“Even here your uncle has been of use to you!” On the history of creative relationships of Fyodor Dostoevsky and Ivan Goncharov

Abstract

The article is devoted to the study of literary and biographical connections between the collision of Ivan Goncharov's first novel “A Common Story” and the conflict between Fyodor Dostoevsky and his guardian Pyotr Karepin. Analysing biographical materials, the author hypothesises that Fyodor Dostoevsky, meeting with Ivan Goncharov, while the latter was working on “A Common Story”, could partly influence the creation of the main collision and central images of the novel. Noting the plot and figurative convergence, the author of the article also shows the ideological difference between Ivan Goncharov and Fyodor Dostoevsky in the presentation of the conflict between uncle and nephew – two different minds, worldviews and representatives of two different generations. The author of the work presents significant and interesting correspondences between the life and creative paths of Ivan Goncharov and Fyodor Dostoevsky, noting the similar literary influences experienced by both writers, and also points to salons and literary circles where they could meet.