The complexities surrounding the quest for fatherhood in 'The Brothers Karamazov'.

摘要

In this study, within the framework of polyphony, as described by Mikhail Bakhtin, I show how The Brothers Karamazov coheres around the theme of fatherhood and examine the levels on which this theme is expressed.;Second, the theme of fatherhood is discussed as it is represented dialogically, through an examination of the inner path that each legitimate brother follows (whether consciously or unconsciously) toward a revelation about divine fatherhood.;The Brothers Karamazov is shown to be unified around the theme of fatherhood, for the problems Ivan raises and the answers Zosima provides are seen to have also been extensively addressed at the level of plot and at the level of dialogue throughout the novel, wherein they achieve their resolution. (Abstract shortened by UMI.).;First, what is revealed to be a two-fold theme of fatherhood is shown to exist most practically at the level of plot. The causal interactions and dynamics that take place in praxis between the Karamazov brothers and the principal human father figures in the novel mirror the higher manifestation of this theme, namely, the ambivalent attitude that each brother exhibits toward God, understood as the divine father.