Parable Of The Onion (from Dostoevsky's 'brothers Karamazov')

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A NORTON

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w. W. NORTON & COMPANY, INC. also publishes THE NORTON ANTHOLOGY OF AMERICAN editedby Nina Baym et aI,

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THE NORTON ANTHOLOGY OF CONTEMPORARY edited by R. V Cassill

FYODOR DOScrOEVSKY FICTION

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~HE BROTHE~ KA~AMAZOV

THE NORTON ANTHOLOGY OF ENGLISH LITERATURE edited by M, H, Abrams et aI,

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THE NORTON ANTHOLOGY OF MODERN POETRY' edited by Richard Ellmann and Robert O'Clair THE NORTON ANTHOLOGY OF POETRY edited by Alexander W Allison et aI, -

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'tHE;, CONSTAN~~ 9it\R~LETTITRANSLATION REVISED BY ~~HPH 'j( MATLAW

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THE NORTON ANTHOLOGY

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OF SHORT FICTION

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BACKCROUNIDSh~DSOURCES "'" < ," ,

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ESSAYS IN CRITICISM

THE NORTON ANTHOLOGY OF WORLD MASJERPIECES editedby MaynardMack et al. THE NORTON FACSIMILEOF THE FIRST FOLIO OF SHAKESPEARE preparedby CharltonHinman THE NORTON INTRODUCTION TOUTERATURE editedby Carl E. Bain,JeromeBeaty,and]. PaulHunter THE NORTON INTRODUCTION TO THE SHORT NOVEL editedby JeromeBeaty

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RALPH.. E: t,MATLA W UNIVERSITY OF CHICAGO

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New York. London

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Contents

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Preface

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The Text

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Pronunciation of the:Main)Characters' Names Contents of The Brothers 'Karamazov The Brothers Karamazov,

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Ralph E. Matlaw

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Ori Translating

The Brothers Karamazov

736

Backgrounds and Sources

A BriefCmonologyof Dostoevsky'sLife

L. M. Reynus . Prototypes and Heroes of

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Library of Congress Cataloging in Publication Data Dostoevskii, Fedor Mikhai1ovich, 1821-1881. The Brothers Karamazov. (A Norton critical edition) Translation of Brat'fa Karamazovy. Bibliograhy: p. I. Garnett, Constance Black, 1862-1946. II. Matlaw, Ralph E. III. Title. PZ3.D742Br53 [PG3326] 891.7'3'3

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4567890. ISBN 0-393-04426-2 ISBN 0-393-09214-3

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The Brothers Karamazov From Dostoevsky's Letters To A. N. Maykov (December 11, 1868) To V. A. Alekseev (June 7, 1876) To V. V. Mikhaylbv (March 16,1878) To N. M. Dostoevsky (May 16, 1878) To N. A. Lyubiniov (January 30, 1879) To N. A. Lyubimov (May 10, 1879) To"N. A. Lyubimov (June 11, 1879) To N. A. Lyubimov (August 7,1879) To K. P. Pobedonostsev (August 24, 1879) To N. A. Lyubimov (September 16, 1879) To E. N. Lebedev (November 8,1879) To N. A. Lyubimov (November 16, 1879) To N. A. Lyubimov (December 8, 1879) To N. A. Lyubimov (April 9, 1880) N. A. Lyubimov to Dostoevsky (April 12, 1880) To N.A. Lyubimov (April 13, 1880) To N. A. Lyubimov (August la, 1880) To N. A. Lyubimov (September 8, 1880) To N. A. Lyubimov (November 8, 1880)

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'747 751 751 753 754 756 756 . 757 759' 760 761 762 763 764 765 766 766, 767 767 768 768

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Conten~s

From Dastaevsky's N atebaaks

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From Dastoevsky's\Vritet's Diary' The Kroneberg Case

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Essays in Criticism . 1Kanstantin Machulsky ,; The Brothers Karamazov Dmitry Tschiiewskij; Schillerand The Brothers ,

Karamazov

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"Mystery"

Ralph E. Matlaw R. P. Blackmur

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D. H. Lawrence' The Grand Inquisitor Albert Camus' The Rejection of Salvation Nathan Rosen' Styleand Structure in The Brother~Karamazav! Leonid Grossman' Dastoevskyas Artist Ya. E. Golosovker ,; The Words "Secref'and~

. Myth

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Brothers Karamazov:

The Peasants Stand Fir~ ~nd the Tragedy of the Saint

Selected Bibliogr~phy

841 852 857 861

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and Symbol

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The Brothers Karamazov,waswritten almo.sta hundred years ago.. Same o.fits details are necessarilythose o.fa different age, a differe]1t society, and a different culture, Neyertheless, it beco.mesaccessible to. the reader almo.stimmediately if it can 1?epresented in an accurate and readable versio.n.;.rhe Afterword to. the text discusses the revisio.no.fMrs. Garnett's translatio.n which perfarms this functio.n and seeks to. reso.lvemany fo.rmidableproblems that the co.mplexity o.f the novel and the multiplicity o.fits styles ultimately make ins~rmauntabl~.. r' " The Backgraund materjalhpresent same of, the impulses to.ward .the writing o.fthe no.vd, in"Do.sto.evsky'sawn experiences,in current ev.ents,and in Eeflectionson the,transformatians of life and society at ayparticul~.r epach. Letters dealing with the navel are quated extensively: they reflect the evalutio.naf the navel, the develo.pment o.f;itsstructure during the'lprocessaf campasitian, and Dastaevsky's co.ncernwith projecting his visio.nadequately bath in ,its main lines and in the miotitest details o.f,the text. They present a fascinating picture o.f an"artist's invo.lve~ent with hiswo.rk, aparhfrom their impartance to. a study af the navel itself. They also. call attentio.n to. the extrao.rdinaryimpo.rtance o.f purely lih;pry"'problems in a navel that has all to.o.frequently been used o.rily:;1Sthe basis far apacalyptic generalizatians Gn"existence;.Dastaevsky; man, religian, and so.an.

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. Relationships: Thtl Buffoon, The Nadryv (Laceration) ~'8°7 Edward Wasiolek The Brothers Karamazov: 813 Idea and Technique Hatry Slochower Incest in The Brothers

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Rabert L. Belknap' The Structure of Inherent

Karamazov

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Prefac~

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The Essaysin Cr;iticismfUn the gamut from such generalizatio.ns to., cancelin with specific wards. 'The firstessay,vo.neof the best chapters in Machulsky'sbo.ak an Do.sto.evsky-probably the best single valume o.f all the many that have, dealt with Do.staevskyIS a splendid introductio.n to the navel. It is fo.llawedby'aseminal essay an pastaevsky!s art and thaught by Professar Tschiiewskij, parts af which, cancerned taa extensively with Schiller,Jar thetpurpases ,af this valume, have had to. be amitted. They wo.uld have further emphasized Dastaevsky's extraardinarycancern with the use af literature, the passibilities af characterizatian and deepening af po.rtraits by the citatian af ather literary warks, a technical innavatian af Dastaevsky's which has nat yet been sufficiently investigated, but which is ,at least in part suggested by the faatnates to. the text itself. I have attempted to. arrange the rest ,pf the essays, regardless af approach, so. that they might carrespo.nd to. the pragressian af the navel, but this has nat always been passible. Many vii

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An Onion

The Brothers Karamazov

Now I'll tell you all about it. Hush, Alyosha, your words make me ashamed, for I am bad and not good-that's what I am. .t\nd you hush, Rakitka, because you are telling lies. I had the low idea of trying to get him in my clutches, but now you are lying, now it's all different. And don't let me hear anytl1ingmore from you, Rakitka.;'

Allthis Grushenkasaidwithextremeemotion.

but give away one onion all my life, that's the only good' ~eed I've done.' So don't praise me, Alyosha, don't think me good, 'I ani' bad, I'm a wicked woman and. you make me ashamed if you ;~l'aiseme.IEh, 1 must confess everything. Listen, Alyosha. 1 was so ajmious to get hold of you that 1 promised Rakitin twenty-five jJb'les if he would bring you to me. Stop, Rakitin, wait!" She went with rapid steps to the table, opened a drawer, pulled out a purse aflfltook from it a twenty-fiveruble bill. "What nonsense! What nonsense!" cried Rakitln, disconcerted. "Take it. Rakitka, 1 owe it you, there's no fear of your refusing it~you asked for it yourself." And she threw the bill to him. "As if I'd refuse it," boomed Rakitin, obviously abashed, but caf1:.ying off 'his confusion with a swaggq. "That will come in very J:1a.n.dy; fools are made for wisemen's profit." >'And now hold your tongue",Rakitka, what 1 am going to say R@W is not for your ears. Sit down in that corner and keep quiet.

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"They are both crazy," said Rakitin, looking at them with amazement. "I feel as though I were in a madhouse. They're Qoth

gettingso feeblethey'llbegincryingin a minute."

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"I shall begin to cry, I shall," repeated Grushenka. ;me calIe4 me his sister and I shall never forget that. Only let me tell you, Rakitka, though I am bad, I did give awayan 'onion." "An onion? Oh, hell, you really are crazy." Rakitin wondered at their exaltation. tie was ,!ggrievedand annoyed, though he might have reflected that each of them was just passing through a spiritual crisis such as does not come often in a lifetime. But though Rakitin was very sensitive about everything that concerned himself, he was very obtuse as regards the feelings and sensations of others-partly from his youth and inexperience, partly from his intense egoism. "You see, Alyoshechka," Grushenka furned to him with. a nervous laugh. "I was boasting when I told Rakitin I had given away an onion, but it's not to boast 1 tell you about it. It's only"a story, but it's a nice story. 1 used to hear it when ,I was a child from Matryona, my cook, who is still with me. It's like this..Once upon a time there 'Nas a peasant woman and a very wicked woman she was. And she died and did not leave a single good deed behind. The devils caught her and plunged her into the lake of fire. So her guardian angel stood and wondered what good deed of hers he could remember to tell to God; 'she once pulled up an onion in her garden,' said he, 'and gave it to a beggar woman.' And God answered: 'You take that onion then, hold it out to her in the lake, and let her take hold and be pulled out. And if you can pull her out of the lake, let her come to Paradise, but if the onion breaks, then the woman must stay where'she is.' The angel ran to the woman and held out the onion to lier; 'Come,' said he, 'catch hold and I'll pull you out.' And he began cau'tiouslypulling her out. He had just pulled her right out, when the other sinners in the lake, seeing she was being drawn out, began catching hold of her so as to be pulled out with her. But she was a very wicked W9man ang she began kicking them. 'I'm to be pulled out, not you. It's my onion, not yours.' As soon as she said that, the onion broke. And the woman fell into the lake and she is burning there to this day. $0 the angel wept and went away. So that's the story, Alyosha; 1 know it, by heart, for 1 am that wicked woman myself. I boasted, to Rakitka that 1 had given away an onion, but to you I'll say: 'I've done

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"What should 1 like you for?" Rakitin snarled, not concealing his ,m&umor. He put the twenty-fiveruble bill in his pocket and he felt ashamed at""Alyosha's seeing it. He had reckoned on receiving his IDaymentlater, "without Alyosha's knowing of it, and now, feeling ashamed, he lost his temper. Till that moment he had thought it .!;Hscreet not to contradict Grushenka too flatly in spite of her snub!~ing,since he had somethiI!g to get out of her. But now he, too,

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w;!:s.angry: , "Qne loves people for some reason, but what have either of you El0a.efor me?" "if ou should love people without'a reason, as Alyosha does." "How does he love YOIY?How has he shown it, that you make sJ;Icna fuss about it?" . GFushenka was standing in the middle of the room; sh'e spoke witnrheat and there were hysterical notes in her voice. '~Hush, Rakitka, you./know nothing about us! And don't dare to sp,eak to me like that again. How dare you be so familiar? Sit in tlJ,at;,corner and be quiet, as t~ough you were my lackey! And now, Alyosha, I'll tell you the whole truth, that you may see what a wretch 1 am! 1 am not talking to Rakitka, but to you. 1 wanted to ]j,Uinyou, Alyosha, that's the holy truth; 1 quite meant to. 1 wanted ,to 5,0much, that 1 bribed Rakitka to bring you. And why did I want to. do such a thing? You knew nothing about it, Alyosha, you tumed away from me, if you passed me, you dropped your eyes. Ana. ,rye looked at' you a hundred times before today, 1 began asking everyone about you. Your face haunted my heart. 'He despises me,' 1 thought, 'he won't even look at me.' And 1 felt it so IllJi(:h at last that I wondered at myself for being so frightened of a boy. ,HIl get him in my clutches and laugh at him. 1 was full of spite