Thank you for this article. When you discussed the context of St Petersburg, a thought came to me about Dosto’s novels. I have read the five great novels except for TBK, and I noticed that in all, the cities and particularly St Petersburg seem to emanate moral decay and spiritual evil. Yet (spoilers) it can also be a place of glorious redemption, as the Haymarket is in Crime and Punishment. I find this to be a really enchanting setting or context for his fiction.
Yes, that's right. In Dostoevsky's novels, Petersburg is often presented as a character. Not a living one, of course, but metaphorical. Dostoevsky believed that Petersburg was built by the devil, that he lives there freely, and that the city can drive one mad.
Mendeleev! I was just reading about him and the periodic table. I suppose he was brought in to comment on the poison; though it sounds like that was the least of von Sohn's problems at the end!
And the poor, innocent man who shared his name. I always think about that misfortune when there's a named storm in the news: those poor people who have that name -- every time someone who was affected by the storm (they lost their homes or loved ones) hears their name... It's a strange modern custom.
Yes, Mendeleev was invited as an expert, though I couldn't find information about his exact statements. He likely assessed why the poison failed to kill the victim and why additional methods were necessary.
I completely agree that nowadays the situation is much worse for people sharing the same surname. Information spreads faster and reaches further than ever before. Some people don't even need a reason anymore to engage in online harassment.
Thanks for this background info. I missed the reference in the book so hadn’t looked it up. I do like to go these sort of rabbit holes and will now try to notice discrepancies in the timeline of the story and actual events as you have done.
Excellent Research
Thank you for this wonderful insight
Thank you for this article. When you discussed the context of St Petersburg, a thought came to me about Dosto’s novels. I have read the five great novels except for TBK, and I noticed that in all, the cities and particularly St Petersburg seem to emanate moral decay and spiritual evil. Yet (spoilers) it can also be a place of glorious redemption, as the Haymarket is in Crime and Punishment. I find this to be a really enchanting setting or context for his fiction.
Yes, that's right. In Dostoevsky's novels, Petersburg is often presented as a character. Not a living one, of course, but metaphorical. Dostoevsky believed that Petersburg was built by the devil, that he lives there freely, and that the city can drive one mad.
Mendeleev! I was just reading about him and the periodic table. I suppose he was brought in to comment on the poison; though it sounds like that was the least of von Sohn's problems at the end!
And the poor, innocent man who shared his name. I always think about that misfortune when there's a named storm in the news: those poor people who have that name -- every time someone who was affected by the storm (they lost their homes or loved ones) hears their name... It's a strange modern custom.
Yes, Mendeleev was invited as an expert, though I couldn't find information about his exact statements. He likely assessed why the poison failed to kill the victim and why additional methods were necessary.
I completely agree that nowadays the situation is much worse for people sharing the same surname. Information spreads faster and reaches further than ever before. Some people don't even need a reason anymore to engage in online harassment.
Thanks for this background info. I missed the reference in the book so hadn’t looked it up. I do like to go these sort of rabbit holes and will now try to notice discrepancies in the timeline of the story and actual events as you have done.
thanks for sharing these background infos!
Wow. So young!
What an amazing story! Thanks for sharing.
Wonderful!!