Throughout the book, there has been a recurring motif of bowing. The meaning behind this bizarre act in which on places his/her forehead directly onto the ground before another person has not yet been explained. I had thought that it may have been some provincial Russian custom, but the reactions which certain characters have had to it suggests that it may have a more practical purpose. We first encounter the bow on page 101 when Elder Zosima bows to Dmitry, who runs out of the room, his face covered. It is later revealed that bowing plays an important role in Dmitry's relationship with Katerina: she bows to him after he gives her money and he in turn tells Alyosha to bow to her for him when he seeks to end their betrothal.
Zosima claims on page 369 that his bow to Dmitry was in reference to the latter's "great future suffering". Granted, the old monk may have psychic powers and thus be able to foresee Dmitry's future; in such a case, his bow could be interpreted to mean a gesture of good will or pity, the kind directed towards someone who is about the embark on a dangerous enterprise. But if that was Zosima's motive, what is the meaning of the bows exchanged between Dmitry and Katerina?
I am assuming that Katerina was bowing to Dmitry out of gratitude for the money he gave her, but the circumstances surrounding that event seem to suggest a more spiritual intent. Dmitry describes being awed by Katerina's sense of nobility when she offered herself to him (152). It is likely that when he subsequently refused to make her sleep with him for the money, she too began to view him in this sense of awe and then bowed to him in reverence. It is therefore possible that the act of bowing can be an expression of awe given when one senses an impressive or profound aspect of another person's spirit.
Though I can see why you have come to the conclusions you state here, I don't entirely agree with them. The act of bowing is usually an act of respect. Normally those of lower class bow to those above them. Zosima's act of bowing to Dmitry is not taken well by others in the room because the Elder clearly is of higher standing than Dmitry. If anything, Dmitry should be bowing to the Elder as thanks for seeing them. As for the bows between Katerina and Dmitry, the initial bow I believed to be of gratitude, and because at that moment Dmitry was tricking Katerina into believing he was more powerful and richer than her. My impression of Dmitry sending Alyosha to bow to her was that he was returning the favor of the bow. He is either admitting she is actually above him or he is mocking her because she was willing to bow to him in the first place. But I guess different people read actions differently, so even the characters in the book might think the different bows mean different things.
ReplyDeleteI'm still not sure what to make of the Elder Zosima's bow to Dmitry. What does it mean to bow down to someone's great future suffering? Bowing usually signifies reverence for a person. What does it mean to have reverence for someone's great future suffering? Does the Elder Zosima hold Dmitry's great future suffering in reverence? Perhaps the Elder feels that Dmitry's suffering is something that God will work for goodness in some way? I'm not sure...
ReplyDeleteWe can't forget the Elder's bow to his servant Afansay through. This bow though, is certainly a bow of respect, or rather, apology for it comes right after Zosima had slapped Afansay. I think that in the other two cases you mention, it may be done as a similar gesture, although in the case of Dmitry, I think that it had much more meaning. The Elder mentions seeing something in Dmitry's eyes that frightened him, so I feel like in that situation, the Elder was bowing as a sign of prayer or maybe forgiveness for a future act. I'm not sure. But if Dmitry does end up being the one to murder Fyodor, that would make sense. I don't know. I suppose we'll see.
ReplyDeleteAlso, do not forget that Dmitry continually begs Alyosha to tell Katerina that he bows to her. Could this bow hold the same meaning as the others throughout the novel even though it is only performed through words and not actually as an action? Also, in the reading we are also told that even if we end up alone we should fall to the earth and kiss it and wet it with our tears. I don't know if this is in reverence to a higher being or something else, but it may be a clue to the purpose behind the other bows.
ReplyDeleteI don't really know what to make of the bowing either. I thought it just might be a normal gesture of the time, but then the confusion surrounding Zosima's bow to Dmitry told us otherwise. There are themes in this book surrounding human nature and comparing them to beasts and their terrible nature. Maybe the bows have to do with cowing to the fact that they are still human and they are not beasts. I'm not exactly sure what I am saying. It's not a full fledged though yet heh
ReplyDeleteI believe there is more to the bows than what you have displayed to us here - even Alyosha is unsatisfied with the Elder's reply of the "great future suffering" of his brother Mitya. He wants to know more and the Elder quickly silences such thought because I believe that the Elder himself does not know, but because he can see the trouble in Dmitri Fyodorovich's soul he predicts the coming suffering. There also has to be a more enlightening explanation behind the bows exchanged between Katerina Ivanovna and Dmitri Fyodorovich...
ReplyDeleteI am most interested in Dmitry's message to Katerina about bowing. It clearly had a great impact on her, and the reiteration of the term had great significance, almost as if "bowing" was more important than the rejection behind it. I could maybe see it as a return of her bow (somewhat along the lines of what Rachel is saying) in the sense that once he reciprocated the bow he was no longer indebted to her, as she would have wished. I also find it interesting that the meaning of each bow seems to be relative. I would be curious to see if there is any underlying theme that ties them all together.
ReplyDeleteWhile bowing is usually a sign of respect, I agree that there seems to be something more. Zosima seems to bow very readily, to his batman, to Dmitry, even at his death. To Zosima the act of bowing seems to range from reasons of forgiveness to reasons that are purely spritual. However, I do not see a spritual reason for the bows between Dmitry and Katerina. I think she bows to him in thanks for the money, and he wishes Alysoha to bow to Katerina again as a way of asking forgiveness.
ReplyDeleteGood eye for the bowing! Like we said in class, even the way Zosima dies seems like he is bowing and kissing the earth. However the bow I am most intrigued by is Zosima's bow to Dimitry. Now that we know it is forecasting future suffering I wonder what this suffering wil be and what it will be caused by. Could Dimitry in fact be the killer and could this cause him to live in torment the rest of his days? I don't really think Dimitry is the killer but now I wonder what wil he be suffering for. Perhaps he will lose Katerina and Grushenka and regret it for the rest of his life?
ReplyDeleteZosima's words on pp. 315-6 definitely seem crucial to take into account when trying to make sense of his bowing before Dmitry.
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