Fyodor Dostoevsky

The Dream Of A Ridiculous Man

The Dream of a Ridiculous Man Fyodor Mikhailovich Dostoyevsky Fyodor Mikhailovich Dostoevsky( 11 November 1821 - 9 February 1881[note 3]), sometimes transliterated Dostoyevsky, was a Russian novelist, short story writer, essayist, journalist and philosopher. Dostoevsky's literary works explore human psychology in the troubled political, social, and spiritual atmospheres of 19th-century Russia, and engage with a variety of realistic philosophical and religious themes. We are delighted to publish this classic book as part of our extensive Classic Library collection. Many of the books in our collection have been out of print for decades, and therefore have not been accessible to the general public. The aim of our publishing program is to facilitate rapid access to this vast reservoir of literature, and our view is that this is a significant literary work, which deserves to be brought back into print after many decades. The contents of the vast majority of titles in the Classic Library have been scanned from the original works. To ensure a high quality product, each title has been meticulously hand curated by our staff. Our philosophy has been guided by a desire to provide the reader with a book that is as close as possible to ownership of the original work. We hope that you will enjoy this wonderful classic work, and that for you it becomes an enriching experience.

The Dream of a Ridiculous Man

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I was overpowered by the mere sensation of that dream and it alone survived in my sorely wounded heart. But none the less the real shapes and forms of my dream, that is, those I actually saw at the very time of my dream, were filled with such harmony and were so enchanting and beautiful, and so intensely true, that on awakening I was indeed unable to clothe them in our feeble words so that they were bound as it were to become blurred in my mind.

Oh, everyone laughs in my face now and everyone assures me that I could not possibly have seen and felt anything so definite, but was merely conscious of a sensation that arose in my own feverish heart, and that I invented all those details myself when I woke up. And when I told them that they were probably right, good Lord, what mirth that admission of mine caused and how they laughed at me!

The chief thing is to love others like yourself, that's the chief thing, and that's everything; nothing else is wanted--you will find out at once how to arrange it all. And yet it's an old truth which has been told and retold a billion times-- but it has not formed part of our lives! The consciousness of life is higher than life, the knowledge of the laws of happiness is higher than happiness--that is what one must contend against.

On our earth we can only love with suffering and through suffering. We cannot love otherwise, and we know of no other sort of love. I want suffering in order to love.

 But does it matter whether it was a dream or reality, if the dream made known to me the truth?

raia – inactive

At last these people grew weary of their meaningless toil, and signs of suffering came into their faces, and then they proclaimed that suffering was a beauty, for in suffering alone was there meaning.

I was vexed at the reflection that if I were going to make an end of myself that night, nothing in life ought to have mattered to me.

But I gave up caring about anything, and all the problems disappeared.

I suddenly felt that it was all the same to me whether the world existed or whether there had never been anything at all: I began to feel with all my being that there was nothing existing. 

I am a ridiculous person. Now they call me a madman. That would be a promotion if it were not that I remain as ridiculous in their eyes as before.

Ilse

Victoria 

Dostoyevski is easy my new favourite writer. After reading "White nights" I was eager to read more of him and I'm not disappointed! This was beautiful, his writing is outstanding and how it resonates with me... Oh! ❤️

If you feel like nothing matters anymore, you are filled with nihilism, you should read this short story. It will change your perspective of thinking. Makes you reflect on what you have become, and what life should and shouldn't be like...Makes you want to be better, do better.

Cuando siento que ya conozco la idea que plantea dosto y que será muy difícil ganarme con el siguiente libro que leo, me sorprende y me calla metafóricamente la boca. Con un relato breve de 26 páginas hace que me maraville y sienta curiosidad por el porvenir de sus protagonistas. 

En este caso, dónde el vocero del relato, se siente ridículo y sin motivación de la vida porque asegura que la vida carece de sentido y que la única solución es el suicidio, decide planearlo una noche pero, antes de eso, reflexiona y sueña. 

No digo más, es muy breve y creo que lo mágico es el sueño que tiene. 
Es lo que Camus intentó hacer (aunque su propósito era más ateísta) y no pudo lograr conmigo, dostovieski aquí cuestiona sobre la vida, la muerte, el porqué vivimos y como nos corrompemos como sociedad. 


  "Apenas
me entendían cuando les preguntaba sobre la inmortalidad, pero
evidentemente estaban tan convencidos de ella sin razonar que
para ellos no era una pregunta en absoluto. No tenían templos, pero
tenían un sentido real, vivo e ininterrumpido de unidad con todo el
universo; no tenían credo, pero tenían un conocimiento cierto de que
cuando su alegría terrenal alcanzara los límites de la naturaleza
terrenal, entonces vendría para ellos, para los vivos y para los
muertos, una plenitud aún mayor de contacto con todo el universo.
Esperaban ese momento con alegría, pero sin prisa, sin anhelarlo,
pero pareciendo tener un anticipo de ello en sus corazones, de lo
cual hablaban entre sí."


Por último, este relato no cuenta nada nuevo si ya leíste algo de dosto pero no importa, es la forma en la que lo cuenta que hace que devore sus páginas. 
Si quieres empezar con el autor y te intimidan las novelas, esta es la mejor opción.

Cait🪼

"On our earth we can only love with suffering and through suffering. We cannot love otherwise, and we know of no other sort of love. I want suffering in order to love"

god, I love Dostoevsky

Nada Muhammad

It's short, but it's full of meanings... Full of truth.

"on our earth we can only love with suffering and through suffering. We can't love otherwise. And we know of no other sort of love."

Safiya 

One of the hardest things to do while reading Fedor is to review his works. And this short story leaves me speechless facing his grandeur, though short but deep : Where he preaches, as usual, humaneness and brotherhood. If I had to sum this up it'll be this extract of the last paragraph : " And yet it's so simple : in one day in one hour-it could all be set up at once ! The main thing is -love others as yourself, that's the main thing, and it's everthing, there's no need for anything else at all..."The consciousness of life is higher than life, the knowledge of the laws of happiness is higher than happiness" - that is what must be fought ! And I will..."
So if you have never read any of Dostoievsky's works, here's a short great story to begin with !

“I will not and cannot believe that evil is the normal condition of people.” I absolutely loved this book! The writing was stunning and it was so unexpected how it progressed and ended, taking it into a completely different direction than I would’ve expected based on the description. Definitely a book I can recommend!

My fave quote: “But their knowledge was deeper and loftier than our science; for our science seeks to explain what life is, it aspires to comprehend it, in order to teach others to live; but they knew how to live even without science, and I understood that, but I could not understand their knowledge.”

I absolutely loved this book! The writing was stunning and it was so unexpected how it progressed and ended, taking it into a completely different direction than I would’ve expected based on the description. Definitely a book I can recommend!

The Dream of a Ridiculous Man" is a short story by Fyodor Dostoevsky written in 1877. It chronicles the experiences of a man who decides that there is nothing of any value in the world. Slipping into nihilism with the "terrible anguish" he is determined to commit suicide.

The Dream Of A Ridiculous Man

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