I do not think I feel sorry for anyone in this book as much as I do for the family of Second Grade Captain Snegiryov. Not only do these people live in a tiny one-room shack and lack the money to pay for proper medical treatment (258-59, 275), but the father and son are publicly humiliated by Dmitry Fyodorovich and are thus forced to relive the torment at the hands of local schoolchildren (267, 269). Having suffered at the hands of a man who enjoys the patronage of a rich father (Ilyusha has no way of knowing about Dmitry and Fyodor's inheritance dispute) it should come as no surprise that Ilyusha should say that "rich people are the strongest people in the world" (271).
Is Ilyusha correct? He has seen firsthand how having money can give someone the luxury of harming people with impunity; but can that be called strength? Personally I would say that the family of this second grade captain has shown more strength in one week than Dmitry Fyodorovich Karamazov has shown in his entire life. If Snegiryov is to be believed, his son was willing to risk making a fool of himself in front of his friends by coming to his father's defense: "On his father's account, and on the account of truth, sir, of justice, sir." His father, likewise, has demonstrated incredible strength by standing by his family to take care of them when it would have been easy from the perspective of a desperate man to challenge his oppressor to a duel and die honorably. This family endures what it has out of love for one another, and from that love, they obtain a strength that Dmitry with his going-from-one-woman-to-the-next does not possess.
Money may make a man powerful. But actual STRENGTH comes from something more.
I agree that it is not riches and fortune that make a strong person. However, there is a difference between money and power. In every society that I have ever studied or known, including today's, money gives people power to do unimaginable things. For example, it allows the enslavement of others, the exploitation of others and oppression of many. Nonetheless, I do not think a person with power is necessarily strong. I say this, because as soon a someone stands up against a person in power and challenges them, the person in power often cannot stand back up. Eventually, many others stand up too and the "rich" person loses his/her power. So I absolutely agree with you. The Snegiryov family is by far the strongest group of characters in this book.
ReplyDeleteIf I may I would like to disagree with you both about the strength of these characters: more specifically, the strength of the father. I see Snegiryov as the weakest character in the novel so far. Not only did he get discharged from the military, for unknown reasons, he's also the kind of guy who goes to the bar in the morning and gets beaten up without fighing back by mind afternoon. Nobody respects the drunk in the Western movies that let's everyone insult him while comforting himself with drink. I do not mean to say that Dmitry did anything good in beating Snegiryov up, but this instance shows some weakness of his character. Also, this second-rate captain never disciplines his children. Granted, it sure is poignant to see a parent who is so gentle that they never discipline their child, but in my opinion if Snegiryov were a better father he A) wouldn't get drunk and make an ass of himself B) would have taken the money and at least used this charity to try and repair the lives of his family. His son will soon already figure out that his father has none of the honor which the son holds so high, and in the absence left by this "honor" Snegriyov would do better to bite the bullet and provide for his family.
ReplyDeleteAlso, much more jocularly I'm so sure that a stumped German doctor who charges a lot of money counts as proper medical care. :P
I don't think money can give strength like the kind the captain's family has, but I think it gives a power to those that weld it because most people, aside from the captain, want money, especially the Karamazovs. I think this may be another one of their vices (mainly Dmitry and Fyodor). We see how Katerina has some sort of power over Dmitry because of all the money she has, which Dmitry constantly takes from her and uses for purposes aside from the ones Katerina intends them for. I don't think Dmitry would be able to completely cut his ties with her because of the money as well as her stalkerish personality. Fyodor also used money as a tool to mess with one of his sons. Actually, this just came to me as I was typing this, maybe the money is actually weakness in these characters. They feel they have no other means to control people so they use money. Okay, that's all I have so far. Any thoughts?
ReplyDelete"Strong" is one of the last words I would ever use to describe the captain. I think he is a pathetic and nonsensical character. If he is really so concerned about his family's well being as we are led to suspect based on his refusal to duel Dmitry, and was willing in that instance to sacrifice his honor for the sake of providing for his family, why in the world would he refuse to take the money? Because he is afraid to sacrifice his honor? How interesting that he sacrifices his honor when it comes with the added benefit of saving his own skin, but when he has the opportunity to set his pride aside to take money that will actually help his family, suddenly he is this paragon of honor and virtue? What a joke.
ReplyDeleteI respectfully wish to counter your opinion concerning the role of the Second-Grade Captain. As a character I think it was vitally important for Snegiryov to refuse the monetary aid offered by Aleksey through Katerina. In terms of making an impact on Aleksey and the story, it was necessary for Snegiryov to act in a manner that could be considered unreasonable. Had the Second-Grade Captain taken the money, the impact of the affair in front of the inn would have had far less meaning. There is a distinct separation between what is considered noble throughout this portion of the reading. It is clear that Ilyusha's intervention in the dispute was noble and strong, but Aleksey's effort to seek an apology from Dmitri was purely a sympathetic act. I agree that Snegiryov's refusal was an unreasonable act, but it does succeeded in portraying a powerful act of defiant independence. The source of the aid originated within the false nobility of the elite, therefore in order to preserve the strong and compassionate actions of Ilyusha, it was essential for Dostoyevsky to include Snegiryov’s unwillingness to accept.
DeleteI like the concept of this blog but like the other above I hesitate to call the captain a strong character. Like the other characters in this novel, he is a flawed character but willing to stick by his family. I don't think we've seen a truly strong character in the novel yet but characters that display moments of strength. In a way, moments of strength could be closer to the truth for the average person than the classic heroic character in a novel.
ReplyDeleteOooh, I love your distinction between power and strength. Money gives an individual power but not strength. And yes, the Snegiryov family has shown much more strength than Dimitry. All the family members truly love one another and they are willng to make sacrifices for eachother. A major flaw though, is the captain's addiction to the bottle. I believe that this is the reason he was perhaps demoted, and this may be the reason his family is suffering. It is clear that the captain loves his wife and kids but he is unable to get away from his demons. This is not a suprise though because for an alcoholic, smoker, or drug user the will to give it up may very well be there but it's simply not strong enough to overcome the desire and need. However, what I think is key is identifying the family's strength is the fact that they are united and love one another despite their flaws. Fortune does not smile upon them, and they are in despair, but I did not see any evidence of anger or contempt towards the captain from any of the family members. They accept one another for both their virtues and their flaws.
ReplyDeleteI personally think that money can give you power, but doesn’t give you strength. I also think that the captain doesn’t have power, but is trying to gain more strength. By refusing to take the money, I think is built up the captains strength and I am curious to see what will develop next with that family. Yes, the money would have helped him and his family, but he would have forever been in debt to Elizabeth, which is not very “honorable.” This is the difference between the captain and Fyodor/Dmity: the latter don’t care where they get there money from which doesn’t show strength, the former does care where his money comes from, which (in my opinion) does show strength.
ReplyDeleteThis encounter between Dmitry and Snergiyov, bringing Ilyusha into the fray as well, brings into account the question of power and strength, and where these two attributes come from. I agree that the family of this captain show more stregth than the whole Karamazov family. The Karamazov family has power, there is no doubt about it. But they are weak in the fact that they are divided. Alyosha is the only way that family can fully connect, while the family of Snergiyov is fully united, despite their hardships...or perhaps, in spite of their hardships. Money cannot buy you everything, and I think through certain scenes, this book shows that.
ReplyDeleteIn some ways I wonder whether Ilyusha is the strongest character we've seen yet...in the way that he holds his own against the schoolboys...and then his desire to both avenge is father and "forgive" the offender after having conquered him suggests a type of character that we really haven't seen so far in the book.
ReplyDeleteI don't think this is the strength we are meant to be thinking about. The reference to me seemed to revolve around strength in influence, not strength of character. In this respect, I think the captain shows great strength in character because he realizes although he is poor, he still can be as proud as any other man and he tramples the money in the presence of Alyosha.
ReplyDeleteI'm not sure how strong the caption is in the end though. True it takes a strong man to keep a family going in the face of such harsh realities, but if you were handed your family's salvation in the material sense at least are you strong to turn it down because of pride. I think it is romantic for him to turn the money away, but not realistic. At least Dostoyevsky continues with his themes of random character introductions and romanticism.
ReplyDeleteThis is a very interesting point and I think that this idea, of the rich having all of the strength, is commonly found in books, movies and whatnot. I do have to say i disagree with this statement. I think that the rich might have all the power and be the most powerful, but they are not the strongest. Strength and power are two completely different things. The rich do have the power. They have the money to do what they want and get what they need done. But strength is something that has to come from within and it doesn't come from money. In this book, I feel that the ones who are at the lowest points in their lives, like the second grade captain and his family, they are the strong ones. Those with the money (Katerina etc) they are powerful but I don't see them as strong characters. If anything they actually seem weak to me. I think that this contradiction is very interesting and parallels many of the other contradictions with which Dostoyevsky seems to riddle his novel.
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