Dostoevsky: The Mantle of the Prophet, 1871-1881 by Joseph s> Frank (review)

Abstract

320 SEER, 8i, 2, 2003 philosophical, religious views and the history of ideas in Russia. Admirers of his literaryart and those interested in Russian culture will find much here to stimulate their own thinking. Scanlan has produced a scrupulous and respectfulstudy, respectfulin the good sense of not imposing his own agenda and, while not endorsing all of Dostoevskii's views, of trying to understand what Dostoevskii meant and thought in his own terms, an attitude that is becoming less common and all the more welcome for that. Department ofSlavonic Studies DIANE OENNING THOMPSON University ofCambridge Frank, Joseph. Dostoevsky: TheMantleof theProphet,i87i-i88i. Princeton University Press,Princeton, NJ and Oxford, 2002. xv + 784 pp. Illustrations . Notes. Index. /24.95. THE appearance of the fifth and final volume of Frank'smonumental and justly celebrated biography of Dostoevskii is, without doubt, a major event in the crowdedcontinuum of academicpublicationson thiswriter.Begun almost thirty years ago, it has seen various critical approaches come and go, remaining innocent of (perhaps immune to would be more appropriate)the majority of them. This conservatism has certainly drawn some criticism for pedestrianismand lack of imagination from some of those who seek to apply thelatestliterary,theological,psychologicaland othertheoriesto Dostoevskii's texts. For the present reviewer, such strictures are unmerited, for the immensely detailed treatment Frank gives to his psychological portrait of Dostoevskii in the intellectual context of his age brings its own rich rewards, and, for all the volumes' length, they are never in the least dull. Apart from the many scholars who welcome this amazing achievement for what it is, ratherthan criticizing it for what it is not, Frankhas from I976 onwardsalso attracted a strong following of appreciative readers from year after year of studententhusiastswanting the fullestaccount of Dostoevskii'slife and works, and from many scholars and others without access to Russian sources, who wish to know as much as possible about an ever fascinatinggenius. The last volume in this splendid project covers the years I87I to I88I, a time of apotheosis and full recognition for Dostoevskii which, through his Dnevnikpisatelia (The Diary of a Writer),reveals his great humanity and, particularly,concern for the sufferingof children, but also some of the least attractiveaspects of his character, notably his chauvinism and, in particular, anti-Semitism.Frank'scalm and balanced intellectualseriousnessenables him to set these and many other aspectsof Dostoevskii'sthought in a broad social, cultural,literaryand philosophical context, as well as painting a sympathetic yet convincing picture of the writer'spersonallife. Following on from the discussion of Besy(TheDevils)at the end of volume four, Frankbegins PartOne, A New Beginning',with the writer'squiet return to Russia, completion of 7The Devils,work on Grazhdanin (The Citizen),and growing enthusiasm for the Populist movement where Dostoevskii, ever seeking new truths, came closest to finding ideas with which he could sympathize. Also in Part One, Frankdiscusses the I873 issues of the 'now REVIEWS 32I little-read'(p. 3)Diay ofa Writer, and concludes with a review of Dostoevskii's least well known great novel, Podrostok (A Raw Youth) which he intriguingly labels the writer's 'Trojan horse' (p. I7I). He does not, however, attempt to conceal Dostoevskii's lapse from his highest literarystandardin this frenetic account of an 'accidental'family. In PartTwo FrankdiscussesDostoevskii's resumption in I876-77 of Diagy of a Writer, by now a highly influential publication, his first thoughts about Brat'iaKaramazovy (7The Brothers Karamazov), the Jewish question, his relationships with various writers including Tolstoi and Turgenev, and some of the shorter stories and sketches. Frank'streatment of Dostoevskii's attitude to Jews is characteristicof the greathumanityand wisdom displayedthroughout these volumes. He presents in detail the writer'scorrespondencewith various contemporaries who took him to task or occasionally praised him for his views, drawing on broad knowledge of the Russian social backgroundof the time, but without in any way tryingto exonerate Dostoevskii'swell publicized chauvinism. Frank'swide-ranging approach to this sensitive question reveals hisjudiciousness as well as anything in the book and stands as a reproach to some of the more hystericalresponsesto an eternalproblem. PartThree, 'With Wordsto Sear the Hearts of Men', is mainly concerned with the criminal and, particularly, religious debates behind The Brothers Karamazov, and...