“Dostoevsky gives me more than any scientist, more than Gauss!”
Albert Einstein
First published in 1861 in the monthly magazine Vremya, Humiliated and Insulted tells the story of Natasha Nikolayevna, a young girl who decides to run away from home to be with her lover, Alexei Petrovich. Because their parents are in the middle of a huge scandal involving businesses and gossips, Natasha feels that there is no other way for them to be together but to run away. As expected, her decision will change everyone’s lives including Vanya’s, the narrator of this story.
A young writer that grew up in the home one Nikolai Sergeich Ikhmenev, Ivan Petrovich Vanya was always fond of Natasha and their love has always been described by everyone as that of a brother and sister. This novel, however, shows how Vanya’s love for Natasha switched from that of a brother to one that of a possible lover, then to that of a brother and father only to witch once more to that of a possible lover. It might seem a rollercoaster and a bit confusing, but in fact it is as simple as possible and I will try to explain it.
In the first part of the novel, Vanya tells us how when he left the Ikhmenev’s house in order to pursue his career, he cared for Natasha as a brother would do for her sister. However, when they meet again several years later, his love changed into that of a possible lover as he recognised that Natasha has changed into a young woman. But that won’t last long as the girl falls in love with Alyosha and leaves her childhood home. Now renounced by her parents, Vanya cannot leave Natasha alone without a fatherly protection and he pursues to protect her ignoring his feelings. Here is when he switched his romantic love to that of a father and even that of a father. His actions can be interpreted as those of a father. For example, when Prince Valkovsky visits Natasha and in a frenzy tells her everything about his plans of separating her from his son, Vanya steps in and protects Natasha’s honour. A brother might as well to that, however, a father would care more about his daughter’s honour than a brother.
The last switch that we see in Vanya is at the end of the novel, when he talks with Natasha about future and marriage. It is clear that he is not needed anymore to protect her in such ways as he did during the previous year, therefore he sees that he can now pursue his romantic love for her. Will they marry? Will she accept his love? Will he dare to truly pursue his feeling for Natasha and ask for her hand? We might not know that for sure, but what we know is that Vanya’s care for Natasha is the only consistent feeling in this novel. Even though he cares for her in different ways during the length of the novel, Vanya does not abandon Natasha and every action he takes is for her good.
Why should you read this novel?
I could write so many reasons but I know that each one is subjective to everyone’s preferences, so I will write just a few:
– it is a great love story with lots of ups and downs
– gives a great insight on the Russian family and society of the 19th Century
– it might be a cliché but Dostoevsky is the master of the psychological novels and each one can be analysed in so many ways. This is one of those kinds and you might have already noticed from my ‘psychological’ review. Do not judge me, it is just that I found Vanya to be a great character that should be studied in depth.
– Friedrich Nietzsche said: “The only psychologist from whom I have anything to learn.”
I could continue this article but I do not want to spoil anything more than I have already did. So, please read this novel as I am sure anyone could find something on their preferences and if you do, please comment below and tell me your thoughts. I would love to hear somebody else’s opinion on this novel.
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