsar Nicholas spared him and the other prisoners from death but sent him to a Siberian prison for four years. He suffered from epilepsy and had a fit while his wife went…
WRT gambling he was a fiend for the roulette wheel IIRC.
Re: “The Idiot” Savant: On Fyodor Dostoevsky’s Idiot
#10This novel, along with 'Crime and punishement' deal with completely opposite personalities. One has a very optimistic view of the world, the other, Raskolnikov from Crime and Punishment, despises it and justifies violent crime with this mentality. Wonderful works, both of them. Unlike many, I read TBK first and decided to read Dostoevsky's other works and fell in love. Notes from the underground will always hold a sp…
Other existentialist works include:
- "The Plague", by Albert Camus
- "Metamorphisis", by Franz Kafka
- "The Moviegoer", by Walker Percy
- "The Bridge Over San Luis Rey", by Thornton Wilder