Redemption and the Merchant God: Dostoevsky’s Economy of Salvation and Antisemitism

258 Pages·2008·0.663 MB·English

by  Susan McReynolds

Redemption and the Merchant God
Northwestern University Press
Studies in Russian Literature and Theory
Series Editors
Robert Belknap
Caryl Emerson
Gary Saul Morson
William Mills Todd III
Andrew Wachtel
Redemption and
the Merchant God
DOSTOEVSKY’S ECONOMY OF
SALVATION AND ANTISEMITISM
Susan McReynolds
northwestern university press / evanston, illinois
Northwestern University Press
www.nupress.northwestern.edu
Copyright © 2008 by Northwestern University Press.
Published 2008. All rights reserved.
Printed in the United States of America
10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1
ISBN-13: 978-0-8101-2439-4
ISBN-10: 0-8101-2439-4
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
McReynolds, Susan.
Redemption and the merchant god : Dostoevsky’s economy of salvation and
a ntisemitism / Susan McReynolds.
p. cm. — (Studies in Russian literature and theory)
Includes bibliographical references and index.
1. Dostoyevsky, Fyodor, 1821–1881—Religion. 2. Dostoyevsky, Fyodor, 1821–

1881—Criticism and interpretation. 3. Jews in literature. 4. Antisemitism in
l iterature. 5. Jesus Christ—Crucifixion. I. Title. II. Series.
PG3328.Z7R4259 2008
891.733—dc22 2007035877
8 The paper used in this publication meets the minimum requirements of the
American National Standard for Information Sciences—Permanence of Paper
for Printed Library Materials, ANSI Z39.48-1992.
To my parents, Peter and Rosemarie McReynolds

Contents
Acknowledgments ix
Note on the Text xi
List of Abbreviations of Works by Fyodor Dostoevsky xiii
Introduction Speaking with the Devil 3
Part I
Chapter One “I Am Not an Expert at Lulling to Sleep”:
The Struggle Between Faith and Doubt
in Dostoevsky’s Writings 23
Chapter Two “He Gave His Son”: The Problem of the
Crucifixion as Child Sacrifice in Dostoevsky 31
Chapter Three Disraeli and the Merchant God:
Victims and Villains, Jews and Europe 46
Chapter Four A Synagogue Mistaken for a Church:
Dostoevsky’s Demon and the Jews 58
Part II
Chapter Five “I Have the Heart of a Lamb”: Roots of the Russian
and Jewish Ideas and the Problem of the Crucifixion
in Poor Folk 69
Chapter Six “God Sent Her to Us as a Reward for Our Sufferings”:
The Origins of Dostoevsky’s Preoccupation with Child
Sacrifice in the Dialogue Between Time and The
Insulted and Injured 78
Chapter Seven Sources of Dostoevsky’s Antisemitism in Notes from
the House of the Dead: The Problem of Redemption
and the Resemblance of Christians and Jews 90
Chapter Eight “I Don’t Want Your Sacrifice”: The Morality of
the Son in Crime and Punishment 117
Chapter Nine From Prince Christ to the Russian Christ:
Problems of Resurrection in The Idiot and the
Development of Dostoevsky’s National Messianism 133
Chapter Ten “This Is What I Cannot Bear”: The Obliteration of
Moral Distinctions Through the Crucifixion in Demons 144
Chapter Eleven “You Can Buy the Whole World”: Zosima’s Christian
Faith and the Jewish Idea in the Diary of a Writer 157
Notes 199
Index 231
Acknowledgments
The research and writing of this book were partly funded by a generous
grant from the Alice Kaplan Institute for the Humanities at Northwestern
University and by an individual research grant from the University Research
Grants Committee.
I am deeply grateful for the support and inspiration many people have
provided over the years. The roots of this project go back to my first encoun-
ters with Dostoevsky under the guidance of Bill Todd. He mentored these
ideas through every phase, and they would not have developed to completion
without his patience, wisdom, and commitment. Sander Gilman generously
offered insights that prompted profound revaluation of the project at several
critical junctures. His feedback and encouragement were indispensable.
Any new work on Dostoevsky owes a significant debt to the remark-
able tradition of Dostoevsky scholarship in the United States, Europe, and
Russia. The members of the International Dostoevsky Society bring infec-
tious passion to their study of Dostoevsky’s life and works, and they ener-
gized this composition. I owe a special debt to the work and example of
Ulrich Schmid, an inspiring Dostoevsky scholar and leader in the interna-
tional community. Here in the United States, several people must be singled
out for special thanks: Caryl Emerson, Robin Feuer Miller, Donna Orwin,
and Nina Perlina. Our stimulating exchanges and their encouragement made
a tremendous difference.
The Northwestern University Slavic Department is the home of ex-
traordinary individuals who contributed to this book. Clare Cavanagh and
Séamas O’Driscoll gave generously of their time, insight, and friendship
through the long process. The intellectual energy and friendship of Andrew
and Elizabeth Wachtel sustained the work through difficult times. Gary Saul
Morson tirelessly mentored the writing process; he has been an inspirational
friend and mentor, nothing short of an intellectual lodestar.
ix