And, after his seven years of prison in Siberia, he understood how false were his earlier caricatures of Russian peasants. His nonchalance regarding whether Christ was of one or two natures transformed into a vehement devotion to Christ’s divinity. Whereas he had previously been part of a revolutionary group intent on reconstructing a socialist utopia, this experience disabused him of these fantasies. For Dostoevsky, this moment provided a turning point in his life. One can imagine the way he would have slid against the pole, weeping and deflated, realizing he had been spared his execution. The order was given for the rifles to be raised, and this was done but then the drums of the regiment surrounding the square began to beat retreat.” Dostoevsky was an ex-army officer, so he understood the meaning of this. As his biographer Joseph Frank describes the scene: “A cart with coffins could be seen on the side, and a priest came carrying a cross, which they all kissed some made confessions. Fyodor Dostoevsky was arrested, led to a platform, tied to a stake, and blindfolded before a firing squad.
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |