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Paula Duvall's avatar

Fyodor Pavlovich needs Grigory’s protection, but from whom? Who is that “dreadful and dangerous” someone? There must be clues onward. Dostoevsky is too careful with his words for this to be unimportant.

Dana • Dostoevsky Bookclub's avatar

Indeed! This raises an interesting question about Gregory's role as a protector. Given his age and physical limitations, it seems more likely that Dostoevsky intended to portray him as a moral guardian rather than a physical defender - someone who could maintain vigilance and provide timely warnings of danger.

Such protection was certainly needed, as Fyodor Pavlovich's behavior had earned him numerous enemies. The narrator explicitly mentions multiple instances where he suffered physical attacks.

Gregory's position as guardian of Fyodor's estate thus takes on deeper significance, representing both literal and symbolic protection.

PIM's avatar

Thanks for the introduction and the video - I enjoyed listening to the narrator ...

Glenys Murnane's avatar

Thanks, Dana. I watched the video with the sound turned on, just to try to get a feel for the sound and flow of the Rusdian language. It had a pleasing and warm sound to my ear. I can sort of imagine it lending itself well to poetry.

Dana • Dostoevsky Bookclub's avatar

How wonderful, Glenys! Poetry in any language sounds magnificent to me, revealing both the musicality and full expressive potential of that language. Russian (like other Slavic languages) is especially flexible for poetry—words and sentences can be modified in numerous ways while maintaining grammatical correctness.

Robert C Culwell's avatar

Thank you so much! 🌐✍🏼🕰️📚

Grace and peace to you sister...

Ligeia Polidora's avatar

Are you still continuing with this slow read? Seems that March was the most recent post?

Chitra Sethi's avatar

Thanks Dana ,loved listening to the video just now ,very informative and interesting,can’t wait for the next next chapter to start.

Marcy Ongert's avatar

Great background info! I'm an entire book behind, but I plan to read and follow the discussions and chats.