Posted by guillermo maynez
on 19/1/2011, 11:34:47, in reply to "Re: The Idiot"
189.141.136.8
I finished "The Idiot" yesterday. First I must say that I read it in Spanish, so the spelling of some characters may vary. Also, in Spanish it is called "The Idiot Prince". Now, related to the content, I liked it very much. Not surprisingly, it seemed to me to be very dostoevskyesque (how's that?), meaning it is centered in the confrontation between materialistic/ambitious desires, vs. Christian (early, communist Christianism)/spiritual quests. Mychkin stands out in his midst because he is so different from all the people surrounding him. In their context, he's an idiot through and through. The rest of the characters, different in other respects as they may be, are only after money and/or lust. None of them seems to think of mating as a pursuit of love, but of carnal beauty, social position or money. Ragojine is clearly a sick man, lusting after a very troubled woman, Anastasia Philipovna, a rebel without a cause. I think there are many subjects for discussion, but first I'd like to know general impressions of you guys to this book.
As an aside, I'm glad none of us is Russian, because then I wouldn't say this: after having read a good many Russian novels, plays and short stories by a wide host of writers, I have come to the conclusion that all Russians are a little or very mad. No character ever seems to respond in a rational way, and basically they are troubled, anguished, tormented, and even violent (or martyrized). Not politically correct, and only from reading, not actually meeting any of them (and in a kidding mood).
--Previous Message--
: What I envision with the screwed up eyes is someone
: rolling their eyes back or up, a look of exasperation.
:
: I'm not really satisfied with that explanation of
: ironic glance. These other phrases might be strange,
: esp. screwing up the eyes, but there seems to me
: something totally amiss with the ironic glance. A
: glance is just a quick look. It might be accompanied
: by an ironic expression, but the glance itself has no
: meaning and therefore can't be ironic. Maybe I think
: the best explanation is to assume that the glance is
: accompanied by an expression or action. One liberal
: nods in agreement with the S.P. comment and glances at
: the other. I don't know. I'd still like to know if the
: ironic glance occurs in the PV translation.
:
Message Thread
« Back to index