The Brothers Karamazov - Dostoyevsky Lecture Three (Books V-VI) (Patreon)

'But suddenly he approaches the old man in silence and gently kisses him on his bloodless, ninety-year-old lips. That is the whole answer.'

Today our journey through Dostoyevsky's The Brothers Karamazov continues with an engagement with one of the most iconic passages in all of literature: the story of the Grand Inquisitor.

Timestamps:

• 0:00 meeting the Grand Inquisitor
• 4:00 Dostoyevsky as national playwright
• 7:19 overcoming the difficulty of Dostoyevsky
• 9:00 how great writers ensure their works endure
• 12:00 Dostoyevsky as rare visionary writer
• 13:30 the structure of Dostoyevsky’s novel
• 15:00 brother gets aquatinted with brother
• 17:30 Ivan rejects the creation of God
• 19:00 on long living in divided times
• 20:45 ‘am I my brother’s keeper?’
• 25:00 love thy neighbour as thyself
• 27:00 deep reading homework assignment
• 30:00 love before logic reveals meaning
• 32:20 striving for the highest ideal
• 34:20 loving mankind vs individuals
• 37:20 the difficulty of loving one’s neighbour
• 39:20 on reading reprehensible characters
• 41:00 the impossibility of Christ’s love
• 43:00 Dostoyevsky and Shakespeare
• 45:00 the problem of suffering in the world
• 46:00 miracle, mystery, and authority
• 48:30 meeting Christ & the Grand Inquisitor
• 50:30 when delegated power is usurped
• 53:00 overcoming the burden of freedom
• 55:00 three temptations in the wilderness
• 57:00 rejecting miracles as rejecting God
• 59:00 freedom of conscience as torment
• 1:01:00 Christ kisses the Grand Inquisitor
• 1:03:00 juxtaposing Zossima’s teachings
• 1:05:00 serving as a response to suffering
• 1:08:00 next discussion & reading exercises

Supplementary Resources:

• Scripture: You may find that the story of Cain and Abel makes a rewarding pairing when it comes to the Old Testament (Genesis 4:8-13). For New Testament pairings, I recommend the following passages from Gospel of Matthew: 4:1-11, 5:1-48, 16:1-28, 22:35-40.
• Short Film Appreciation: For an extraordinary television adaptation of the Grand Inquisitor, I highly recommend this short film starring the great thespian Sir John Gielgud. 
• Biographical Pairing: For those of you working through Joseph Frank's biography, I highly recommend reading chapter fifty-four ('Rebellion and the Grand Inquisitor') from pages 788-803 for an understanding of Dostoyevsky's thoughts on these two books.
• Aspects of the Novel: You may also find it rewarding to supplement your reading with E. M. Forster's analysis of the novel form in this book version of his Cambridge lecture series. 
• Shakespeare Appreciation: Dostoyevsky offers deep readers a profound opportunity to engage with the works of William Shakespeare. I recommend picking up the Arden edition of Hamlet and working through the play over the long term with a pen in your hand.
• Art Appreciation: If you were struck by Ivan Kramskoy's sublime 'Christ in the Wilderness', you might enjoy this book which walks through five depictions of this Bible scene. 

Reading Assignment:

Congratulations on continuing to bring yourselves so fully to such a challenging novel. The next discussion will be on books seven to eight. This takes us up to page 444 in the Pevear and Volokhonsky.

Questions to Consider:

1) What do you make of the Grand Inquisitor?

2) Is it fair to call Dostoyevsky a visionary writer?

3) What can we take from The Brothers Karamazov into our personal lives?

And please do continue to share with us your favourite passages and any ideas that have resonated with you from your reading so far.

Happy reading, everybody!