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The themes in the writings of Russian writer Fyodor Dostoyevsky, which surpass novels, novellas, short stories, essays, epistolary novels, poetry, spy fiction and suspense, include suicide, poverty, human manipulation and morality. Religious themes are found throughout his works, especially after his release from prison in 1854. His early works emphasised realism and naturalism, as well as social issues such as the differences between the poor and the rich. Influences from other writers are evident especially, in his early works, leading to accusations of plagiarism, but his style gradually developed over his career. Elements of gothic fiction, romanticism and satire can be found in his writings. Dostoyevsky was "an explorer of ideas", greatly affected by the sociopolitical events occurring during his lifetime. After his release from prison, his writing style changed drastically, moving away from his earlier "sentimental naturalism", and featuring more psychological and philosophical themes. Much of his later works are characterised by autobiographical elements. == Themes and style == Dostoyevsky was a representative of literary realism, a genre which depicted contemporary life and society. He saw himself as a "fantastic realist", while Apollon Grigoryev called him a "sentimental naturalist". Dostoyevsky was described as "an explorer of ideas"; his life "coincided with a particularly tumultuous period in Russian history, and was undoubtedly shaped by the sociopolitical happenings he witnessed". Beside his writings on human psychology and religion, Dostoyevsky was known for his frequent use of satire; critic Harold Bloom stated that "satiric parody is the center of Dostoyevsky's art." Dostoyevsky's use of space and time were analysed by philologist Vladimir Toporov, who stated that "the unexpected not only is possible but also always happens". Toporov compares time and space in Dostoyevsky with film scenes: the Russian word ''vdrug'' (suddenly) appears 560 times in the Russian edition of ''Crime and Punishment'', and provides the reader with impressions of tension, inequality and nervousness, all characteristic elements of the structure of his books.〔 Dostoyevsky's works often utilise extremely precise numbers (''at two steps ... , two roads to the right''), as well as high and rounded numbers (100, 1000, 10000). Critics such as Donald Fanger〔Donald Fanger, ''Dostoevsky and Romantic Realism: A Study of Dostoevsky in Relation to Balzac, Dickens, and Gogol'', Northwestern University Press, 1998, p. 14〕 and Roman Katsman, writer of ''The Time of Cruel Miracles: Mythopoesis in Dostoevsky and Agnon'', call these elements "mythopoeic". Dostoyevsky's characters' growth occurs through repetition, events, and memory, despite how painful they may be for the characters.〔(【引用サイトリンク】title="Мужик Марей" Достоевского )〕 Dostoyevsky investigated human nature. According to his good friend, the Russian philosopher Strakhov, "All his attention was directed upon people, and he grasped at only their nature and character", because he was "interested by people, people exclusively, with their state of soul, with the manner of their lives, their feelings and thoughts". Philosopher and Dostoyevsky researcher Nikolai Berdyaev stated that he "is not a realist as an artist, he is an experimentator, a creator of an experimential metaphysics of human nature". His characters live in an unlimited, irrealistic world, beyond borders and limits. Berdyaev remarks that "Dostoevsky reveals a new mystical science of man", limited to people "which have been drawn into the whirlwind". Dostoyevsky's works explore irrational dark motifs, dreams, emotions and visions, all typical elements of Gothic fiction. He was an avid reader of the Gothic and enjoyed the works of Radcliffe, Balzac, Hoffmann, Charles Maturin and Soulié. Among his first Gothic works was "The Landlady". The stepfather's demonic fiddle and the mysterious seller in ''Netochka Nezvanova'' are Gothic-like. In ''Humiliated and Insulted'', the villain has a typical demonic appearance. Other roots of this genre can be found in ''Crime and Punishment''; for example the dark and dirty rooms and Raskolnikov's Mephistophelian character, or the vampire-like Nastasia Filippovna in ''The Idiot'' and femme-fatale Katerina Ivanovna in ''The Brothers Karamazov''. Based on his analysis of Dostoyevsky's style, Russian literary critic Mikhail Bakhtin developed the concept of literary polyphony, describing a style in which independent, equal voices speak for an individual self, in a context in which they can be heard, flourish and interact together. Bakhtin also argues that many of Dostoyevsky's works have elements of menippean satire. According to Bakhtin Dostoyevsky revived satire as a genre combining comedy, fantasy, symbolism and adventure and in which mental attitudes are personified. ''A Writer's Diary'' and "Bobok" are "one of the greatest menippeas in all world literature", but examples can be found in "The Dream of a Ridiculous Man", the first encounter between Raskolnikov and Sonja in ''Crime and Punishment'', which is "an almost perfect Christianised menippea", and in "The Legend of the Grand Inquisitor". Suicides are found in several of Dostoyevsky's books. The 1860s–1880s marked a near-epidemic period of suicides in Russia, and many contemporary Russian authors wrote about suicide. Dostoyevsky's suicide victims and murderers are unbelievers or tend towards unbelief: the Underground Man in ''Notes from Underground'', Raskolnikov in ''Crime and Punishment'', Ippolit in ''The Idiot'', Kirillov in ''Demons'', and Ivan Karamazov and Smerdiakov in ''The Brothers Karamazov''. Disbelief in God and immortality and the influence of contemporary philosophies such as positivism and materialism are seen as important factors in the development of the characters' suicidal tendencies. Dostoyevsky felt that a belief in God and immortality was necessary for human existence. 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「Themes in Fyodor Dostoyevsky's writings」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
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