Fyodor Dostoevsky and Friedrich Schlegel's concept of Irony

What is it about?

A new perspective in rethinking Dostoevsky is to reconsider his work in relation to Schlegel’s idea of romantic irony. The German romantic develops the idea on the premise that the human subject is always already fragmented. The romantic imagines to achieve a stable and united self, but that wish is continually shown futile in an infinite process of self-reflection. Romantic irony therefore can be understood as a mode of existence which is marked by both a desire for an organic whole and at the same time the realization that this is not possible. The Dostoevsky’s hero is thrown into this ironic situation, where human subjectivity is continually confirmed and disconfirmed. The article first discusses the references to the Russian romantic in Dostoevsky’s writings. It then moves on to a rereading of Part One of Notes from Underground, Dmitry Karamazov’s discussion of Schiller’s poems and Ivan Karamazov’s encounter of the devil in The Brothers Karamazov. Schlegel’s fragments are used throughout the article to illuminates the ironic aspect of the novels. The article ends with a comparison between Dostoevsky and Schlegel’s views on irony.

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Why is it important?

The general connection between Dostoevsky and romanticism has been discussed. But so far there are few in-depth analyses in comparing Dostoevsky with specific romantic writers. This article intends to pave new directions in Dostoevsky studies by putting the writer in the context of irony, which has been a enormous topic in literary studies.

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