Interpretations of the Problem “F. M. Dostoevsky and Postmodernism” in English-language Slavistics of the XXI century

The reception of Dostoevsky’s works in the context of postmodern literature and philosophy constitutes a promising direction in English-language Slavistics of the XXI century. Scholarly works considered belong predominantly to slavists from the USA, but are not limited to such. These studies draw upon modern literary works, influenced by F. M. Dostoevsky (Infinite Jest by David Foster Wallace, Master of St. Petersburg and Diary of a Bad Year by J. M. Coetzee, and A Curse on Dostoevsky by Atiq Rahimi) and works of the Russian classic himself (The Double, The Karamazoff Brothers, and The Meek One). M. M. Bakhtin’s polyphonic theory links Dostoevsky’s works, works of contemporary authors, influenced by Dostoevsky, and postmodern prose. Concepts such as splitting into doubles, levelling of hierarchies, substitution of the authentic by simulacra, and deconstruction of religious and ethical meaning evoke special research interest. University of Macau Professor Peter Mathews (China) points out that the splitting of Yakov Golyadkin’s personality into doubles becomes one of the first examples of a shattering consciousness, common in postmodernist prose. Brown University Professor Svetlana Evdokimova (USA) claims that Dostoevsky created the first characters, who proclaimed a future era of simulacra. Professor of Purchase College Nina Pelikan Straus (USA) considers similarities between the religious beliefs of F. M. Dostoevsky and Jacques Derrida. She concludes that Bakhtin’s theory links the deconstruction of religious meaning with its unspoken affirmation in dialogue. University of Georgia Professor Alexander Spektor (USA) contrasts the protagonist of The Meek One with narrators of W. Gombrowitz’s postmodernist novels. PhD. student Michael Bowden (UK) finds a tendency towards metaphysical nostalgia in works of modern literature, influenced by Dostoevsky. Thus, such English-language studies of the XXI century exhibit two contradictory tendencies: some researchers emphasize the common ground between postmodern literature and Dostoevsky’s works; others believe the Russian classic’s legacy to offset to the breakdown of ethical and religious meaning, characteristic of postmodern literature.

F. M. Dostoevsky, postmodernism, deconstruction, The Double, J. Derrida, J. Deleuze, R. Bart, J. Baudrillard, W. F. Wallace, J. M. Coetzee, A. Rahimi