Metaphors of Moral Defect in Tolstoy and Dostoevsky: Notes on the Topic

This article takes as its point of departure the most recent edition of the correspondence be­tween L.N. Tolstoy and N.N. Strakhov. The author asserts the inevitability of a metaphorical way of thinking when pondering about human nature, and considers the tense relationship between Tolstoy and Dostoevsky, refracted through the prism of N.N. Strakhov, as a kind of a case study that allows us to trace the genesis, dynamics and meanings of such a metaphor. Drawing on let­ters, memoirs, and diaries of Tolstoy, Strakhov, F.M. Dostoevsky, and A.A. Fet, the author under­takes a comparative study of metaphors of moral failing in the writings and thought of Tolstoy and Dostoevsky, revealing the origin and meanings of these metaphors (“hitch” in the caseof Tolstoy and “fold” in the case of Dostoevsky). By examining how each author articulates moral deficiency, the study lends further weight to Dmitry Merezhkovsky’s characterization of Tolstoy and Dostoevsky as “seers of the flesh” and “seers of the spirit”, respectively. The article explores the philosophical and worldview implications of this contrast, suggesting that every moral judgment – explicit or implicit – rests on the expectation that the moral ideal should be con­cretely realized in human action. Special attention is paid to Tolstoy’s certain naturalism, which is related to the positivism of the 19th century, as well as to his orientation towards school didactics. An important place in the article is occupied by the identification of fundamental differences in the primary ideological and philosophical attitudes, intuitions, and influences that determine the fundamental divergence of the writers in their many positions.