Dostoevsky's Unfinished Journey by Robin Feuer Miller (review)

Abstract

536 SEER, 88, 3, JULY 20I0 of the text isnot the real message. That Leskov used his fiction as well as his publicistic works to convey a point of view is not in doubt; this is especially true of his view of religion. What has been described as Leskov's most Orthodox story,The Sealed Angel, is ? one might even say ? subversive of Orthodoxy. CathedralFolk raises similar questions. The ostensible author of non-fiction works such as Schism inHigh Societyand The Jews inRussia (not discussed by Grimstad in thisbook) is a committed Orthodox; the real author flatters conservative readers by appearing to share their prejudices and then skilfullyattempts tomanipulate them away from anti-Protestantism and antisemitism. It is Russian Orthodoxy which is the dominant subject of Grimstad's analysis. As crucial for the religious as well as the national theme he sees the multicultural aspect of these works. They abound in Poles, Germans, Ukrainians, British and others who illuminate Russianness and Orthodoxy through contrast, and the significance of theRussian characters' relationship with these people is shown to be vital.What emerges is a dual impression: Russia as she is and Russia as Leskov would like her to be. This, I take it, is what the author means by the slightlyodd tide 'Styling'Russia: representing her, recreating her inhis own image,making her appear subt?ydifferentfrom what she really is,and presenting a utopia which she could perhaps some day become. In the closing lines of this book, Grimstad refers to contemporary Russia, and writes of Leskov's 'projected Christian theology of religious pluralism [which] might be construed as a catalyst for democratic cooperation in theRussian Federation' (p. 243). I fear thatRussian uneasiness at otherness, whether religious or cultural, runs too deep at present for this to be a realizable objective. In his own age Leskov was known forwriting 'against the current'. Will Russians today be any more willing to respond to his pluralism? School of Education Universityof Nottingham J. Y. M?ckle Miller, Robin Feuer. Dostoevski's Urifinished Journey.Yale University Press, New Haven, CT and London, 2007. xvii + 242 pp. Illustrations.Notes. Index. ?25.00. Robin Feuer Miller's new study ofDostoevskii represents a fascinating and useful addition to a crowded field inwhich it is difficult to stand out. An unusual breadth of reference, compelling analysis supported by penetrating close reading and a strong engagement with the critical tradition combine to create a forceful interpretationwhich, while itmay not always prove the connection between spiritual and literary transformation it sets out to explore, at least demonstrates that this is a highly effective prism through which to view the complexities of Dostoevskii's novelistic world, and one which can consistently provide new and valuable insights. REVIEWS 537 As conversion is the central trope of Miller's interpretation, it isappropriate that she begins her journey through Dostoevskii's works with a persuasive account of his own conversion experience. She contends, using evidence from lettersof 1849,mat Dostoevskii's conversion was the result not of a spiritual awakening that occurred in Siberia following his encounter with the narod,but rather of a conscious decision taken before he leftfor Siberia to turn towards thepeasantry as thefirststep to embracing Orthodoxy. Such an interpretation goes a long way to explaining the frequently contradictory attitudes to the narod thatwe encounter inDostoevskii's works. The Russian peasant, capable of turning to both good and evil, is then shown to be a central figure in the conversion narratives ofDostoevskii's mature oeuvre, alongside the recurring features of the maternal smile and the precious memory resurfacing at a moment of need. This results in a telescoping of time as moments of past, present and future are brought together,with a trance-like state prefiguring transformation. In a thread that runs throughout the study,Miller demon strates that the same structure informsnot only the conversions of the narra tors ofThe PeasantMarei and Dream ofa Ridiculous Man, Stepan Trofimovich in Demons and Alesha Karamazov, but also the opposite movement, which leads to the spiritual destruction of Stavrogin and crisis of Ivan Karamazov, thus reinforcing themiraculous nature of conversion forDostoevskii. A similar sense of the intertwining of good and evil, and the potential...