--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Fyodor Mikhailovich Dostoevsky (November…" description: "\"“Fyodor Mikhailovich Dostoevsky (November 11 [O.S. October 30] 1821 – February 9 [O.S. January 28] 1881) is considered one of two greatest prose writer..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ab7/fyodor-dostoevsky-342_dostoevsky_fyodor-mikhailovich-dostoevsky-november_624363.jpg" --- # Fyodor Mikhailovich Dostoevsky (November 11 \[O.S. October… ![“Fyodor Mikhailovich Dostoevsky (November 11 [O.S. October 30] 1821 – February 9 [O.S. January 28] 1881) is considered one of two greatest prose writers of Russian literature, alongside close contemporary Leo Tolstoy. Dostoevsky's works have had a profound and lasting effect on twentieth-century…” quote by Fyodor Dostoevsky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ab7/fyodor-dostoevsky-342_dostoevsky_fyodor-mikhailovich-dostoevsky-november_624363.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ab7/fyodor-dostoevsky-342_dostoevsky_fyodor-mikhailovich-dostoevsky-november_624363.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ab7/fyodor-dostoevsky-342_dostoevsky_fyodor-mikhailovich-dostoevsky-november_624363.jpg) > ““Fyodor Mikhailovich Dostoevsky (November 11 \[O.S. October 30\] 1821 – February 9 \[O.S. January 28\] 1881) is considered one of two greatest prose writers of Russian literature, alongside close contemporary Leo Tolstoy. Dostoevsky's works have had a profound and lasting effect on twentieth-century thought and world literature. Dostoevsky's chief ouevre, mainly novels, explore the human psychology in the disturbing political, social and spiritual context of his 19th-century Russian society. Considered by many as a founder or precursor of 20th-century existentialism, his Notes from Underground (1864), written in the anonymous, embittered voice of the Underground Man, is considered by Walter Kaufmann as the "best overture for existentialism ever written." Source: Wikipedia”” [Fyodor Dostoevsky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/fyodor-dostoevsky/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. The novel presents a bitter, introspective narrator exposing the absurdities of human freedom and societal expectations. **In simple terms:** A disillusioned man critiques freedom and society. Key Takeaway Recognize the limits of rationalism. Themes existentialism psychology freedom Mood melancholic thoughtful Type philosophical literary When to use this quote - philosophical discourse - personal introspection - literary analysis Key Concepts human absurdity self‑reflection social critique Questions to Reflect On - What does true freedom mean? - Can society accommodate individual alienation? A Different Perspective The narrator’s extreme negativity may not represent all perspectives. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Dostoevsky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/dostoevsky/) [Dostoevsky Works](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/dostoevsky-works-5045184/) [Leo Tolstoy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/leo-tolstoy/) [Literature Dostoevsky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/literature-dostoevsky-5045182/) [Mikhailovich Dostoevsky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/mikhailovich-dostoevsky-5045183/) [Notes From Underground](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/notes-from-underground-229141/) [Russian literature](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/russian-literature/) [Tolstoy Dostoevsky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/tolstoy-dostoevsky-2315636/) [World literature](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/world-literature/) [Writer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/writer/) [Writing](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/writing/) ## Related quotes > [Humor is really important to me. All my favorite writers are writers I consider to be funny, including Tolstoy and Dostoevsky, even though that's…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elif-batuman/humor-is-really-important-to-me-all-my-favorite-writers-are-writers-i/) [Elif Batuman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elif-batuman/) > [“No prize , however great can justify an ounce of self deception or a small departure of the ugly facts. ( Notes from Underground)”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/fyodor-dostoyevsky/no-prize-however-great-can-justify-an-ounce-of-self-deception-or-a/) [Fyodor Dostoyevsky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/fyodor-dostoyevsky/) > [“The poor little thing, she'd saved this student's letter as a treasure and had run to fetch this precious treasure of hers, not wanting…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/fyodor-dostoyevsky/the-poor-little-thing-she-d-saved-this-student-s-letter-as-a-treasure/) [Fyodor Dostoyevsky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/fyodor-dostoyevsky/) > [ This story \["The Depressed Person"\] was the most painful thing I ever wrote. It's about narcissism, which is a part of depression. The character… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-foster-wallace/this-story-the-depressed-person-was-the-most-painful-thing-i-ever/) [David Foster Wallace](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-foster-wallace/) > [I was in my senior year of high school when I read 'Notes From Underground' by Dostoyevsky, and it was an exhilarating discovery. I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/claire-messud/i-was-in-my-senior-year-of-high-school-when-i-read-notes-from/) [Claire Messud](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/claire-messud/) > [“Like water leaking slowly through a dike to become a steady trickle or a flood, words and ideas inexorably elude the censor's grasp. (Banned…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/margaret-bald/like-water-leaking-slowly-through-a-dike-to-become-a-steady-trickle/) [Margaret Bald](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/margaret-bald/) > [The world of literature is a world where there is no reality except that of the human imagination.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/northrop-frye/the-world-of-literature-is-a-world-where-there-is-no-reality-except/) [Northrop Frye](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/northrop-frye/) > [The world of literature has everything in it, and it refuses to leave](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pat-conroy/the-world-of-literature-has-everything-in-it-and-it-refuses-to-leave-2/) [Pat Conroy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pat-conroy/) > [All third world literature is about nation, that identity is the fundamental literary problem in the third world. The writer's identity is insecure because…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-mcmorris/all-third-world-literature-is-about-nation-that-identity-is-the/) [Mark McMorris](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-mcmorris/) > [The Astonishment Tapes will now take its place within the growing field of international research about postwar American poetry's important contribution to world literature.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/peter-gizzi/the-astonishment-tapes-will-now-take-its-place-within-the-growing/) [Peter Gizzi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/peter-gizzi/) > [ “Although the disappearance of the true wildwood \[in the British Isles\] occurred in the Neolithic period, before humanity began to record its own history,… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-macfarlane/although-the-disappearance-of-the-true-wildwood-in-the-british-isles/) [Robert Macfarlane](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-macfarlane/) > [“Dreams, always dreams! and the more ambitious and delicate is the soul, the more its dreams bear it away from possibility. Each man carries…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aleister-crowley-charles-baudelaire/dreams-always-dreams-and-the-more-ambitious-and-delicate-is-the-soul/) [Aleister Crowley Charles Baudelaire](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aleister-crowley-charles-baudelaire/) > [“Heartache may be bad for the soul, but it's great for bookshops. It's when we are at our lowest romantic ebb that we are…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alain-de-botton/heartache-may-be-bad-for-the-soul-but-it-s-great-for-bookshops-it-s/) [Alain de Botton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alain-de-botton/) > [Most of what we call the classics of world literature suggest artifacts in a wax museum. We have to hire and pay professors to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edward-abbey/most-of-what-we-call-the-classics-of-world-literature-suggest/) [Edward Abbey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edward-abbey/) > [It’s one thing if everyone wears the same shoes or drinks the same soda. But the world of literature is the last place in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/benjamin-moser/it-s-one-thing-if-everyone-wears-the-same-shoes-or-drinks-the-same/) [Benjamin Moser](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/benjamin-moser/) ## More by Fyodor Dostoevsky > [Believe to the end, even if all men went astray and you were left the only one faithful; bring your offering even then and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/fyodor-dostoevsky/believe-to-the-end-even-if-all-men-went-astray-and-you-were-left-the/) [Fyodor Dostoevsky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/fyodor-dostoevsky/) > [... you are a man still young, so to say, in your first youth and so put intellect above everything ...](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/fyodor-dostoevsky/you-are-a-man-still-young-so-to-say-in-your-first-youth-and-so-put/) [Fyodor Dostoevsky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/fyodor-dostoevsky/) > [“There is only one salvation for you: take yourself up, and make yourself responsible for all the sins of men. For indeed it is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/fyodor-dostoevsky/there-is-only-one-salvation-for-you-take-yourself-up-and-make/) [Fyodor Dostoevsky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/fyodor-dostoevsky/) > [“It is true I am a complete stranger to these people, but they are not strangers to me.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/fyodor-dostoevsky/it-is-true-i-am-a-complete-stranger-to-these-people-but-they-are-not/) [Fyodor Dostoevsky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/fyodor-dostoevsky/) > [Everything seems stupid when it fails.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/fyodor-dostoevsky/everything-seems-stupid-when-it-fails/) [Fyodor Dostoevsky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/fyodor-dostoevsky/) > [Love to throw yourself on the earth and kiss it. Kiss the earth and love it with an unceasing, consuming love.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/fyodor-dostoevsky/love-to-throw-yourself-on-the-earth-and-kiss-it-kiss-the-earth-and/) [Fyodor Dostoevsky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/fyodor-dostoevsky/) > [They have this social justification for every nasty thing they do!](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/fyodor-dostoevsky/they-have-this-social-justification-for-every-nasty-thing-they-do/) [Fyodor Dostoevsky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/fyodor-dostoevsky/) > [Be the sun and all will see you.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/fyodor-dostoevsky/be-the-sun-and-all-will-see-you/) [Fyodor Dostoevsky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/fyodor-dostoevsky/) > [If you are penitent, you love. And if you love you are of God. All things are atoned for, all things are saved by…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/fyodor-dostoevsky/if-you-are-penitent-you-love-and-if-you-love-you-are-of-god-all/) [Fyodor Dostoevsky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/fyodor-dostoevsky/) > [“To kill for murder is a punishment incomparably worse than the crime itself. Murder by legal sentence is immeasurably more terrible than murder by…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/fyodor-dostoevsky/to-kill-for-murder-is-a-punishment-incomparably-worse-than-the-crime/) [Fyodor Dostoevsky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/fyodor-dostoevsky/) > [“You magnify your failure to a crime, Vasya.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/fyodor-dostoevsky/you-magnify-your-failure-to-a-crime-vasya/) [Fyodor Dostoevsky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/fyodor-dostoevsky/) > [The death of a child is the greatest reason to doubt the existence of God.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/fyodor-dostoevsky/the-death-of-a-child-is-the-greatest-reason-to-doubt-the-existence-of/) [Fyodor Dostoevsky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/fyodor-dostoevsky/) > [In a way there's only a fine shade of difference between the healthy and the deranged.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/fyodor-dostoevsky/in-a-way-there-s-only-a-fine-shade-of-difference-between-the-healthy/) [Fyodor Dostoevsky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/fyodor-dostoevsky/) > [“Now answer me, sincerely, honestly, who lives past forty? I'll tell you who does: fools and scoundrels.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/fyodor-dostoevsky/now-answer-me-sincerely-honestly-who-lives-past-forty-i-ll-tell-you/) [Fyodor Dostoevsky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/fyodor-dostoevsky/) > [“There are crimes that are truly uncomely. With crimes, whatever they may be, the more blood, the more horror there is, the more imposing…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/fyodor-dostoevsky/there-are-crimes-that-are-truly-uncomely-with-crimes-whatever-they/) [Fyodor Dostoevsky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/fyodor-dostoevsky/) [Explore all 642 Fyodor Dostoevsky quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/fyodor-dostoevsky/) ## More Dostoevsky quotes > [ “\[Dostoyevsky\] eloquently proves that heartless ideas are often a source of immorality: they bring with them destructiveness, hatred, cynicism, and misanthropy. The novelist also… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-l-kline/dostoyevsky-eloquently-proves-that-heartless-ideas-are-often-a-source/) [George L. Kline](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-l-kline/) > [“He main retain his human dignity even in a concentration camp. Dostoevsky said once, 'There is only one thing that I dread: not to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/viktor-e-frankl/he-main-retain-his-human-dignity-even-in-a-concentration-camp/) [Viktor E. Frankl](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/viktor-e-frankl/) > [“So against the grain I serve to produce events and do what’s irrational because I am commanded to. For all their indisputable intelligence, men…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/fyodor-dostoevsky/so-against-the-grain-i-serve-to-produce-events-and-do-what-s/) [Fyodor Dostoevsky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/fyodor-dostoevsky/) > [“Then it happened. One night as the rain beat on the slanted kitchen roof a great spirit slipped forever into my life. I held…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-fante/then-it-happened-one-night-as-the-rain-beat-on-the-slanted-kitchen/) [John Fante](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-fante/) > [“A drunken but exceedingly depressed German clown from Munich entertained the public.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/fyodor-dostoyevsky/a-drunken-but-exceedingly-depressed-german-clown-from-munich/) [Fyodor Dostoyevsky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/fyodor-dostoyevsky/) > [“It was not surprising that after the war Dostoevsky was linked to Kierkegaard as a prophet of social resignation.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/martin-jay/it-was-not-surprising-that-after-the-war-dostoevsky-was-linked-to/) [Martin Jay](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/martin-jay/) > ['The Gambler' by Dostoevsky. It was the first time I realised that it was possible to have good and evil in one person. It…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sue-townsend/the-gambler-by-dostoevsky-it-was-the-first-time-i-realised-that-it/) [Sue Townsend](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sue-townsend/) > [Dostoevsky's underground man ... observes his contemporaries striving to establish false goals where there are no naturally generated ones. ... He argues they should…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-carroll/dostoevsky-s-underground-man-observes-his-contemporaries-striving-to/) [John Carroll](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-carroll/) > [Back when George W. Bush was identifying his Axis of Evil, it struck me that a longer and more instructive list could be compiled…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/serge-schmemann/back-when-george-w-bush-was-identifying-his-axis-of-evil-it-struck-me/) [Serge Schmemann](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/serge-schmemann/) > [Dostoevsky preaches the morality of the pariah, the morality of the slave.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/georg-brandes/dostoevsky-preaches-the-morality-of-the-pariah-the-morality-of-the/) [Georg Brandes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/georg-brandes/) > [“That distinctive singular stamp of himself is one of the main reasons readers come to love an author. The way you can just tell,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-foster-wallace/that-distinctive-singular-stamp-of-himself-is-one-of-the-main-reasons/) [David Foster Wallace](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-foster-wallace/) > [“Enjoyment is more subjective than evaluation. Whether you prefer peaches to pears is a question of taste, which is not quite true of whether…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/terry-eagleton/enjoyment-is-more-subjective-than-evaluation-whether-you-prefer/) [Terry Eagleton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/terry-eagleton/) > [“His unrivaled genius as an ideological novelist was this capacity to invent actions and situations in which ideas dominate behavior without the latter becoming…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joseph-frank/his-unrivaled-genius-as-an-ideological-novelist-was-this-capacity-to/) [Joseph Frank](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joseph-frank/) > [The other side of my work is political disappointment - the realization that we are living in an unjust world. "Blood is being spilled…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/simon-critchley/the-other-side-of-my-work-is-political-disappointment-the-realization/) [Simon Critchley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/simon-critchley/) > [“All of Dostoevsky’s heroes question themselves as to the meaning of life. In this they are modern: they do not fear ridicule. What distinguishes…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/albert-camus/all-of-dostoevsky-s-heroes-question-themselves-as-to-the-meaning-of/) [Albert Camus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/albert-camus/) [Browse all 98 Dostoevsky quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/dostoevsky/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“Fyodor Mikhailovich Dostoevsky (November 11 [O.S. October 30] 1821 – February 9 [O.S. January 28] 1881) is considered one of two greatest prose writers of Russian literature, alongside close contemporary Leo Tolstoy. Dostoevsky's works have had a profound and lasting effect on twentieth-century thought and world literature. Dostoevsky's chief ouevre, mainly novels, explore the human psychology in the disturbing political, social and spiritual context of his 19th-century Russian society. 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