1847 Feuilletons as an “Explanatory Dictionary” of the Philosophy of Dostoevsky’s Early Works

Abstract

In the article are analyzed the feuilletons written by Fyodor Dostoevsky in 1847 for the column “Peterburgskaya Letopis” in the journal “Sankt-Peterburgskie Vedomosti”, where the writer tried to present his worldview relying not on philosophical and theological concepts but on artistic images and symbols that can be found in other texts from this period. However, in the case of journal articles, these images are shown far more clearly, due to the lack of plot, and can be interpreted more easily than in those cases when they are part of the complex structure of a work of fiction. These texts can be defined as the writer’s “explanatory dictionary”, where Dostoevsky clarifies the main images and techniques of his creative work.