Disappointed Wanderer: Why did Dostoevsky dislike Europe and what country he simply hated

2024 Author: Richard Flannagan | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-15 23:55

Literary critics often say that Fyodor Dostoevsky knew more about Russia than anyone else. Meanwhile, he hardly saw his native country. The writer made only one forced "trip" to Siberia. His exile lasted 5 years. But Dostoevsky knew a lot about Europe firsthand. He visited 10 countries. For several years he moved from city to city, each of which greatly disappointed him.

The alluring world of European casinos seemed to Fyodor Dostoevsky while still in exile in Siberia. His convict gamblers enthusiastically shared their impressions. And in 1862 he went by train on his first journey: Berlin, London, Paris …

Dostoevsky will leave memories of each city. So he will call the capital of Germany "sour". In this city he did not like absolutely everything "even Lipa". London seemed to the writer to have reached an ideal order and therefore suspicious, he wrote about him:. Got the characteristics of the "disgusting Thames", air, weather, parks and squares. Cologne looks like a "paperweight", and the city of Wiesbaden will not be remembered for its sights, but for the monstrous loss in the casino.

Fyodor Dostoevsky came to Europe for new impressions. But in 1867, he brought with him a young wife - Anna Snitkina (Dostoevskaya). It was a honeymoon trip that dragged on for 4 long and painful years. And in fact, not a honeymoon, but an escape from creditors.

The newlyweds stayed in Geneva. And the first unpleasant circumstance was the weather. In September, Dostoevsky, in letters to his friends, complained about the terrible climate, "like in Petersburg." From the constant change in temperature and humidity, the writer began to have seizures. They happen frequently - every 10 days. For the epileptic, the Geneva weather was very difficult. But Dostoevsky's discontent was fueled by other factors as well.

My wife's pregnancy was difficult, and there was always a lack of money. Dostoevsky wrote little, but played a lot and could not get rid of this pernicious dependence. He pawned valuable things, including a fur coat, wife's jewelry, as well as wedding rings. I bought it back and mortgaged it again. Only the frugality of Anna Grigorievna saved from complete poverty.

Here is what she wrote in her diary on September 18:

In Geneva, Dostoevsky was bored. He wrote to his friends about this many times. There were too many "loud drunks" and "brawlers" in the "strictly Protestant city". Here is one of the writer's most poignant reviews:

In a boring city, Fyodor Dostoevsky escaped by playing. And when he lost to smithereens, when he lost the ring and coat, he felt that he was guilty before his wife. He needed to get her respect back. He wrote that he wanted to be worthy of her again, that he would quit playing and steal from her.

On November 18, he will promise in a letter:

Although he had promised, Dostoevsky did not give up the roulette, but began writing the novel "The Idiot".

One of the most tragic episodes in the life of the writer is associated with Geneva. There, in the 68th year, the daughter Sophia was born and died at the age of three months. And it was the climate that killed the weak child. The girl caught a cold and died of pneumonia. Fyodor Mikhailovich could not come to terms with the loss. His wife mourned her daughter, but became more and more worried about her husband. At that moment, it seemed to both of them that they could not bear this grief.

The Dostoevskys were no longer able to remain in Geneva, where everything reminded of Sophia. But the lack of funds did not allow them to leave Switzerland, and they moved to the shores of Lake Geneva in the town of Vevey. Later, Anna Grigorievna will tell:

For this country, Dostoevsky will remain steadfastly disgusted with him throughout his life. And he will write: Needless to say, the Swiss themselves do not really like Dostoevsky to this day. In response to all these unflattering statements, they, of course, are silent, but they do not show much respect for the writer. One barely noticeable sign on an apartment building at Mont Blanc 16. No streets, no monuments, no tourist routes will tell a tourist about his stay in Geneva. But this seems to be to be expected.

Europe also played a cruel joke with another Russian writer. Read about it in the review how winged muses of Nabokov became his fatal passion.