The Spiritual Elevation Expressed by Hidden Narrative Processes in Dostoevsky’s Novel “The Eternal Husband”

Abstract

In Dostoevsky’s novel “The Eternal Husband”, the theme of spiritual elevation is conveyed by two implicit narrative processes developing in parallel with the explicit plot, based on the theme of revenge. Each of the two implicit narrative trajectories reveals the complex vertical spiritual growth of the victimized lover and the victim husband, respectively, which becomes a strategy for expressing the author’s intent. The three parallel narrative trajectories together reveal the multilayered themes of the story and the multilayered connotations of the text. Many vague places and “superfluous” details become clear and necessary with the introduction of hidden narrative passages that reveal the themes of fall and salvation.