Theology from the vacuum - based on two works by Dostoyevsky: Meditation on the body of Maria Dimitrievna and A gentle creature.

• Main Author: Jimmy Sudário Cabral
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Published: Pontifícia Universidade Católica de Minas Gerais 2015-07-01
• Series: Horizonte
• Subjects: Dostoievski; religião; morte; trágico.
• Online Access: http://periodicos.pucminas.br/index.php/horizonte/article/view/7405

<p>This article analyzes two texts by Dostoiewski. The first one, “Meditation on the body of Mary Dimitievna” was written on April 16, 1864, in front of the corpse of his first wife. It is one of the rare texts of Dostievski written in first person about his religious beliefs. The scene of a cold and inert body reflects the impotence of life before the ruthless mechanics of nature, a recurring theme in future novels of the author, uncertainty and disgust with the experience of death. In the second text, “The Docile”, we find a reflection approaching, surprisingly, the personal confession we find is his “Meditation”. In that text, Dostoievisky describes the thoughts of a husband walking from one side to the other of the bedroom near the remains of his wife who committed suicide by throwing herself from a window with an icon stuck on her hand. In both texts, we find the man Dostoievsky and the Dostoiewsky artist carrying a religious and tragic consciousness about the limits of nature and reason.</p>