The Karamazov Case: Dostoevsky's Argument for His Vision

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This is a new interpretation of Dostoevskys novel The Brothers Karamazov that scrutinizes it as a performative event (the polyphony of the novel) revealing its religious, philosophical, and social meanings through the interplay of mentalits or worldviews that constitute an aesthetic whole. This way of discerning the novels social vision of sobornost (a unity between harmony and freedom), its vision of hope, and its more subtle sacramental presuppositions, raises Tilleys interpretation beyond the standard theology and literature treatments of the novel and interpretations that treat the novel as providing solutions to philosophical problems. Tilley develops Bakhtins thoughtful analysis of the polyphony of the novel using communication theory and readers/hearer response criticism, and by using Bakhtin's operatic image of polyphony to show the error of taking "faith vs. reason", argues that at the end of the novel, the characters learned to carry on, in a quiet shared commitment to memory and hope.

Author Bio

Terrence W. Tilley is Professor Emeritus of Theology and Chair of the Department at Fordham University, USA.