Study Guide: "The Dream of a Ridiculous Man" by Fyodor Dostoyevsky

The Society for Women of Letters

Every month, the Society for Women of Letters holds online Salons, where a theological, philosophical, or literary work is discussed live via Zoom. Shadowlands Dispatch is pleased to feature study guides for these works after the live discussion has been posted for SWL members and paid Shadowlands Dispatch subscribers.

The SWL January 2024 Salon featured Fyodor Dostoyevsky’s “The Dream of a Ridiculous Man,” led by guest scholar Dr. Amber Dyer. Below, please find the accompanying study guide, with a PDF at the end of this post available for download.

INTRODUCTION:

Fyodor Dostoyevsky (1821-1881) was a Russian novelist and short story writer who is often regarded as one of the finest and most influential who has ever lived. He is best known for four long novels: Crime and Punishment (1866), The Idiot (1869), The Possessed (1872), and The Brothers Karamazov (1880). His novella, Notes from the Underground (1964), is another of his most famous works. His stories exhibit profound philosophical, psychological, and theological depth, and it is commonly acknowledged that modern prison camp and dystopian novels are derivative of Dostoyevskian literature. Dostoyevsky first published his short story, "The Dream of a Ridiculous Man," in 1877.

Dostoyevsky has proven to be an essential prophet for the modern age. He eerily predicts and poignantly describes the anxiety and despair that would grip Western culture in the centuries to come. Although Dostoyevsky’s work can be grim as it mirrors the darkness falling upon the West, he also brings a message of hope and redemption that stands as an antithesis to the romantic idealism of his own age. Dostoyevsky’s stories reveal that expressive individualism is only a symptom and no antidote to the rationalism and mechanization of the modern age. For Dostoyevsky, only the incarnation of Christ can answer the confusion, isolation, and dehumanization that plagues the modern heart.

SUMMARY: