New-York tribune., 1918-12-01

nreoccupation with spiritual malforma-
tons and abnormalities. He writes in
terestingly of Constance Garnett's trans
lation of the white Nights and Other
Stories The review is taken from
"Everyman," an English publication:
should be- read for the sake of their mat
ter or content and the manner in which
they present it. Such artists in literature
IS Turgeniev or Flaubert, for example. un-
ouestionably felt most intensely all that
they wrote. They entered into their story,
into the lives and feelings of their charac-
tsrs-how deeply Flaubert has described
in his letters-but when they came to
actual expression, to the Interpretation of
their experience in written words, the art
ist the deliberate, selective. critical, SEN
sitive workman, was uppermost Always
something in them stood apart--judging.
As consequence, we find pleasure in their
works because they are true and beautiful
things. designed as far as may be, to be
perfect in themselves. 'Rudin' or Madame
Bovary' may tell us much of Turgeniev or
Flaubert artists, suggest certain
obvious sympathies or traits of character,
but primarily they are studies in life
rather than in the individuality of the
writer. But while this is partly true also
Of Dostoievsky's novels it is not true to the
same extent; and for that reason do not
believe that any one can fully appreciate
his work unless they relate it directly to
the man.
"He from the outset an artist pecu-
liarly handicapped. 1t has been authori-
tatively denied that he suffered from cpl
lepsy before his awful experiences in the
fortress and his four years in Siberia,
but there be no question that the ten
dency there, that he suffered from
great physical weakness. He was dis
charged from the army at the age Of
twenty-three 'on account of Illness al
though what form it took is not specified
And his first novel, Poor Folk written
about this time, begins to develop the
early signs of what we can later recognize
as his characteristic neurosis. Later, as
we know, after his release from Siberia,
his life was one perpetual struggle and
torment great part of it was compul-
sorily spent away from Russia, whittier he
never until the last year or two, free from
financial embarrassment; and his illness
not only Frustrated him physically for
days at time but became, also, a con-
tinual threat and horror that preyed upon
MS mind Fighting all these immense
nandicaps, he continued to write profusely,
at times with an almost hysterical determ-
nation. He turned out tremendous novels.
such The Brothers Karamazov,' THE
IDIOT or The Possessed,' without oppor-
tunty Cor reconsideration of detail-his
urgency for money forbade rewriting
and further without the possibility for the
leisure, detachment and peace of mind
which, as he himself fully realized, were
essential to him as an artist
"For these reasons, then, if for no other.
we cannot judge the work of Dostoievsky
with the same impartial criticism that we
should exercise in approaching the works
Of Turgeniev or Flaubert. We cannot in
the same way dissociate Dostoievsky's crea-
tive ability froR his own personality, nor
accept his picture of life without making
peculiar allowance for his distorted angle
Of vision. AS Mr.. Arthur McDowall says
in his recent book on Realism, Dostoiev-
sky brings US close to a point where the
personal vision is so significant as to tran
scend any realistic interest in the thing
portrayed 1t does not follow from this.
however, that he did not present an aspect
Of truth. He was himself abnormal, and
his psychology, which he seems always to
have tested by his own experience and SEN
sations, was inevitably abnormal also. But
(a1t
accept the theory Of Max Nordau) there is
sometimes & peculiar relationship between
certain forms of neurasthenia and genius.
1t Is as if weakness of this kind affords
more sensitive instrument for the use of
whatever we choose to regard as the in
nuence that seeks to record its message TO
mankind. And in abnormal psychology
we may find mere exaggeration and hence
more legible explanation of the normal,
so we may read in Dostoievsky's work some
of the broad intrinsic weaknesses and yir-
tues of humanity displayed something above
life size
"a peculiarly interesting instance for
any one who is interested in the modern
theory of this subject is afforded by the
n most considerable item in the collection or
short stories now under review It is called
Notes from Underground and occupies
more than hundred of the 2s8 pages that
make up the whole volume. The first part
OF this novel is a self-anaIysis of the sup
posed authors character. He filed
some small post in the immense organiza-
uon OF the old Russian bureaucracy and
suffered from what we call in the termi-
hology Of psycho-analysis an inferioritv
complex Of the origins of that trouble
we learn nothing Dostoievsky himself, of
course Is sublimely unaware that he is
onerne US perfect example of patho-
iOgical case. But the symptoms are. as a
doctor might sau .hoantiful1.z .... ~ 4