Mad People All Around: Universal Insanity in A. I. Herzen’s Doctor Krupov and F. M. Dostoevsky’s Notes from the Dead House

Affiliation: Institute of Russian Literature (the Pushkin House) of the Russian Academy of Sciences
Address: 4 Makarov Embankment, St. Petersburg, 199034, Russia

Journal name

Izvestiia Rossiiskoi akademii nauk. Seriia literatury i iazyka

Edition

Volume 82 Issue 3

Pages

95-100

Abstract

Dostoevsky’s “Notes from the Dead House” shows the influence of Herzen not only in its ideological basis, but also in its artistic details. Its portrayal of universal insanity bears a strong resemblance to some thoughts from the psychiatric treatise of Alexander Herzen’s Dr. Krupov. In contrast to Herzen’s notions of environmental determinism, Dostoevsky sees insanity as a manifestation of one’s repressed personality. Thus, in “Notes from the Dead House” he continues his struggle with the theory of environment, which he had already begun since “The Poor People”.

Keywords

Dostoevsky, Herzen, nobility, natural school, environmental determinism, madness, insanity

Received

27.06.2023

Publication date

28.06.2023

Number of characters

17376

Cite

GOST	“Mad People All Around”: Universal Insanity in A. I. Herzen’s “Doctor Krupov” and F. M. Dostoevsky’s “Notes from the Dead House” // Izvestiia Rossiiskoi akademii nauk. Seriia literatury i iazyka – 2023. – V. 82. – Issue 3 C. 95-100 [Electronic resource]. URL: https://izv-oifn.ru/S160578800026319-6-1 (circulation date: 20.05.2024). DOI: 10.31857/S160578800026319-6
MLA	, "“Mad People All Around”: Universal Insanity in A. I. Herzen’s “Doctor Krupov” and F. M. Dostoevsky’s “Notes from the Dead House”." Izvestiia Rossiiskoi akademii nauk. Seriia literatury i iazyka 82.3 (2023):95-100. DOI: 10.31857/S160578800026319-6
APA	(2023). “Mad People All Around”: Universal Insanity in A. I. Herzen’s “Doctor Krupov” and F. M. Dostoevsky’s “Notes from the Dead House”. Izvestiia Rossiiskoi akademii nauk. Seriia literatury i iazyka 82(3), pp.95-100 DOI: 10.31857/S160578800026319-6

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