The idea of accepting suffering in the works of F. M. Dostoevsky and its connection with the theme of schism and the myth of the earth

Abstract

The subject of this article is the idea of accepting suffering, presented in the works of F. M. Dostoevsky, and its connection with the theme of unorthodox religious movements and the myth of the earth. The object of the research is the works of F. M. Dostoevsky ("Notes from the Dead House", "Crime and Punishment", "Demons", "Brothers Karamazov") and preparatory materials for them, as well as articles of periodicals devoted to Old Believers and sectarianism ("Svyatorusskie dvoevery" V. I. Kelsiev, "Secret Sects" and "White Doves" by P. I. Melnikov, "Zemstvo and Schism. Runners", "Mental directions of the Russian schism" by A. P. Shchapov). The purpose of this work is to identify the connection between the idea of accepting suffering in Dostoevsky's work with the theme of schism and the myth of the earth. The scientific novelty of this study lies in the fact that it analyzes for the first time the mechanisms of mythologization of the category of the earth and the image of the Russian people in the works of F. M. Dostoevsky, associated with the idea of accepting suffering coming from the schism. A special contribution of the author is to identify the correlation of some of the motives and images of the novel "Demons" with sectarianism. Conclusions: The motive of voluntary acceptance of suffering associated with the religious context, namely, with the idea of accepting torment for faith, characteristic of Old Believers, appears already in "Notes from the Dead House" and "Crime and Punishment". Starting from the first novel of the Great Pentateuch, this motif, coupled with the mythologeme of the earth, which is special for Dostoevsky's work, is realized in the context of the idea of the universal guilt of people before the earth and before each other and the need to atone for this guilt through suffering. The idea of suffering, necessary for the salvation of the soul and the acquisition of lost faith, is also closely connected with the ideology of pochvennichestvo, as it is conveyed to atheists who are torn from the soil by representatives of the common people.