Cervantes, Dostoevsky and Bakhtin: The problem of influence and polyphony

Viatchslav Gratchev, Purdue University

Abstract

The purpose of my study is two-fold: first, to suggest that the polyphonic structure was born within the monophonic structure of Don Quixote making it a unique hybrid novel; second, to demonstrate the extent of the profound influence that Don Quixote produced on Dostoevsky while the latter worked on his novel The Idiot. While Dostoevsky is considered to be the creator of the polyphonic novel, Cervantes, I believe, was the first writer who employed the polyphonic structure in Don Quixote. This novel is a unique blend of the classic homophonic novel that widely employs the polyphonic structure in order to fulfill the artistic will of Cervantes: to give voice to the idea . The idea in Don Quixote becomes a fully fledged subject, it lives and acts almost like a human being. This result can only be achieved if the author disregards the limits of the classical homophonic novel, and Cervantes decisively made one step further in order to explore the polyphonic structure and its expressive capabilities. This decisive step toward the polyphony was possible because Cervantes already formed his specific artistic view toward the outside world—the dialogical exploration of the idea. In this dialogical world Don Quixote refuses to be restricted by the limits of the homophonic structure. He starts to act outside of the prescribed boundaries of the monological concept of his existence where the hero can never become more than he is. Cervantes removes these chains from his hero, and he removes these chains from other characters as well. Into this free world, that was now only controlled but not dominated by the author, heteroglossia made it possible to bring other subjects of equal value, and these new subjects started to control the world they have populated. I want to call it the Literary Constitutional Monarchy where the voice of the demos is finally heard on the top. The ideas and thoughts now communicate freely in all directions, vertically and horizontally. To satisfy the needs of these independent subjects that populated this so far empty continent—polyphony had to be born. My study also attempts to analyze not only the problem of polyphony in Don Quixote but also the multi-faceted influence that Cervantes exercised on Dostoevsky's novel The Idiot. The choice of the novel is not arbitrary: out of three great novels of Dostoevsky only The Idiot can be considered the direct heir of Don Quixote with whom it shares not only the polyphonic nature but also the idea . There are not many books in universal literature that share the idea and Don Quixote and The Idiot do it to such an extent that they can justifiably be called the twin novels. This notion becomes a cornerstone for my investigation. I suggest that the influence of Cervantes on Russian genius is much stronger and much more complex than is normally thought. In my study I want to explore more in depth only one of the aspects of this influence: the process of the appropriation of Don Quixote by Dostoevsky on Russian soil. The result of such an appropriation became the novel—The Idiot —the twin novel, where the main idea of Don Quixote was reborn and appropriated on Russian soil. To show the results of such an appropriation is the second focus of my study.

Degree

Ph.D.

Advisors

Mancing, Purdue University.

Subject Area

Comparative literature|Romance literature|Slavic literature

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