Who could forget Fyodor Pavlovich's "final fling" beginning on page 116? I was amazed that any adult, even one so irresponsible and libertine as the Karamazov patriarch, could behave so immaturely for the sole reason of being immature. But despite its flippant implications, Fyodor Pavlovich's behavior raises interesting philosophical questions about the cynical dimension of human nature. I was intrigued by the his comment about the manner in which those who hurt others view their victims: "...while it's true he has done me no harm, I once played a most unscrupulous trick on him, and no sooner had I played it than at once I began to hate him." (116)
What is most surprising is that the hatred which a man like Fyodor Pavlovich feels for those he harms does not precede the harmful act; rather the hatred is a result of the act itself. This raises 2 important questions: 1) why does playing a trick on a person cause him to feel hatred for that person? and 2) what compelled him to play the trick in the first place if not hatred?
It may be that playing a trick on someone would make Fyodor Pavlovich feel superior to that person. Having fooled him, he would be convinced that his mental powers (or more appropriately, his wit) provides him with an advantage over that person, thus allowing him to believe that he has an ability or moral right which separates him from his victim. If Fyodor Pavlovich is able to say or do something which humiliates another man, then he has power - at least in his own eyes - to prevent someone else from feeling completely safe. When comparing himself to someone he has tricked, he would view them as an inferior being, an insect, and he would hate him for being his inferior. But a man may also hate his inferior out of fear that the inferior will rise against him out of envy.
This leads me to the second question, Why did he trick the person in the first place? The simplest answer may be that he felt himself to be the other man's inferior prior to performing the trick. We cannot assume that he tricked the person out of hatred, because he has already stipulated that hatred follows, rather than precedes, the action. An emotion which is related to but not coequal with hatred is fear. Yes, that's it, Fyodor Pavlovich FEARS those he seeks to trick. The trick itself can be viewed as a type of usurpation, of overthrowing the person he fears from his pedestal and then inserting himself in the empty space.
After having insulted the dinner party, Fyodor Pavolovich is determined to follow Pyotr Aleksandrovich Miusov wherever the latter goes (118). This demonstrates that he now feels that he has power over Miusov, that he is able deny him privacy and the freedom to go anywhere unmolested. But did he fear Miusov prior to this incident? What do you think his feelings toward Miusov were before he burst into the Father Superior's dining hall?
I do not agree that Fyodor Pavolovich is afraid of the people he plays tricks on. I think it is entirely in Fyodor's nature to play tricks and thus he lets them come out for his own entertainment. He states himself that people believe him to be a buffoon so he will act like one, he is taking advantage of their previous assumptions. Though he is also prooving them right, so I don't know if he really cares what the other people think or just figures it's more fun to act the way he does. For your first questions, why does playing a trick on someone make Fyodor hate them? It may be that the person does not react the way Fyodor wants them to react. He does not have the tricks layed out in his head before he performs them, he just does them. But I am sure that as he performs they form in his mind as well as a desired response. If the person does not react the way Fyodor deems proper, this may ruin Fyodor's fun in his mind. Thus, instead of associating fun and laughter with the person, he assocaites disappointment and hatred.
ReplyDeleteDo you think that Fyodor Pavlovich feels that he is in control of his destiny? Does the fact that he acts like the buffoon people see in him pretty much indicate a lack of self-determination?
DeleteI tend to agree with Rachel that it may not be out of fear of others that Fyodor Pavlovich has played these unscrupulous tricks on others (or that he later acts like a buffoon or tries to get his revenge on them). One has to wonder whether perhaps he is driven to such destructive antics because something that he has done to them hasn't quite had the effect he imagined it would (whether for better or worse)--and this type of frustration leads to his wanting to merely exacerbate the irritation he is feeling even further...
ReplyDeleteDo you think he wants people to like him for his buffoonery? Does he want to them to find him amusing, and then despise them for not joining in the fun with him? That may be why he invited Maksimov to come to his house, because he wants a friend who can be a buffoon with him.
DeleteTo me it seems that there may not be enough foreplanning in any of Fyodor Pavlovich's behavior (except pertaining to business-related activities, though I'm not even sure of that--those may be something that he just has an unscrupulous knack for). Even when he returns to the monastery for his final fling he's not even sure what he's going to do, or why he's doing it (except for revenge--but an unclear sort of revenge over something that has already been done). It's hard for me to put this into words, but it's almost as though there is a temporal (or logical?) disconnect in his thought processes and behaviors. He does things on the fly--then gets irritated over them, and then does more spontanteous (and malicious) acts on top of them...
DeleteI agree with both of the above. I think the fact that he says he hates people after he plays tricks on them is interesting, as I don't recall that he says anything about hating Pyotr Aleksandrovich. If anything he just seems to enjoy taunting him without limits. He probably does feel he has some power over Pyotr, though I also don't think fear motivated him to cause a scene in the dining hall. Going back to the dining hall, Fyodor has no idea what he is going to do, except that it will cause utter chaos. But even that isn't a specific effect, because he doesn't anticipate Pyotr specifically fleeing the room, he just knows he will be outrageously embarrassed.
ReplyDeleteI am not surprised to see Fyodor turn to immature antics at the monastery. After working at Target behind the guest service desk I have seen people do some amazingly immature things all for a dollar (or in one very memorable case less than that).
ReplyDeleteI would also agree with the debate above that Fyodor comes to hate the person because the trick does not go how he wants it. I also think the majority of his tricks are made up on the fly. Fyodor has demonstrated that he very opportunistic and I don't think he would pass up the chance to pull a trick especially if the outcome looks favorable.
I just don't know... I read your blog to the last letter but I am still not sure or convinced. Your arguments are sound and well crafted but i still can't get passed the very first step. Why would an individual hate someone who he has tricked or beaten. I play tricks on my friends all the time but I never thought of myself superior because of it. Furthermore I wouldn't play a trick on someone out of fear because that would only make things worse. I personally would only goof off with people I know not a complete stranger. Next, once a trick is played one can all the more expect for some sort of vengeance upon yourself. Furthermore, even if Fyodor did deem himself superior, like a man among insects for what reason does he hate these insects. As a human I am happy that the animals around me are inferior intellectually and I have the upper hand. Something I hate for example is the mosquito, because although I find myself in a superior position it is still capable of inflicting harm. Please understand that I am not disagreeing with you but rather trying to sound it out for myself, as you did in your own blog. I personally got nowhere, I am just as lost as I was before. Maybe the key is the fact that Fyodor's mentality is messed up. Perhaps he is unlike any normal human. In book one he refuses to see his own faults and compliments his nose. In book two he all of a sudden assumes the role of a father and asks Alyosha to come home. Something is simply not right with him...
ReplyDeleteI feel that there is something even more base and depraved in Fyodor's nature. I could see even a normal individual coming to despise or hate someone who has fallen for a trick. For Paul's comment above, I would have to say that I agree that when one plays tricks on one's friends, this kind of emotion should not occur. However, that is the thing - you are jesting with friends, people who you have some relative respect for. Fyodor just does not seem to have any sort of respect for either himself or other people. I could see the hate being directed just as much against himself as against other human beings. Prof. Isham's comment the first day of class has resonated in my reading - there are times in which we simply thrive on our own revulsion. The trickster knows he is loathsome, and validates for himself the loathsomeness of the people around him by making them fall for his tricks.
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