The Landlady (1847) is an experiment with the Gothic form;
A Jealous Husband, an Unusual Event (1848) and
Nine Letters (1847) are burlesques;
White Nights (1848) is a sentimental romance; and the unfinished novel
Netochka Nezvanova (1847) is a mixture of Gothic, social, and sentimental elements. Despite the variety and lack of formal and thematic continuity, one may pick out themes and devices that reappear in the mature work of Dostoevsky.
Dostoevsky's life showed some of the same pattern of uncertain experimentation. Although he had already shown the religious and conservative traits that were to become a fixed part of his character in his mature years, he was also attracted at this time to current revolutionary thought. In 1847 he began to associate with a mildly subversive group called the "Petrashevsky Circle." In 1849, however, the members were arrested and the circle was disbanded. After 8 months of imprisonment, Dostoevsky was sentenced to death. This sentence was actually a hoax designed to impress the prisoners with the Czar's mercy, when he commuted the death penalty. At one point, however, Dostoevsky believed he had only moments to live, and he was never to forget the sensation and feelings of that experience.
This is a free page. This page contains 198 words. This
biography contains 2,156 words (approx. 7 pages at 300
words per page).
Read the rest of this Biography with our Fyodor Dostoevsky Access Pass.
