The Idiot

I've decided I need to blog more about books I'm reading. Right now, I'm reading "The Idiot" by Fyodor Dostoevsky. I think it's a very humorous book. It's about a man (a Prince called Muishkin actually) who has epilepsy, which in those days made people believe he was an idiot. He is actually one of the most intelligent people in the book. He is also sensitive and caring. The stigma that comes from being an "idiot" keeps him from studying at a university, finding a good career, even getting married; he has no hope for a great future. Those around him are more open with him because "he's just an idiot". This is where the Prince triumphs the most: by gaining insight and encouraging people to express their true feelings. I don't want to give away anything that happens, but at times the other characters are so ridiculous that they make the Prince seem like a genius by comparison. One of the most difficult things about reading Russian literature is the names. Russian uses patronymics. It's actually quite easy to figure out a patronymic. As implied by the name, it originates in the name of the person's father. My father's name is Michael. Take the name add "ovna" for a girl and "ovich" for a boy (with a few exceptions, of course). My Russian name would be Rachel Michaelovna (or to make it more Russian, Rachel Mikhailovna). My husband's name is Dennis. All of our children would have the patronymic (or middle name, if that makes it easier) of Dennisovna for the girls and Dennisovich for the boys. Another complication that arises with Russian names is the fact that the Russian language uses a different alphabet and at times the sounds are difficult to convey with English characters, not to mention that English has some sounds that never appear in Russian (like the letter W) and Russian has some sounds that never appear in English. Also, it's difficult to know where to put the emphasis on a word if you've never heard it before. A few Russian names have been Americanized by improper emphasis; Anastasia is a classic example. To a Russian, it's pronounced "AhnahstahsEEya" (capital letters denote emphasis). Vladimir, the name of the Russian President, is another name that Americans generally mispronounce (VlahdEEmeer). It's also important to remember that characters in the book refer to each other by their first name and their patronymic (SergEY IvAnovich) or by their last name only (which is the case of Prince Muishkin). One more helpful hint: Russian names have diminuitive forms, which are employed at certain times of life by certain people (I understand the concept, but I'm still not quite clear on when certain diminuatives are used). Anastasia, for example, may be called Anya, Anyetchka, Anna, Nastia, Nastasia, etc. Alexander may also be called Alex, Alexei, Alexis, Alik, Aloyoshenka, and (my personal favorite) Alyosha. If you've been paying attention to previous blogs about Russia, you will notice I mention a young man named Volod. His real name is Vladimir; Volod is a diminuative. It's all very confusing, but I hope that after this explaination, the names will make a little more sense the next time you read some good Russian literature.