Very interesting article! I had only known about Ambrose as a prototype for Zosima - he's the only one I'd ever read about. It's fascinating how Dostoevsky reimagined the physical space, keeping the actual monastery and its name while changing the city's name and repositioning it closer to the monastery. I love these parallel realities he creates - where something is simultaneously drawn from reality yet transformed into something new.
Now I'll try to find a good translation of Boris Godunov and read it.
What do you think - did the monastery move closer to the city, or was it the other way around? Or did the distance between them simply collapse? Dostoevsky's spatial games are interesting, and few have studied them. All of his renamings of existing places are clearly intentional; he doesn't merely replicate reality but creates his own.
I'm curious to hear what you think of Boris Godunov, and which translation you chose. Unfortunately, I personally can't recommend any translations since I've only read it in the original.
Thank you so much for all the materials you have generously provided us, Dana! Along with the discussions, they help so much in deepening one's understanding of the novel.
Thanks for all of this! As a Dostoevsky fan I knew his child died and he went to the monastery but not all the details. As for which moved closer the town or the monastery, I think both and neither. Dostoevsky created a fictional world wherein there was a monastery adjacent to the town - so close in fact there were disputes over fishing rights. This served his plot and characters well as Alexei could go between the monastery, his father’s and brothers.
Very interesting article! I had only known about Ambrose as a prototype for Zosima - he's the only one I'd ever read about. It's fascinating how Dostoevsky reimagined the physical space, keeping the actual monastery and its name while changing the city's name and repositioning it closer to the monastery. I love these parallel realities he creates - where something is simultaneously drawn from reality yet transformed into something new.
Now I'll try to find a good translation of Boris Godunov and read it.
What do you think - did the monastery move closer to the city, or was it the other way around? Or did the distance between them simply collapse? Dostoevsky's spatial games are interesting, and few have studied them. All of his renamings of existing places are clearly intentional; he doesn't merely replicate reality but creates his own.
I'm curious to hear what you think of Boris Godunov, and which translation you chose. Unfortunately, I personally can't recommend any translations since I've only read it in the original.
Thanks a lot for providing this information on the elders, map and fotos, Dana!
You're welcome 🤍. It's great that the materials are helpful
Thank you so much for all the materials you have generously provided us, Dana! Along with the discussions, they help so much in deepening one's understanding of the novel.
You're welcome. I'm delighted that the materials are proving helpful.
https://open.substack.com/pub/stevenberger/p/elder-ambrose-of-optina?utm_source=share&utm_medium=android&r=1nm0v2
Thanks for all of this! As a Dostoevsky fan I knew his child died and he went to the monastery but not all the details. As for which moved closer the town or the monastery, I think both and neither. Dostoevsky created a fictional world wherein there was a monastery adjacent to the town - so close in fact there were disputes over fishing rights. This served his plot and characters well as Alexei could go between the monastery, his father’s and brothers.