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The Idiot (novel)
Encyclopedia
The Idiot is a novel
written by 19th century Russian author Fyodor Dostoyevsky. It was first published serially in The Russian Messenger
between 1868 and 1869. The Idiot is ranked beside some of Dostoyevsky's other works as one of the most brilliant literary achievements of the "Golden Age" of Russian literature
. It was not published in English until the 20th century.
returns to Russia after spending several years at a Swiss sanatorium
. Scorned by the society of St. Petersburgh for his trusting nature and naivete, he finds himself at the centre of a struggle between a beautiful kept woman and a virtuous and pretty young girl, both of whom win his affection. Unfortunately, Myshkin's very goodness precipitates disaster, leaving the impression that, in a world obsessed with money, power, and sexual conquest, a sanatorium may be the only place for a saint
.
Myshkin's only relation in St. Petersburg is the very distant Lizaveta Prokofyevna Yepanchin. Madame Yepanchin is the wife of General Yepanchin, a wealthy and respected man in his late fifties. The prince makes the acquaintance of the Yepanchins, who have three daughters--Alexandra, Adelaida, and Aglaya, the last being the youngest and the most beautiful.
General Yepanchin has an ambitious and vain assistant named Gavril Ardalyonovich Ivolgin (nicknamed Ganya) whom Myshkin also meets during his visit to the household. Ganya, though actually in love with Aglaya, is trying to marry Anastassya Filippovna Barashkov, an extraordinarily beautiful femme fatale who was once the mistress of the aristocrat Totsky. Totsky has promised Ganya 75,000 rubles if he marries the "fallen" Nastassya Filippovna instead. As Myshkin is so innocent and naïve, Ganya openly discusses the subject of the proposed marriage in front of the prince.
The prince rents a room in the Ivolgin apartment, also occupied by Ganya; Ganya's sister Varvara Ardalyonovna (Varya); his mother, Nina Alexandrovna; his teenage brother, Nikolai (Kolya); his father, General Ivolgin; and another lodger named Ferdyshchenko.
Nastassya Filippovna arrives and insults Ganya's family, which has refused to accept her as a possible wife for Ganya. Myshkin restrains her from continuing. A rowdy crowd of drunks and rogues arrives, headed by Parfyon Semyonovich Rogozhin, a dark-haired twenty-seven-year-old who is passionately in love with Nastassya Filippovna. Rogozhin promises to bring 100,000 rubles to Nastassya Filippovna's birthday party that evening at which she is to announce whom she shall marry.
Among the guests at the party are Totsky, General Yepanchin, Ganya, Ferdyshchenko, Ptitsyn——a usurer friend of Ganya's who is a suitor to Varya Ivolgin——and others. With the acquiescence of Kolya, Prince Myshkin arrives, uninvited. Following Myshkin's advice, Nastassya Filippovna refuses Ganya's proposal. Rogozhin arrives with the promised 100,000 rubles, but Myshkin himself offers to marry Nastassya Filippovna instead, announcing that he has recently received a large inheritance. Though surprised by Myshkin's generous offer, Nastassya Filippovna deems only Rogozhin worthy of her company and soon leaves the party with him.
Nastassya Filippovna then vacillates between Rogozhin and Myshkin for the next six months or so. Myshkin's inheritance turns out to be smaller than expected and shrinks further as he satisfies the often fraudulent claims of creditors and alleged relatives. Finally, he returns to St. Petersburg and visits Rogozhin's house. They discuss religion and exchange crosses.
Later that day, Rogozhin, motivated by jealousy, attempts to stab Myshkin in the hall of the prince's hotel, but an unanticipated epileptic fit saves the prince. Myshkin then leaves St. Petersburg for Pavlovsk, a nearby town popular as a summer residence of St. Petersburg nobility. The prince rents several rooms from Lebedev, a rogue functionary. Most of the novel's characters——the Yepanchins, the Ivolgins, Varya and her husband Ptitsyn, and Nastassya Filippovna——spend the summer in Pavlovsk as well.
Burdovsky, a young man who claims to be the son of Myshkin's late benefactor, Pavlishchev, demands money from Myshkin as a "just" reimbursement for Pavlishchev's support. Burdovsky is supported by a group of insolent young men who include the consumptive seventeen-year old Hippolite Terentyev, a friend of Kolya Ivolgin. Although Burdovsky's claim is obviously fraudulent——he is not Pavlishchev's son at all——Myshkin is willing to help Burdovsky financially.
The prince now spends much of his time at the Yepanchins'. He falls in love with Aglaya and she appears to reciprocate his feelings. A haughty, willful, and capricious girl, she refuses to publicly admit her love and in fact often openly mocks him. Yet her family begins to acknowledge him as her fiancé and even stages a dinner party in the couple's honor for members of the Russian nobility.
Over the course of an ardent speech on religion and the future of aristocracy, Myshkin accidentally breaks a beautiful Chinese vase. Later that evening he suffers a mild epileptic fit. Guests and family agree that the sickly prince is not a good match for Aglaya.
Yet Aglaya does not renounce Myshkin and even arranges to meet Nastassya Filippovna, who has been writing her letters in an attempt to persuade her to marry Myshkin. At the meeting the two women confront the Prince and demand that he choose between Aglaya, whom he loves romantically, and Nastassya Filippovna, for whom he has compassionate pity. Myshkin demurs, prompting Aglaya to depart, ending all hope for an engagement between them. Nastassya Filippovna then renews her vow to marry the Prince, but elopes with Rogozhin instead.
The prince follows Nastassya and Rogozhin to St. Petersburg and learns Rogozhin has inexplicably slain Nastassya Filippovna during the night. The two men keep vigil over her body, which Rogozhin has laid out in his study. Rogozhin is sentenced to fifteen years of hard labor in Siberia, Myshkin goes mad and returns to the sanitorium, and Aglaya, against the wishes of her family, marries a wealthy, exiled Polish count that later is discovered to be neither wealthy, nor a count, nor an exile——at least, not a political exile——and that turns her against her family.
The Constance Garnett
translation was for many years accepted as the definitive English translation, but more recently it has come under criticism for being dated. The Garnett translation, however, still remains widely available because it is now in the public domain
. Some writers, such as Anna Brailouvsky, have based their translations on Garnett's. Since the 1990s, new English translations have appeared that have made the novel more accessible to English readers.
The Oxford Guide to Literature in English Translation (2000) states that the Alan Myers
version is the best currently available, though since then, new translations by David McDuff and Pevear & Volokhonsky have also been well received.
Novel
A novel is a book of long narrative in literary prose. The genre has historical roots both in the fields of the medieval and early modern romance and in the tradition of the novella. The latter supplied the present generic term in the late 18th century....
written by 19th century Russian author Fyodor Dostoyevsky. It was first published serially in The Russian Messenger
The Russian Messenger
The Russian Messenger has been the title of three notable magazines published in Russia in the 19th century.-The Russian Messenger of Sergey Glinka:...
between 1868 and 1869. The Idiot is ranked beside some of Dostoyevsky's other works as one of the most brilliant literary achievements of the "Golden Age" of Russian literature
Russian literature
Russian literature refers to the literature of Russia or its émigrés, and to the Russian-language literature of several independent nations once a part of what was historically Russia or the Soviet Union...
. It was not published in English until the 20th century.
Plot introduction
Twenty-six-year-old Prince Lev Nikolayevich MyshkinPrince Myshkin
Prince Lev Nikolaevich Myshkin is the protagonist of Fyodor Dostoyevsky's The Idiot.Dostoyevsky wanted to create a character that was "entirely positive... with an absolutely beautiful nature," and a good way to make such a character plausible in 19th century St Petersburg society was to make him...
returns to Russia after spending several years at a Swiss sanatorium
Sanatorium
A sanatorium is a medical facility for long-term illness, most typically associated with treatment of tuberculosis before antibiotics...
. Scorned by the society of St. Petersburgh for his trusting nature and naivete, he finds himself at the centre of a struggle between a beautiful kept woman and a virtuous and pretty young girl, both of whom win his affection. Unfortunately, Myshkin's very goodness precipitates disaster, leaving the impression that, in a world obsessed with money, power, and sexual conquest, a sanatorium may be the only place for a saint
Saint
A saint is a holy person. In various religions, saints are people who are believed to have exceptional holiness.In Christian usage, "saint" refers to any believer who is "in Christ", and in whom Christ dwells, whether in heaven or in earth...
.
Plot summary
Prince Lev Nikolayevich Myshkin, a fair-haired young man in his late twenties and a descendant of one of the oldest Russian lines of nobility, arrives in St. Petersburg on a November morning. He has spent the last four years in a Swiss clinic for treatment of his epilepsy and supposed intellectual deficiencies.Myshkin's only relation in St. Petersburg is the very distant Lizaveta Prokofyevna Yepanchin. Madame Yepanchin is the wife of General Yepanchin, a wealthy and respected man in his late fifties. The prince makes the acquaintance of the Yepanchins, who have three daughters--Alexandra, Adelaida, and Aglaya, the last being the youngest and the most beautiful.
General Yepanchin has an ambitious and vain assistant named Gavril Ardalyonovich Ivolgin (nicknamed Ganya) whom Myshkin also meets during his visit to the household. Ganya, though actually in love with Aglaya, is trying to marry Anastassya Filippovna Barashkov, an extraordinarily beautiful femme fatale who was once the mistress of the aristocrat Totsky. Totsky has promised Ganya 75,000 rubles if he marries the "fallen" Nastassya Filippovna instead. As Myshkin is so innocent and naïve, Ganya openly discusses the subject of the proposed marriage in front of the prince.
The prince rents a room in the Ivolgin apartment, also occupied by Ganya; Ganya's sister Varvara Ardalyonovna (Varya); his mother, Nina Alexandrovna; his teenage brother, Nikolai (Kolya); his father, General Ivolgin; and another lodger named Ferdyshchenko.
Nastassya Filippovna arrives and insults Ganya's family, which has refused to accept her as a possible wife for Ganya. Myshkin restrains her from continuing. A rowdy crowd of drunks and rogues arrives, headed by Parfyon Semyonovich Rogozhin, a dark-haired twenty-seven-year-old who is passionately in love with Nastassya Filippovna. Rogozhin promises to bring 100,000 rubles to Nastassya Filippovna's birthday party that evening at which she is to announce whom she shall marry.
Among the guests at the party are Totsky, General Yepanchin, Ganya, Ferdyshchenko, Ptitsyn——a usurer friend of Ganya's who is a suitor to Varya Ivolgin——and others. With the acquiescence of Kolya, Prince Myshkin arrives, uninvited. Following Myshkin's advice, Nastassya Filippovna refuses Ganya's proposal. Rogozhin arrives with the promised 100,000 rubles, but Myshkin himself offers to marry Nastassya Filippovna instead, announcing that he has recently received a large inheritance. Though surprised by Myshkin's generous offer, Nastassya Filippovna deems only Rogozhin worthy of her company and soon leaves the party with him.
Nastassya Filippovna then vacillates between Rogozhin and Myshkin for the next six months or so. Myshkin's inheritance turns out to be smaller than expected and shrinks further as he satisfies the often fraudulent claims of creditors and alleged relatives. Finally, he returns to St. Petersburg and visits Rogozhin's house. They discuss religion and exchange crosses.
Later that day, Rogozhin, motivated by jealousy, attempts to stab Myshkin in the hall of the prince's hotel, but an unanticipated epileptic fit saves the prince. Myshkin then leaves St. Petersburg for Pavlovsk, a nearby town popular as a summer residence of St. Petersburg nobility. The prince rents several rooms from Lebedev, a rogue functionary. Most of the novel's characters——the Yepanchins, the Ivolgins, Varya and her husband Ptitsyn, and Nastassya Filippovna——spend the summer in Pavlovsk as well.
Burdovsky, a young man who claims to be the son of Myshkin's late benefactor, Pavlishchev, demands money from Myshkin as a "just" reimbursement for Pavlishchev's support. Burdovsky is supported by a group of insolent young men who include the consumptive seventeen-year old Hippolite Terentyev, a friend of Kolya Ivolgin. Although Burdovsky's claim is obviously fraudulent——he is not Pavlishchev's son at all——Myshkin is willing to help Burdovsky financially.
The prince now spends much of his time at the Yepanchins'. He falls in love with Aglaya and she appears to reciprocate his feelings. A haughty, willful, and capricious girl, she refuses to publicly admit her love and in fact often openly mocks him. Yet her family begins to acknowledge him as her fiancé and even stages a dinner party in the couple's honor for members of the Russian nobility.
Over the course of an ardent speech on religion and the future of aristocracy, Myshkin accidentally breaks a beautiful Chinese vase. Later that evening he suffers a mild epileptic fit. Guests and family agree that the sickly prince is not a good match for Aglaya.
Yet Aglaya does not renounce Myshkin and even arranges to meet Nastassya Filippovna, who has been writing her letters in an attempt to persuade her to marry Myshkin. At the meeting the two women confront the Prince and demand that he choose between Aglaya, whom he loves romantically, and Nastassya Filippovna, for whom he has compassionate pity. Myshkin demurs, prompting Aglaya to depart, ending all hope for an engagement between them. Nastassya Filippovna then renews her vow to marry the Prince, but elopes with Rogozhin instead.
The prince follows Nastassya and Rogozhin to St. Petersburg and learns Rogozhin has inexplicably slain Nastassya Filippovna during the night. The two men keep vigil over her body, which Rogozhin has laid out in his study. Rogozhin is sentenced to fifteen years of hard labor in Siberia, Myshkin goes mad and returns to the sanitorium, and Aglaya, against the wishes of her family, marries a wealthy, exiled Polish count that later is discovered to be neither wealthy, nor a count, nor an exile——at least, not a political exile——and that turns her against her family.
Adaptations and tributes
- Several filmmakers have produced adaptations of the novel, among them L'idiot (Georges Lampin 1946), a 1951 version by Akira KurosawaAkira Kurosawawas a Japanese film director, producer, screenwriter and editor. Regarded as one of the most important and influential filmmakers in the history of cinema, Kurosawa directed 30 filmsIn 1946, Kurosawa co-directed, with Hideo Sekigawa and Kajiro Yamamoto, the feature Those Who Make Tomorrow ;...
, a 1958 versionThe Idiot (1958 film)The Idiot , is a 1958 Soviet film directed by Ivan Pyryev. It is based on the eponymous novel by Fyodor Dostoevsky.-Cast:*Yuri Yakovlev - Prince Myshkin*Yuliya Borisova - Nastasia Philippovna*Nikita Podgornyj - Ganya Ivolgin...
by Russian director Ivan PyryevIvan PyryevIvan Aleksandrovich Pyryev , served as Director of the Mosfilm studios and was, for a time, the most influential man in the Soviet motion picture industry.Pyryev was born in Kamen-na-Obi, now Altai Krai, Russia...
, Salil Dutta's "Aparichito", a 1969 Bengali film, and Mani KaulMani KaulMani Kaul was an Indian film director of Hindi films. He graduated from the Film and Television Institute of India where he was a student of Ritwik Ghatak and later became a teacher. Started his career with Uski Roti , which won him the Filmfare Critics Award for Best Movie, he went on to win...
's 1992 Hindi versionIdiot (1992 film)Idiot is a Hindi film based on Fyodor Dostoevsky's novel, The Idiot. It was directed by Mani Kaul and starred Shahrukh Khan and Ayub Khan-Din. The film debuted at the New York Film Festival on 8 October 1992, although it was originally made for television...
. - Truman Capote's novella "Breakfast at Tiffany'sBreakfast at Tiffany'sBreakfast at Tiffany's is a 1961 romantic comedy film starring Audrey Hepburn and George Peppard, and featuring Patricia Neal, Buddy Ebsen, Martin Balsam, and Mickey Rooney. The film was directed by Blake Edwards and released by Paramount Pictures...
" (1957)——also later a popular film (1961)——is a loose adaptation of the novel, featuring a struggling New YorkNew YorkNew York is a state in the Northeastern region of the United States. It is the nation's third most populous state. New York is bordered by New Jersey and Pennsylvania to the south, and by Connecticut, Massachusetts and Vermont to the east...
writer whose affections are torn between a wealthy patron and the beautiful and slightly batty waif downstairs - In 2001, Down HouseDown House (film)Down House is a 2001 Russian comedy-gross-out film by Roman Kachanov, a spoof parody on The Idiot novel by Fyodor Dostoevsky....
, a tongue-in-cheek modern adaptation/parody of the novel, was filmed by Russian director Roman Kachanov, using the late 1990s Moscow underworld of mafiaRussian MafiaThe Russian Mafia is a name applied to organized crime syndicates in Russia and Ukraine. The mafia in various countries take the name of the country, as for example the Ukrainian mafia....
and drug addicts as the setting; it featured Fyodor BondarchukFyodor BondarchukFyodor Sergeyevich Bondarchuk is a Russian film director and actor. He is the director of the acclaimed film The 9th Company, and producer of the 2006 film Heat, where he starred as himself with his mother Irina Skobtseva....
as the Prince and the co-writer of the script, Ivan OkhlobystinIvan OkhlobystinIvan Ivanovich Okhlobystin is a Russian actor, director and screenwriter. Besides he is an Russian Orthodox priest . He became popular for his role as head of the therapy department in a medical sitcom "Interny"...
as Rogozhin. - Christian BaleChristian BaleChristian Charles Philip Bale is an English actor. Best known for his roles in American films, Bale has starred in both big budget Hollywood films and the smaller projects from independent producers and art houses....
's character in The MachinistThe MachinistThe Machinist is a 2004 English-language Spanish psychological thriller film directed by Brad Anderson and written by Scott Kosar....
is seen reading The Idiot at various points throughout the film. - Iggy PopIggy PopIggy Pop is an American singer, songwriter, musician, and actor. Though considered an innovator of punk rock, Pop's music has encompassed a number of styles over the years, including pop, metal, jazz and blues...
's 1977 album The IdiotThe Idiot (album)The Idiot is the debut solo album by American rock singer Iggy Pop. It was the first of two LPs released in 1977 which Pop wrote and recorded in collaboration with David Bowie...
is titled in reference to James Osterberg, Tony ViscontiTony ViscontiAnthony Edward Visconti is an American record producer and sometimes a musician or singer.Since the late 1960s, he has worked with an array of performers; his lengthiest involvement with any artist is with David Bowie: intermittently from Bowie's 1969 album Space Oddity to 2003's Reality, Visconti...
and David BowieDavid BowieDavid Bowie is an English musician, actor, record producer and arranger. A major figure for over four decades in the world of popular music, Bowie is widely regarded as an innovator, particularly for his work in the 1970s...
's love of the book. - In 2003, Russian State Television produced a 10-part, 8-hour mini-seriesThe Idiot (TV series)The Idiot is a costume drama TV series produced by Russia TV Channel in 2003 based on Fyodor Dostoevsky's novel with the same title.Series script is very close to original text of Dostoevsky and well-known Russian actors are playing in the film...
of the work, which is available with English subtitles. - In 1999, the Tabakov Theatre produced an adaptation of the novel, adapted and directed by Alexandre MarineAlexandre MarineAlexandre Marine is a Russian-born actor-director-playwright currently based in Montreal.. On April 23, 1993 he was recognized by the Russian government as a Distinguished Artist of the Russian Federation....
with the show later airing on the Kultura television as TV-play. - In 1999, CzechCinema of the Czech RepublicThe Czech Republic was a seedbed for many acclaimed film directors.Three Czech/Czechoslovak movies that won the Academy Award for Best Foreign Language Film were The Shop on Main Street by Ján Kadár and Elmar Klos in 1965, Closely Watched Trains by Jiří Menzel in 1967 and...
director Saša Gedeon produced a modern cinematic reinterpretation of The Idiot entitled The Return of the Idiot (Návrat idiota). - The PolishCinema of PolandThe history of cinema in Poland is almost as long as history of cinematography, and it has universal achievements, even though Polish movies tend to be less commercially available than movies from several other European nations....
director Andrzej WajdaAndrzej WajdaAndrzej Wajda is a Polish film director. Recipient of an honorary Oscar, he is possibly the most prominent member of the unofficial "Polish Film School"...
adapted the last chapter of The Idiot as the feature film NastasjaNastasjaNastasja is a Polish/Japanese film released in 1994, directed by Andrzej Wajda.The film is an adaptation on the last chapter of Fyodor Dostoyevski's novel The Idiot, in which Prince Mishkin and Rogozin return to the past in a conversation over the dead body of Nastasja...
in 1994. - The Russian composer Nikolai MyaskovskyNikolai MyaskovskyNikolai Yakovlevich Myaskovsky was a Russian and Soviet composer. He is sometimes referred to as the "father of the Soviet symphony".-Early years and first important works:...
planned an opera on The Idiot during World War IWorld War IWorld War I , which was predominantly called the World War or the Great War from its occurrence until 1939, and the First World War or World War I thereafter, was a major war centred in Europe that began on 28 July 1914 and lasted until 11 November 1918...
but did not complete it. - The Harlan EllisonHarlan EllisonHarlan Jay Ellison is an American writer. His principal genre is speculative fiction.His published works include over 1,700 short stories, novellas, screenplays, teleplays, essays, a wide range of criticism covering literature, film, television, and print media...
short story Prince Myshkin and Hold the Relish features a friendly debate on Dostoyevsky and The Idiot between the narrator and a vendor at Pink's Hot DogsPink's Hot DogsPink's Hot Dogs is a landmark hot dog restaurant in the Hollywood district of the city of Los Angeles.- History :Pink's was founded by Paul and Betty Pink in 1939 as a pushcart near the corner of La Brea and Melrose. The Great Depression was still having an impact on the country, and money was scarce...
in Los Angeles. - In 2008, the theatre director Katie MitchellKatie MitchellKatrina Jane Mitchell OBE is an English theatre director. She is an Associate of the Royal National Theatre.-Life and career:Mitchell was raised in Hermitage, Berkshire and educated at Oakham School. Upon leaving Oakham she went up to Magdalen College, Oxford to read English...
premiered "...some trace of her", a multimedia exploration of the novel's central themes. - The famous Russian director Andrei TarkovskyAndrei TarkovskyAndrei Arsenyevich Tarkovsky was a Soviet and Russian filmmaker, writer, film editor, film theorist, theatre and opera director, widely regarded as one of the finest filmmakers of the 20th century....
planned an adaptation after The Idiot, but had died before it was realized. - The German novelist Hermann HesseHermann HesseHermann Hesse was a German-Swiss poet, novelist, and painter. In 1946, he received the Nobel Prize in Literature...
wrote in 1919 a short piece about the book called Thoughts on The Idiot of Dostoevsky, later released in a compilation of essays called My Belief: Essays on Life and ArtMy Belief: Essays on Life and ArtMy Belief: Essays on Life and Art is a collection of essays by Hermann Hesse. The essays, written between 1904 and 1961, were originally published in German, either individually or in various collections between 1951 and 1973...
. - In Act 1, Scene 2 of Mel BrooksMel BrooksMel Brooks is an American film director, screenwriter, composer, lyricist, comedian, actor and producer. He is best known as a creator of broad film farces and comic parodies. He began his career as a stand-up comic and as a writer for the early TV variety show Your Show of Shows...
' musical The ProducersThe ProducersThe Producers commonly refers to Mel Brooks' series of comedic works about two con-men who attempt to cheat theater investors out of their money, only to have the scheme improbably backfire:...
, Max Bialystock jokingly addresses Leo Bloom as "Prince Miskin." This also occurs in the original filmThe Producers (1968 film)The Producers is a 1968 American satirical dark comedy cult classic film written and directed by Mel Brooks. The film is set in the late 1960s and it tells the story of a theatrical producer and an accountant who want to produce a sure-fire Broadway flop...
. - In the 1998 pilot episode of T.V. show "Seven Days", Frank Parker (played by Jonathan LaPaglia) has a copy of The Idiot on his desk inside the insane asylum.
- In 2009, Lithuanian theatre director Eimuntas NekrošiusEimuntas NekrošiusEimuntas Nekrošius is one of the most renowned theatre directors in Lithuania.- Career :...
directed "Idiotas", performance in 4 parts. - In 1985, Polish director Andrzej Zulawski directed the feature film "L'Amour Braque" (Limpet Love), as a homage to Dostoyevsky's "The Idiot". Its end credits state that "The film is inspired by Dostoyevsky's "The Idiot" and intended as a homage to the great writer". It stars Sophie Marceau as what most likely is the part of Nastasja Philipovna.
- BBC Radio 7 broadcast a 4-episode adaptation of "The Idiot" entitled "Fyodor Dostoevsky's The Idiot," in June 2010. It starred Paul RhysPaul RhysPaul Rhys is a British television, film and theatre actor.Rhys was born in Wales and studied at RADA, leaving with the Bancroft Gold Medal in 1987. While there, he obtained his first major screen role, in Absolute Beginners . Since then he has seldom been off the stage and screen...
as Prince Myshkin. - Simon GraySimon GraySimon James Holliday Gray, CBE , was an English playwright and memoirist who also had a career as a university lecturer in English literature at Queen Mary, University of London, for 20 years...
's stage adaptation was produced by the National Theatre CompanyRoyal National TheatreThe Royal National Theatre in London is one of the United Kingdom's two most prominent publicly funded theatre companies, alongside the Royal Shakespeare Company...
at the Old VicOld VicThe Old Vic is a theatre located just south-east of Waterloo Station in London on the corner of The Cut and Waterloo Road. Established in 1818 as the Royal Coburg Theatre, it was taken over by Emma Cons in 1880 when it was known formally as the Royal Victoria Hall. In 1898, a niece of Cons, Lilian...
Theatre, London in 1970, starring Derek JacobiDerek JacobiSir Derek George Jacobi, CBE is an English actor and film director.A "forceful, commanding stage presence", Jacobi has enjoyed a highly successful stage career, appearing in such stage productions as Hamlet, Uncle Vanya, and Oedipus the King. He received a Tony Award for his performance in...
. - Vladimir Bortko directed a 2003 adaptationThe Idiot (TV series)The Idiot is a costume drama TV series produced by Russia TV Channel in 2003 based on Fyodor Dostoevsky's novel with the same title.Series script is very close to original text of Dostoevsky and well-known Russian actors are playing in the film...
for Russia 1. - In June 2011, Russian Director Victor Sobchak adapted this story into a short two-hour play at The Theatre Collection in Camden, above The Lord Stanley Arms pub. London born, Indian actor Ajay NayyarAjay NayyarAjay Pratap Singh Nayyar is a British-Indian film, television, and stage actor, producer and director.Ajay featured in two TV shows in 2009, the Fox thriller drama series 24 and the CBS series NCIS and also starred in a feature film titled Rejouer playing the role of a music producer...
played the role of Prince Lev Nikolayevich MyshkinPrince MyshkinPrince Lev Nikolaevich Myshkin is the protagonist of Fyodor Dostoyevsky's The Idiot.Dostoyevsky wanted to create a character that was "entirely positive... with an absolutely beautiful nature," and a good way to make such a character plausible in 19th century St Petersburg society was to make him... - In October 2011, Australian Director and Sound Designer Max Lyandvert adapted the show into a Three Act play performed by National Institute of Dramatic ArtNational Institute of Dramatic ArtThe National Institute of Dramatic Art is an Australian national training institute for students of theatre, film, and television, based in the Sydney suburb of Kensington. It is supported by the federal Office for the Arts, Department of the Prime Minister and Cabinet. NIDA is located adjacent...
students at Bay 20, CarriageWorks in Sydney, Australia. Harry GreenwoodHarry GreenwoodLieutenant Colonel Harry Greenwood VC, DSO & Bar, OBE, MC was an English recipient of the Victoria Cross, the highest and most prestigious award for gallantry in the face of the enemy that can be awarded to British and Commonwealth forces.Greenwood was born in Windsor, the eldest of nine children...
played the role of Prince Lev Nikolayevich MyshkinPrince MyshkinPrince Lev Nikolaevich Myshkin is the protagonist of Fyodor Dostoyevsky's The Idiot.Dostoyevsky wanted to create a character that was "entirely positive... with an absolutely beautiful nature," and a good way to make such a character plausible in 19th century St Petersburg society was to make him...
. - In October 2011, Estonian director Rainer Sarnet adapted the book to a feature film "The Idiot", starring Risto Kübar as Prince Myshkin.
English translations
Since The Idiot was first published in Russian, there have been a number of translations into English over the years, including those by:- Frederick Whishaw (1887)
- Constance GarnettConstance GarnettConstance Clara Garnett was an English translator of nineteenth-century Russian literature...
(1913)- Revised by Anna Brailovsky (2003)
- Eva Martin (1915)
- David MagarshackDavid MagarshackDavid Magarshack was a British translator and biographer of Russian authors, best known for his translations of Dostoevsky....
(1955) - John W. Strahan (1965)
- Henry CarlisleHenry CarlisleHenry Coffin Carlisle was a translator, novelist, and anti-censorship activist.Carlisle, with his wife Olga Andreyeva Carlisle, was notable for translating Alexander Solzhenitsyn's work into English...
and Olga Carlisle (1980) - Alan MyersAlan Myers (translator)Alan Myers was a noted translator, most notably of works by Russian authors.-Biography:Myers was born in South Shields, County Durham, in 1933. He attended the University of London between 1957 and 1960 and Moscow University from 1960-61...
(1992) - Richard PevearRichard PevearRichard Pevear and Larissa Volokhonsky are a couple that are best known for their collaborative translations. Most of their translations are of works in Russian, but also French, Italian, and Greek. Their translations have been nominated three times and twice won the PEN/Book-of-the-Month Club...
and Larissa Volokhonsky (2002) - David McDuff (2004)
- Ignat Avsey (2010)
The Constance Garnett
Constance Garnett
Constance Clara Garnett was an English translator of nineteenth-century Russian literature...
translation was for many years accepted as the definitive English translation, but more recently it has come under criticism for being dated. The Garnett translation, however, still remains widely available because it is now in the public domain
Public domain
Works are in the public domain if the intellectual property rights have expired, if the intellectual property rights are forfeited, or if they are not covered by intellectual property rights at all...
. Some writers, such as Anna Brailouvsky, have based their translations on Garnett's. Since the 1990s, new English translations have appeared that have made the novel more accessible to English readers.
The Oxford Guide to Literature in English Translation (2000) states that the Alan Myers
Alan Myers (translator)
Alan Myers was a noted translator, most notably of works by Russian authors.-Biography:Myers was born in South Shields, County Durham, in 1933. He attended the University of London between 1957 and 1960 and Moscow University from 1960-61...
version is the best currently available, though since then, new translations by David McDuff and Pevear & Volokhonsky have also been well received.