I'm making my way, somewhat arduously, through Book VI: The Russian Monk. It's all about the Elder Zosima; his childhood, his youth, his transformation from cranky military officer to cuddly monk. And Mr Dostoyevsky, as usual, doesn't skimp on words. No sir-ee. Why use a succinct and pithy sentence when a rambling, overly ponderous one could be used to lesser effect. Clearly, Mr D lived by the adage: EDIT is a 4-letter word.
However, an interesting by-product of Mr D's loquacity is a number of extraordinary sentences of dubious meaning. Even making allowance for "lost in translation" or "distorted in translation" or "translation untenable", Mr D had some kooky goings-on in his writing:
Quote1: "I was his master and he my servant, yet now that he and I had exchanged kisses lovingly and in spiritual tenderness, between us a great act of human unity had taken place." The Brothers Karamazov, pg 365
"...a great act of human unity...". Bonking! Shagging! Making of the Love! Oh yeah. (And is there a hint of BDSM)? And since Karamazov was written in the olden days, a time when one was not permitted to write explicitly of matters carnal (and triple that for gay matters carnal), those naughty authors had to use metaphor or allegory or just plain old obscurity to get their characters some action. (Except for DH Lawerence, he just splodged all over the page (with his WORDS), the dirty bastard.)
OK, OK, there is the small possibility that Mr D meant for this incident to be read straight (uh... pun intended) or at least, without any subtext. And it is certainly possible that, in 19th century Russia, it was a social normality for men to kiss each other; in a manly way. But to "exchange kisses lovingly"? I'm still a little sceptical.
Quote2: " God took seeds from other worlds and sowed them upon this earth and cultivated his garden..." The Brothers Karamazov, pg 369
Ah, this sounds familiar; humans evolved from alien DNA. See also The X-Files: Black Oil, or Scientology.
Quote3: "If around men who are malicious and unfeeling and unwilling to listen to you, then fall down before them and beg them for forgiveness, for verily you are guilty of the fact that they do not want to listen to you." The Brothers Karamazov, pg 370
So I'm guilty if mean bastards won't listen to me. Verily my ass! If I'm around people who are malicious and unfeeling and unwilling to listen to me...well, I'm going to convince them be less malicious and less unfeeling and less unwilling to listen to me, using my charm and charisma. And when that doesn't work, I'm damn well gonna walk away and find some nicer people.
3 comments:
a great read dear effulgent, although you did stump me with "loquacity" .. the rest was very clear and i'm totally with you about staying away from nasty, malicious people. Mr D's quote sounds like he was under the influence of some serious catholic guilt!! Something no one should aspire to.
I'm not always sure if Mr D is pro or anti catholic/christian. I think he's both.
I'm now finished with the perplexing "Russian Monk" section (and he's now died - not that this is a guarantee he won't show up again later!).
WOMAN!
You read with a fever of the mind. You do not understand my discourse on the Elder Zosima (the Russian Monk); the complexities of humanity and the transcendent spiritual awakening contained within.
And what are these 'gay' voluptuaries of which you speak? There are no joyful or 'gay' activities in this world of misery and suffering, not even voluptuaries (which you are inanely given to naming as 'sex').
If I were corporeal I would challenge you to a duel.
F.D.
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