Professor David Peimer
Fyodor Dostoevsky and The Brothers Karamazov
Summary
The lecture offers an in-depth look at the life of Fyodor Dostoevsky (1821–1881) and his literary contributions, centering on The Brothers Karamazov. The discussion explores 19th-century Russia’s context post-serf emancipation, delving into Dostoevsky’s personal struggles, including epilepsy and imprisonment. Emphasizing his non-aristocratic background, the lecture contrasts Dostoevsky with contemporaries like Tolstoy, highlighting themes of love, hate, and human nature in his works. It blends biography, historical context, and literary analysis to illuminate the enduring legacy of this renowned Russian novelist.
Professor David Peimer
David Peimer is a professor of theatre and performance studies in the UK. He has taught at the University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg, and New York University (Global Division), and was a Fulbright Scholar at Columbia University. Born in South Africa, David has won numerous awards for playwriting and directing. He has written eleven plays and directed forty in places like South Africa, New York, Brussels, London, Berlin, Zulu Kingdom, Athens, and more. His writing has been published widely and he is the editor of Armed Response: Plays from South Africa (2009) and the interactive digital book Theatre in the Camps (2012). He is on the board of the Pinter Centre in London.
Yes. I forgot to mention he had a child, and died of pneumonia at the age of three. The suffering of this guy was just endless. His first wife dies. His brother dies. His baby dies. His father is murdered.
I don’t know specifically his friends and family, but certainly the culture. One of Freud’s greatest contributions was to draw the distinction between this as a medical condition and not a psychological condition. But I think in his own time, it would’ve been seen as demonic possession, whether it was Satan because his father was religious or whether it was something else.
Yes, absolutely. They all read Tolstoy, Dostoevsky, all of them. Kids have to read it at school the same way that in English language countries, school kids have to read Shakespeare, Mark Twain, Faulkner, Dickens, Jane Austin, whatever.