O solo sagrado: crítica da modernidade em Dostoiévski

Abstract

The Dostoevsky’s works were received in Western Europe as a perverse criticism that casted new light into the dominant intelectual movements of the period. Therefore, this thesis seeks to analyze the Russian novelist’s criticism of Western ideologies, and how that critical conception is designed as a critique of modernity, but formulated in the terms of a modern discourse. The writer was convicted for taking part in a revolutionary conspiracy against the czar, and this experience as a prisoner left deep marks in his literary trajectory. Aiming to understand the impact of these dramatic and difficult years in the author’s creations, the present research investigates his life and works between 1845 and 1864. Dostoevsky anchored his literary production in a religious vocabulary aquired through the contact with the Russian peasents while imprisoned. Thus, the writer’s interpreation regarding the christianity of the Russian people will be vital to the composition of his future works and will redefine his artistic, political and religious positions. Starting from the defense of the Russian soil, considering it the only space able to articulate an oposition to the rationalist and romantic theories, the novelist will establish his critique of modernity. Lastly, this study proposes to demonstrate that, instead of an answer, Dostoevsky finishes his work questioning the possibility of a foundation, religious or secular, upon which man can justify virtue.