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Review and Commentary: Crime and Punishment by Fyodor Dostoevsky

5/5 - Spoiler Warning

"...what do you think, wouldn't thousands of good deeds make up for one tiny little crime?"

This is the main question that we, the readers, are meant to ponder while we read Crime and Punishment. In this novel, we follow Rodion Romanovich Raskolnikov, a former student living in St. Petersburg. In the beginning, we watch as he debates back and forth between committing a crime that even he, at times, seems disgusted with the idea of doing. We get an explanation of his reasoning behind it- a very rationalist point of view that Dostoevsky uses this novel to criticize. Raskolnikov believes that certain extraordinary people should be allowed to dispose of others if that loss of life means that great things will be accomplished. Within the context of his own crime, his rationale is that, because the old pawn broker, is rich, unnecessarily cruel to others, and plans to give her wealth to a church rather than passing it on to the struggling people around her, he believes that she should be murdered and robbed and her wealth be used to make a difference for others. However, we later find out that one of his biggest motivations was that he wanted to see if he himself was extraordinary like the people in his theory. What finally gets him to commit the murder is when he is sick and delirious. However, things do not go as planned; he forgets to close the front door and the old woman's sister, Lizaveta, walks in on the murder scene. Raskolnikov kills her too. Her character, to me, is the unintended casualty that usually comes up in arrogant, rationalist, thought processes like Raskolnikov's. He believed that he would come up with a plan and complete his crime perfectly with no loose ends- but that is never how these things work. Her seemingly having some sort of developmental disability also makes her childlike to many of the characters- which I believe is intentional with what role her character serves.

Speaking of Lizaveta's developmental disability, she suffers at the hands of men just like most of the women in this novel do. Lizaveta, for example, is apparently assaulted frequently because she cannot say no to anyone. Other characters, such as Avdotya (or Dunya) Raskolnikova and Sofya (or Sonya) Marmeladova, quite literally sell (or almost) sell themselves to help their loved ones. This is also mostly to cover for the shortcomings of the men around them. Sonya, for example, resorts to prostitution to take care of her father, step mother, and step siblings since her father cannot hold a job due to his alcoholism. When her father, Semyon Marmeladov, meets Raskolnikov for the first time, he likens her to Jesus Christ several times. Her self sacrifice for the ones she loves makes this an accurate comparison- and it foreshadows her own relationship with Raskolnikov later in the novel. Dunya goes on a similar path, as she almost gets married to a manipulative, older man who can provide financial stability to her family once and for all. Between their mother constantly sending Raskolnikov money and her losing her previous job as a governess due to the man whose family she works for proposing that they run away together, she is desperate. And when Raskolnikov is told about this engagement by their mother, he immediately knows that she is doing this to get money for their family. He even directly compares her to Sonya, saying that his sister's situation is no different than hers. As his frustrations with his sister grows because he does not want her to sacrifice herself for him, his guilt about his crimes gets worse and worse. The days following the incident, he spends a lot of his time feverish and delirious as his sin eats away at his conscience. This is the beginning of his journey toward repentance after his sin, as he seems so desperate to confess and get it off of his chest. He was unable to rob the old woman of much, the things he did steal are hidden under a rock, and his plan failed. He is not one of the extraordinary like he once thought he may be.

Sonya, who at one point read the story of Lazarus being resurrected by Jesus to Raskolnikov, is the person he eventually confesses to. At this point in the novel, Raskolnikov has been spiritually dead since his crime. His sickness, paranoia, and delirium is overwhelming him- he has been unable to truly live. And when he confesses to Sonya he says this himself:

"Was it the old crone I killed? I killed myself, not the old crone! Whopped myself right then and there, forever!"

Sonya, being his redeemer and savior, tells him that she will bear his cross along side him, she will still love him, she will even follow him to Siberia if he confesses- everything he needs to hear. Unfortunately, however, his confession is heard by another. Svidrigailov, the man that his sister previously worked for and had an ambiguous relationship with, was staying in the room next to Sonya's. And for the man trying to convince the newly single Dunya to marry him, information like this about her brother is vital to him. And he uses it- sending Dunya a letter saying that he has information about her brother committing a crime. Of course, she comes to see him and is eventually cornered and given two options: give herself over to Svidrigailov and he will get them all passports so they can flee the authorities together or fight him off and he may go to the police. Dunya, however, is much stronger than he believes and she does not sacrifice herself for Raskolnikov- she even almost kills Svidrigailov but she stops herself before she does. A man as vile as Svidrigailov cannot be saved. She tells him that she cannot love him and he allows her to leave as he too realizes what Dunya did; he is incapable of being redeemed and loved by another. His depravity aligns with his nature- this is seen in his sexual violence, predation of children, and the murder of his wife. He has no shame for his vileness, he tells Raskolnikov this himself. Raskolnikov's whole philosophy is that these great men are the ones who feel no regret or shame for the lives they have taken or destroyed for their own gain, and Svidrigailov is showing him that that is not the case. Raskolnikov is disgusted by him, and if Sonya is supposed to represent salvation, I believe Svidrigailov represents damnation. In the end, when Raskolnikov is faced with confession or suicide, because his murder goes against his nature, he chooses confession. Svidrigailov, on the other hand, chooses to give out all of his money and commit suicide. Dunya was never meant to kill him, she knew that he had to decide his own fate, much like Porfiry would not arrest Raskolnikov until he confessed, despite knowing that he committed the crime.

In the end, Raskolnikov repents for his sins in Siberia. At first, he struggled to fully accept that he did something wrong, even there. His willingness to come forward got him a reduced sentence of eight years but he still only regretted that he confessed. Then the sickness came back, which was a pattern throughout the story. Sonya did follow him and set up her own life there like she promised. And, one day when Sonya comes to visit him, he finally accepts his crimes for what they were and, only then, is he able to feel happiness again. He is finally able to feel love and be loved by Sonya, which was something that never could have happened without his shame and genuine repentance. The final scene in the novel was beautiful- Sonya's love finally being accepted by Raskolnikov and his acceptance that he can feel love again. For the first time, the tone is optimistic and the couple even feels as though the next seven years will only feel like seven days. And Raskolnikov knows that he still has much repenting to do, but now he is finally resurrected and renewed like Lazarus in the story Sonya read to him.

"But he was risen and he knew it, he felt it fully with the whole of his renewed being, and she- she lived just by his life alone!"

Some other things I enjoyed about this novel besides the amazing ending: - Raskolnikov and Razumikhin's dynamic - the comedic timing of Raskolnikov's fainting - Dunya x Razumikhin at the end - most of the characters (that deserved it) getting happy endings - Luzhin getting exposed for being a weirdo - the fact that Dunya and Razumikhin are going to move to Siberia as well

Honorable mention of a quote I loved:

“The man who has a conscience suffers whilst acknowledging his sin. That is his punishment.”

[thornfield-library]

crime and punishment is so funny bc rodya will sit there like “wouldn’t it be crazy if i committed the crime? i mean i’m not saying that i did but like. if i did. wouldn’t that be crazy? haha you must think i’m insane hahaha what if this is all to trick you?” and then when people do in fact suspect him for the crime that he committed he loses his shit

[thornfield-library]

after completing the novel, I can confirm you guys were right and that Svidrigailov is so much worse than Luzhin, I take it back

when I'm in a being fucking evil competition and my opponent is pyotr petrovich luzhin

[thornfield-library]

when I'm in a being fucking evil competition and my opponent is pyotr petrovich luzhin

[thornfield-library]

This passage is one of the many from Crime and Punishment that is etched into my brain even though I'm well passed it in the book:

"Raskolnikov stopped once more.

'Once and for all, never ask me about anything. I have nothing to tell you. Don't come to see me. Maybe I'll come here...Leave me, but don't leave them. Do you understand me?'

It was dark in the corridor, they were standing near the lamp. For a minute they were looking at one another in silence. Razumikhin remembered that minute all his life. Raskolnikov's burning and intent eyes grew more penetrating every moment, piercing into his soul, into his consciousness. Suddenly Razumikhin started. Something strange, as it were, passed between them...Some idea, some hint, as it were, slipped, something awful, hideous, and suddenly understood on both sides...Razumikhin turned pale.

'Do you understand now?' said Raskolnikov, his face twitching nervously. 'Go back, go to them,' he said suddenly, and turning quickly, he went out of the house.

I will not attempt to describe how Razumikhin went back to the ladies, how he soothed them, how he protested that Rodya needed rest in his illness, protested that Rodya was sure to come, that he would come every day, that he was very, very much upset, that he must not be irritated, that he, Razumikhin, would watch over him, would get him a doctor, the best doctor, a consultation...In fact from that evening Razumikhin took his place with them as a son and a brother."

[thornfield-library]

through a few months months of reading novellas and short stories along with it, I'm finally almost done with Crime and Punishment

I respect the grind that so many of you guys have to be able to read a lot every day lmao, I'm hoping I'll be at that point soon

I also keep forgetting that I have this blog to post my thoughts to even if it's not a long post so expect more of that soon

[thornfield-library]

between emerald fennells wuthering heights and the netflix dorian grey adaption we can stop with this gothic renaissance again, I don’t think people have the media literacy needed for it

[thornfield-library]

[thornfield-library]

Margot Robbie on the set of Emerald Fennell's Wuthering Heights.

[thornfield-library]

Crime and Punishment: Part 1 Analysis (Spoilers !!)

Characters:

Rodion Raskolnikov: 23 years old; ex student living in St. Petersburg; currently unemployed and very behind on rent; kind of a shut in

Alyona Ivanovna: pawn broker; capricious; undervalues the items brought to her; is abusive toward her younger half-sister; very rich

Lizaveta Ivanovna: younger half sister of Alyona Ivanovna; intellectually disabled; very "agreeable and uncomplaining" due to her disability and is pregnant often; cooks and cleans her sister's home; makes clothes; and cleans other's homes for a fee; gives all of her money to Alyona Ivanovna

Semyon Marmeladov: councilor; severe alcoholic; married to Katerina Ivanovna; was sober for one year but fired after drinking again; when the family moved and he found a new job, he was fired again; recently found his current job after begging a man for the position; after getting paid he took the money and spent it on alcohol and hasn't been home for five days; almost brags about his incompetence and how much it is destroying his wife, daughter, and step children

Katerina Ivanovna: second wife of Marmeladov; has three children from her previous marriage; sick; married Marmeladov "weeping and sobbing and wringing her hands" because she had nowhere else to go after her first husband died

Sonya Marmeladova: Marmeladov's daughter from his first wife; seems intelligent but was not able to make money doing handiwork and was bullied into prostitution by her step mother so that she could provide for the family

Nastasya: servant at the place Raskolnikov rents from; she seems to genuinely care about Raskolnikov, especially when he's sick

Praskovya Pavlovna: Raskolnikov's landlord; allegedly wants to get the police to evict him because he does not pay rent

Pulcheria Raskolnikov: Rodion's mother who sends him money to live off of, more so now that he has dropped out of university and stopped giving lessons for money: lives away from St. Petersburg, probably from the area the family is all originally from

Dunya Raskolnikov: Rodion's sister: younger than him: was a governess but the position was taken from her when the man of the household, Mr. Svidrigailov, kept trying to get her to have an affair with him and his wife saw; her reputation was ruined by Marfa Petrovna, his wife, and she and her mother were treated poorly by others; her reputation was saved when Mr. Svidrigailov told the truth and Marfa Petrovna's distant relative found out about Dunya through her story; the relative, Pyotr Luzhin, visited Dunya and Pulcheria and proposed to Dunya, which she agreed to; does not love Mr. Luzhin

Mr. Svidrigailov: the man who tried to preposition Dunya into an affair

Marfa Petrovna: wife of Mr. Svidrigailov; tarnished Dunya's reputation and kicked her out of their home after she found her husband trying to convince Dunya to be in a relationship with him; distant relative of Pyotr Luzhin

Pyotr Luzhin: 45 years old; relative of Marfa Petrovna, who told him about Dunya Raskolnikov; proposed to her the day after they met; arrogant; does not love Dunya; is open to meeting Raskolnikov and giving him a job at his business

Razumikhin: a former friend of Raskolnikov's from university; cheerful; friendly; well loved by others; physically strong; also left university for the time being

Themes:

Women Sacrificing Themselves to Save the Men They Love: seen so far in Sonya Marmeladova literally selling herself to provide for her father and her stepfamily, and Dunya Raskolnikov becoming, as Raskolnikov put it, "Mr. Luzhin's lawful concubine" to provide for her family, but mostly her brother; also, kind of seen in Lizaveta Ivanovna, although she does not sacrifice herself for a man, but her sister

Poverty: almost every character lives in poverty to some degree so far, besides Mr. Luzhin, Alyona Ivanovna and the Svidrigilovs, all for various reasons; for example, I believe Raskolnikov and Marmeladov are very different characters, but they are similar in the sense that they both rely on their female relatives to provide for them currently in the novel. There are other characters like Sonya, Lizaveta, Dunya, and Pulcheria who live in poverty because they give all or most of their money to someone else. There is also Katerina Ivanovna, who is ill and has to take care of her three young children, as cruel as she may be to Sonya. Razumikhin apparently had to leave university like Raskolnikov due to financial struggles, but we have not been told why

Morality of Criminality: It is revealed that the novel is asking us a question about crime when we hear Raskolnikov's reason for murdering Alyona Ivanovna: is one death worth it if it saves thousands of other lives? Raskolnikov believes so, but his crime goes wrong, and he ends up having to murder Lizaveta as well when he gets to their home too late, and she gets home before he can leave. Now he believes he has committed a crime, whereas before he thought that Alyona's death was a net positive for society. I wonder how his opinion on this will change as he processes what he has done or if the book will leave it up to us to decide for ourselves Christianity: during Marmeladov's story about his life he sort of compares himself to Christ, saying he should be crucified, etc. However, I believe Sonya is the more Christ-like figure in their dynamic in the way that she sacrifices herself for the greater good of her loved ones

Memorable Quotes:

"On that day He will come and ask, 'Where is the daughter who gave herself for a wicked and consumptive stepmother, for a stranger's little children? Where is the daughter who pitied her earthly father, a foul drunkard, not shrinking from his beastliness?' And He will say, 'Come! I have already forgiven you once…I have forgiven you once…And now, too, your many sins are forgiven, for you have loved much…'" (p. 41)

"'…It's clear that the one who gets first notice, the one who stands in the forefront, is none other than Rodion Romanovich Raskolnikov. Oh, yes, of course, his happiness can be arranged, he can be kept at the university, made a partner in the office, his whole fate can be secured; maybe later he'll be rich, honored, respected, and perhaps he'll even end his life a famous man! And mother? But we're talking about Rodya, precious Rodya, her firstborn! How can she not sacrifice even such a daughter for the sake of such a firstborn son! Oh, dear and unjust hearts! Worse still, for this we might not even refuse Sonechka's lot! Sonechka, Sonechka Marmeladov, eternal Sonechka, as long as the world stands! But the sacrifice, have the two of you taken full measure of the sacrifice? Is it right? Are you strong enough? Is it any use? Is it reasonable? Do you know, Dunechka, that Sonechka's lot is in no way worse than yours with Mr. Luzhin?…" (p. 62-63)

"His thoughts were distracted…And generally it was painful for him at that moment to think about anything at all. He would have liked to become totally oblivious, oblivious of everything, and then wake up and start totally anew…" (p. 69)

"'…what do you think, wouldn't thousands of good deeds make up for one tiny little crime?…'" (p. 86)

[thornfield-library]

Review and Commentary: The Nose by Nikolai Gogol

4 / 5 - Spoiler Warning

The Nose, at its core, is a short, sweet, and satirical critique on vanity. As someone who loves satirical takes on problems within society, I really enjoyed this story. This was also my introduction to Gogol, and I can say I will definitely check out more of his works. This story is of a man who wakes up one day and he has no nose, not as if someone took it off of his face, but as if he never had one. Where his nose should be, it is perfectly smooth. At the beginning, we see that his barber found his nose in his loaf of bread and disposed of it before our protagonist even knows that it is gone and the rest of the story is the man trying to find his nose and, eventually, reattach it.

Something very interesting to note about this story is how all of the character’s clothing and looks are described. For example, our neighborhood barber, Ivan Yakovlevich, is described as having an unshaven face and his coat, which had once been black, had become “brownish-yellow”. The narrator also points out how the buttons that were once on the coat are long gone, only leaving threads behind in their place. To contrast this, our protagonist, Kovalev, is described as wearing shirts where the collar is “always remarkably clean and stiff” and his facial hair is said to be trimmed and styled the same way as governors, architects, and doctors. All of these things indicate that Kovalev is wealthy and has always had some sort of privilege given his education, compared to our unkempt, drunk barber, Ivan. In a shocking turn of events, unlike the nose simply being unattached like it was at the beginning when it was in the Yakovlevich home, Kovalev sees a man in uniform get out of a carriage and he realizes that it is his missing nose.

”It wore a gold-embroidered uniform with a stiff, high collar, trousers of chamois leather, and a sword hung at its side. The hat, adorned with a plume, showed that it held the rank of a state-councillor.”

Of all of the characters so far, the Nose seems to have the most extravagant wardrobe. Interestingly enough, you can infer all of the characters’ social classes just from the descriptions of their clothing without Gogol explicitly saying it. This is, of course, exactly how people in the story perceive those around them.

Another theme of this story is Kovalev’s fragile masculinity and insecurities. From the beginning, we hear about how Kovalev did not get his committee-man position by education and is therefore less respected. To compensate for this, he calls himself “Major” rather than “committee-man”. Kovalev’s nose seems to represent his masculinity- as soon as it is gone, he is much more submissive (especially to his nose, which he perceives to be a higher rank than him) and seems to have lost his way with women, which is a major part of his character. After a day of being unable to get his nose back, Kovalev despairs, saying:

“In heaven's name, why should such a misfortune befall me? If I had lost an arm or a leg, it would be less insupportable; but a man without a nose! Devil take it!—what is he good for? He is only fit to be thrown out of the window. If it had been taken from me in war or in a duel, or if I had lost it by my own fault! But it has disappeared inexplicably.”

I thought this was interesting because you don’t usually associate a man with his nose. I believe this is the most blatant way Gogol tells us that his nose is representative of something else: his fragile masculinity. When it cracks, which seems to happen easily for someone as insecure as Kovalev, we see the side of him that he tries to hide by overcompensating. One aspect of his character is how little he seems to value women as well, given how we are told that he is a womanizer who charms them, sleeps with them, and refuses a serious relationship. This led the man to believing that he was cursed by a girl he had been leading on. Also, while searching for his nose earlier, he sees a young woman and he wants to flirt with her. But as he remembers that he has been emasculated, “…suddenly he sprang back as though he had been scorched…” and tears welled up in his eyes. He can no longer hide his insecurities from the women he meets and cannot face them.

Unfortunately, when the man gets his nose back later in the story, he gets his toxic masculinity back and he goes back to his old ways: arrogant, boisterous, and misogynistic. Kovalev even feels superior to men with smaller noses, turning the nose into a phallic object. But earlier when he receives his nose and realizes he has no way to attach it, and the excitement of finally getting the nose back turns to despair in these lines:

“But nothing is permanent in this world. Joy in the second moment of its arrival is already less keen than in the first, is still fainter in the third, and finishes by coalescing with our normal mental state, just as the circles which the fall of a pebble forms on the surface of water, gradually die away.”

This quote stood out to me when I was reading because of the tone shift. I can admit that watching this hypermasculine, misogynistic character be emasculated was amusing to read so when I read something I could very much relate to, it hit me pretty hard. Overall, I really enjoyed this story and if anyone has recommendations for what to read next from Gogol, let me know!

[thornfield-library]

After recently having finished Nikolai Gogol’s short story, The Nose, I wish that we could have been given a more detailed description of what the nose actually looks like, specifically in scenes where the nose is wearing a uniform. I understand why Kovalev only pays attention to his clothing, after all, he is humiliated that a walking, talking, nose could have a higher rank than he does. The story as a whole has a lot to do with society only looking at the clothing on one’s back and what rank and respectability that means that person deserves rather than seeing the person underneath the clothes. But I still do wish I could fully visualize what Gogol had in mind for his sentient nose, even if it was just a bit more detailed

Bookish Question of the Week:

Regardless of whether you're a writer or not, pick a book that you would want to rewrite or expand upon. Maybe you want to add a new ending, change a character's traits, remove a scene you disliked, etc. Talk about what you would change.

[thornfield-library]

✯ tiny thrifted book haul just in time for Dostoevsky's birthday + embroidery kit progress ✯

[thornfield-library]

Review and Commentary: White Nights by Fyodor Dostoevsky

5/5 - Spoiler Warning

White Nights begins in the summer with our narrator, a Dreamer, walking aimlessly through the streets of St. Petersburg looking for things he knows. With many of the city's denizens gone to their dachas (summer homes), the narrator is left behind and is feeling dejected and alone. The man remarks that he, despite having "hardly any" acquaintances, was acquainted with all of Petersburg through a man that he runs into every day and the houses he "talks" to. Despite so many people being gone for the season, the narrator comes across a young woman on a bridge. Though his first attempt at approaching her fails, an encounter between her and a man stalking her leads him to intervene and conversation ensues. While walking her home, he seems to get swept up in the moment and spills his feelings and dreams to her. This does not scare the girl off though and the narrator explains that he has no women to talk to in his life besides landladies. I can personally relate to getting caught up in the excitement of meeting someone new, especially after feeling alone for a long time. This and the narrator's dreamer tendencies are things I find very relatable about him. The girl and the narrator make plans to see each other the next day but she makes one request: that our Dreamer does not fall for her. This almost never works out so at this point I prepared for angst.

When the two meet the next day, we finally find out that the girl’s name is Nastenka, or that is what she tells the narrator to call her, which he is surprised about. My brief time in college taking Russian language courses came in handy here since I figured that it was because Nastenka is the diminutive, or nickname basically for friends or a more casual context, for Anastasia. The narrator was most likely shocked at this since they had just met, and it was very brief at that. Her casual language paired with her following request, that our narrator tells her his life story, tells us that she is already quite comfortable with the man despite saying how she knows nothing about him. First describing himself as a “type”, a “character”, then finally, a “dreamer”, his explanations get more and more whimsical as he goes on. He compares himself to a snail or tortoise, due to them being attached to their homes, then describes a scene where an acquaintance showed up at his home and he was unable to entertain the man and it ends badly, which is something I can relate to. Sometimes you are tossed into social situations, and you feel like, as the narrator said, a “fish out of water”. He speaks of how he often revisits places around the city where he was once happy and celebrates the anniversaries of sensations from his dreams, how he can go somewhere and a year ago he was just as sad but he was free from the "black thoughts" that haunt him now. Then he says something that spoke to me the most out of this section:

“And so I ask myself: 'Where are your dreams?' And I shake my head and mutter: 'How the years go by!' And I ask myself again: 'What have you done with those years? Where have you buried your best moments? Have you really lived? Look,' I say to myself, 'how cold it is becoming all over the world!' And more years will pass and behind them will creep grim isolation. Tottering senility will come hobbling, leaning on a crutch, and behind these will come unrelieved boredom and despair. The world of fancies will fade, dreams will wilt and die and fall like autumn leaves from the trees...”

After dealing with my own mental health problems and losing many aspects of my life because of them, I feel this to my core. You look at your life and feel disappointed and scared because you know time goes on with or without you and you know that you could have lived your life differently than you did if you had made different decisions. But you feel that you cannot even feel regrets over the things you lost because ultimately you cannot change your past and all you are missing out on are dreams you may have now about how things could have been. You feel that it was your fault anyway for spending so much time in your dreams because you did not want to face the reality you exist in, and you are the one who lost all that time. Feeling like you have lost your best years and, eventually, your dreams will fade and you will be left alone. The exciting feeling when you meet someone new that is replaced by the sadness from the knowledge that they will probably not be in your life for long, as so many friendships are fleeting. I see so many of my own emotions from the lowest points in my life in this narrator, but this passage spoke volumes to me.

It is now Nastenka's turn to tell her life story, and it is one of unrequited love between her and another man, which explains her urgency about our narrator not falling in love with her. The man was renting from her very overprotective grandmother and their relationship began with him supplying Nastenka with books. One time they met in the staircase, the man offered to take her to the theater, which she declined as to not upset her grandmother. But the man asked her grandmother if she and Nastenka would like to come, which she happily agreed (funnily enough, the opera that he took them to see, The Barber of Seville, tells the story of lovers trying to be together despite the woman being under the guardianship of an overprotective relative, which her grandmother says she literally played this part when she was younger- quite ironic). This went well and the girl thought the lodger would see her more, but he only visited once a month to take them to the theater, and she saw that he only did it out of pity of her situation. The man returned one evening to tell them that he would be moving to Moscow for one year. That night, the heartbroken girl packed her things and went to see him, to beg to let her come with him. The man then vowed that when he came back, if she was still interested in him, they would be married. This leads us to her current predicament, that she knows he has returned yet he has not contacted her. I feel as though some of the similarities between the narrator and Nastenka are evident here. Both of them have lived lonely lives and when someone new comes around they get caught up in them and end up hurt. Nastenka has been the first woman that our narrator has connected with like this, like the lodger was the first man Nastenka felt she had a connection with, or so she says. While I was reading, I couldn't help but feel that the lodger was not as into Nastenka as she was him, even though he said they could get married when he came back, which just made me feel badly for the girl. She is young and sheltered, it would not be the first time someone who fits that description falls for the first person who shows them kindness. I feel that the girl is struggling between the physical entrapment from her coddling grandmother and the emotional entrapment from the lodger on her heart and she is not making the best decision by still pursuing him.

Regardless, our narrator pledges to assist her in her quest to find the man who left her heartbroken. So he takes a letter from her and says he will deliver it to friends of hers who will pass it on to the lodger. The next night, he has not heard a response from the man, nor has Nastenka. When he arrives, Nastenka seems to be in good spirits, laughing loudly at everything he says, which seems to me that she is hoping that the lodger is watching her nearby and she hopes to make him jealous. I believe this is confirmed when a man walks by them and he drops her hand and when she asks him why, she says she wants the lodger to see how much they like each other. This is where I, once again, began to feel bad for the protagonist. When she accepted that the lodger would not come this night, the girl was being quite affectionate with our narrator again and comparing the lodger to him.

"'I was thinking about you,' she said after a minute's silence. 'You are so kind that I should be a stone if I did not feel it. Do you know what has occurred to me now? I was comparing you two. Why isn't he you? Why isn't he like you? He is not as good as you, though I love him more than you.'"

After a lot of mixed signals, they finally part and the narrator went home "more depressed than I had ever been before".

When they meet again, the lodger is still nowhere to be found and there is some hope for their love story, because Nastenka says she wants to get over the lodger (as she should). The narrator gets fed up with the things she is saying and impulsively confesses his love for her, then tries to leave. But she tells him that her love for the lodger will eventually fade and she can love the protagonist back. While the two seem to be high on puppy love, discussing scenarios in which Nastenka moves in with him and their future together as they walk to "their" future home, a man appears before them. This was the moment that I knew would happen but it was still gut-wrenching when it actually happened. With one final kiss, Nastenka left our dreamer alone again, like he said she would. The next day, he wakes up to a letter from the girl. She asked for his forgiveness, and says he will forget the pain he must feel because he loves her. She also says to keep loving her and hopes that he will be at her wedding. After reading the letting over and over, his maid tells him that she dusted the cobwebs from his ceiling and that he could have a wedding or party (ouch). Then, either caused by a passing cloud or him imagining his lonely, depressing future, he sees his room, the homes outside, and his maid, and himself all aged, living the same solitary life. But he concludes that he will not have resentment for Nastenka, declaring:

“My God, a moment of bliss. Why, isn't that enough for a whole lifetime?”

[thornfield-library]

Review and Commentary: The Canterville Ghost by Oscar Wilde

5/5 - Spoiler Warning

“Death must be so beautiful. To lie in the soft brown earth, with the grasses waving above one’s head, and listen to silence. To have no yesterday, and no tomorrow. To forget time, to forgive life, to be at peace.”

An enjoyable short story that, during the first half, I read for amusement, and, by the end, I was hooked, wondering how the story would resolve. It begins with the Otis family buying Canterville Chase, despite warnings of it being haunted the ghost of Sir Simon de Canterville, who had killed his wife three hundred years prior. The family says that they do not believe in ghosts, but when a bloodstain is spotted by Mrs. Otis (she "does not care for blood-stains in a sitting room") and is swiftly removed by her son via Pinkerton's Champion Stain Remover and Paragon Detergent, Sir Simon's haunting begins in full force. Many times, the ghost tries to terrorize the Otis family like he has done to others in the past, but utterly fails. His attempts only meet him with members of the Otis family telling him about various products to fix problems he is experiencing (Tammany Rising Sun Lubricator from Mr. Otis for oiling the chains on his wrists and ankles and Doctor Dobell's tincture from Mrs. Otis for his indigestion) as well as a fake ghost made by the Otis twins to scare him. As a matter of fact, the twins seem to find joy in terrorizing Sir Simon, a complete twist on a traditional ghost story.

After several weeks of trying, Sir Simon comes to the conclusion that the American family does not deserve his haunting, and even gives up on keeping the bloodstain in the sitting room and only comes out to walk around at night when no one else is around. Though, the twins do wait for his appearance and catch him after he has changed into another "character", which is another interesting aspect to this story. The idea that one ghost is playing the part of several other specters is an amusing one to say the least, especially given that they are referred to as roles that Sir Simon seems to change into costumes for.

The drama of the story really begins, in my opinion, when Virginia Otis comes across Sir Simon in the Tapestry Chamber. She shows sympathy toward him, even offering to give him a sandwich after he tells her he was starved to death by his wife's brothers after he murdered her. The ghost reveals to her that he has not slept in three hundred years because of the sins he committed in his life and that Virginia is the only one that can help him rest by weeping and praying for forgiveness of his sins. She is whisked away by Sir Simon and her family cannot find her for 24 hours, before she suddenly appears before them outside of the Tapestry Chamber. She informs her family that the ghost will not haunt them anymore and that he can finally rest, before leading them to the room where his skeleton still lay. The family holds a funeral for the dead man, Virginia marries her betrothed, and they live happily ever after. Though I wish the relationship between Sir Simon and Virginia was expanded upon more, I still enjoyed their ending.

There is a lot of symbolism within the story, such as the Otis family representing the average materialistic, American family. The father, Hiram Otis, is a Minister to the United Kingdom (he quite literally represents America). His wife, Lucretia Otis, was a "celebrated New York belle". Their oldest son, Washington Otis, of course could be representing the country's capital, Washington D.C., or the first president of the United States, George Washington. The twin boys are only named once in the story, with nicknames at that, being "Stars and Stripes", which calls back to the American flag. Finally, their daughter, Virginia Otis, is named after the state of Virginia, which also happens to be where the first settlement in America was started (Jamestown).

You could look at this story and see a parody of a ghost story that makes fun of Americans for being too materialistic and having no desire to uphold traditions, but out of all of the people who lived in the house after Sir Simon perished, the Americans were the only ones who were unbothered by his tactics. They refused to be haunted by the past and challenged Sir Simon's rule over the property, making him change his own ways and look toward begging the angel of death for mercy via Virginia. The girl who was revealed to be American, but born in London, offered to help the spirit instead of trying to torment him back (like the twins) or "fix" him (like Washington and her parents. What Wilde seems to be saying is that the British need to stop being so aristocratic and relying on traditions and Americans need to be less materialistic and critical of others. Like Virginia says to her now husband of her experience with Sir Simon,

“He made me see what Life is, and what Death signifies, and why Love is stronger than both.”

[thornfield-library]

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