Viewing a single comment thread. View all comments

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.

24

OkLead9868 t1_jaecfls wrote

But that’s the thing. People are complex. You cannot look at another person and really know who they are or what is going on in their mind. There are people who act happy and nice and one day commit suicide. The human mind is complex and our interactions, motivations ideas that come along with that are complex. I think he writes characters at more extremes to represent ideas more than purely real people because it allows you to see what motivates people. It gives a different perspective by him writing like that. It makes you think outside the box.

5