brief_interviews

brief_interviews t1_jadog6w wrote

Dostoevsky's characters tend to be 'heightened' rather than realistic. Most of them have rich, complicated inner lives and are also symbolic of larger cultural or philosophical ideas, so this style makes it clear why everyone is doing what they're doing when they clash with each other.

From a contemporary eye it looks like everyone is one outburst away from going nuts, but that's because these characters are not actually in control of themselves for the most part, they're ruled by their passions and inner contradictions, half of which are caused by the pressures of society and inherited trauma that they may or may not be aware of. Dostoevsky's recurring themes are how actions are driven by ideas so we should be careful what we think, and this dramatic style works well for that theme, though it certainly isn't subtle.

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