Tolstoy is widely considered as the greatest novelist of the world and his novel “War and Peace” the best novel ever written. But this opinion about him and his novel is as incorrect as it is widespread. He is, no doubt, a great novelist. He expertly creates a wide canvas and describes human emotions astonishingly. But still, he is not the greatest novelist.
The greatest novelist is his compatriot Dostoyevsky. Tolstoy could not write even one novel like Dostoyevsky. What is it that makes Dostoyevsky the greatest novelist? It is his ability to speak from within the soul of man. He talks after a thorough research of human mind. There is no one except Shakespeare in the West who can match his knowledge of human psychology.
He was not a revolutionary, but he predicted the Russian revolution. One can easily sense revolution in his novels. His knowledge of civilizations is extraordinary. His political understanding enables him to see through events. His comprehension of Christianity is profound.
The plots of his novels are simple, but his characterization is brilliant. People of any age can read his novels. Every time you read his novel, there will be a fresh revelation. Since everybody can narrate his life in a novel, writing one novel is no achievement; but writing more than one is. Dostoyevsky wrote four great novels: Idiot, Crime and Punishment, The Brothers Kramazov and The Insulted and Humiliated. Reading these novels one feels he could write another 20 great novels. He does not seem to be tiring in any of his novel. He always has something to say. Something that others do not have. We are fortunate to have all his four major novels translated in Urdu.
All novels of Dostoyevsky are important, but “The Idiot” is more important because he talked about it in his letters to a friend before writing it. He wrote to his friend that he had a very rare idea to write a novel, but he feared that he would not be able to do justice with the idea. He said the idea had fully gripped him. He said he wanted to write about an ideal human being. He created that ideal human being with excellent creativity and named him “The Idiot”.
His ideal human being is Prince Myshkin. He is an honest man and has nothing against anybody in his heart. This is why he is able to know the hidden intentions of people. He fails to bear such revelations. He lands back in psychiatric hospital after spending only a few years in the society.
There are two very important aspects to be considered here. Dostoyevsky’s ideal human being comes from psychiatric hospital, which means that the Western society has lost the ability to create good human beings. It does not have the elements that are necessary for the creation of an ideal human being.
The other aspect is the inability of the ideal man to absorb the imbalance of the Western society. This ideal man embodies the collective good of the Western society, but this man fails miserably in that society. This means that the Western civilization has lost the ability to correct itself.
When Dostoyevsky started his literary career, he had a strong desire for fame. He wrote that he found that fame when he no longer needed it. He was a much greater personality than he is famous. He is one of those people who make their civilizations proud.
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