lawlan, rachel - confession and double thoughts - tolstoy, rousseau, dostoevsky.pdf

8/13/2019 Lawlan, Rachel - Confession and Double Thoughts - Tolstoy, Rousseau, Dostoevsky.pdf

1/27

TheMaster ofPetersburg:Confession andDoubleThoughtsinCoetzee and

R A C H E L L A W L A N

I n t im e s o f in t e n s e id e o lo g ic a l p r e s s u r e l i k e t h e p r e s e n t , w h e n t h es p a c e in w h ic h t h e n o v e l a n d h i s t o r y n o r m a l l y c o e x is t l i k e t w o c o w so n the same pas tu re , eac h m in d in g i ts o w n bus iness , is squeezed toa lm o s t n o t h in g , t h e n o v e l , i t s ee m s t o m e , h a s o n ly t w o o p t io n s :s u p p le m e n t a r i t y o r r i v a l r y .

J .MCOETZEE " T h e N o v e l T o d a y "J M COETZEEEXPRESSED this o p i n i o n i n an address a ta b o o k f ai r i n C a p e T o w n , i n N o v e m b e r 1 9 8 7 ,at the m i d - p o i n tof the wors t years o f the States o f E m e r g e n c y i n S o u t h A f r i c a( 1 9 8 6 - 8 9 ) . A t t h e t im e o f t h e p u b l i c a t i o n o f h is latest n o v e l ,The Master of Petersburg, i n e a r l y 1 9 9 4 , th e p o l i t i c a l s i t u a t i o nh a d c h a n g e d i n w a ys u n f o r e s e e a b l e i n 1 9 8 7 .T h e o p t i o n o f then o v e l ' s " r i v a l r y " t o h i st o r y , o n t h e o t h e r h a n d ,seems ( to him) asi m p o r t a n t as ever. TheMasterofPetersburg, set in 1 8 6 9 , is a n arr a tivea b o u t a R u s s ia n n o v e li st c o m i n g o u t o f s e l f- i m p o s e d e x i l e i nD r e s d e n a n d r e t u r n i n g t o St. P e t e r s b u r g to c o l l e c t t h e p a p e r sa n d o t h e r b e l o n g i n g s o f h i s d e a d s t e p s o n , a n d i n t h e p r o c e s sb e c o m i n g c a u g h t u p i n v a r io u saspects o f t h e d e a d b o y ' s f o r m e rl i f e . I t i s n o tu n t i l 3 3pagesi n t o t h e n o v e l t h a t w e a r e t o l d that then o v e l i s t is n o n e o t h e r t h a n F y o d o r M i k h a i l o v i c h D o s t o e v s k y , 1b u tt h e a l e r t ( a n d w e l l - r e a d ) r e a d e r w i l l have guessed th i s l o n gb e f o r e .A s w e m i g h t expect w i t h a w r i t e r l i k e Coetzee , th i s i sn o s t r a i g h t f o r w a r d p o r t r a i t o f th e a r ti st . A l th o u g h th e fiction alF y o d o r is s i m i l a r t o t h e h i s t o r i c a l D o s t o e v s k y h e h a s b e e nr e s i d i n g i n D r e s d e n t o escape h i s c redi tors ; he suf fers f r o me p i l e p s y a n d a r u i n o u s f o n d n e s s f o r g a m b l i n g ; h e h a s a s e c o n d

Dostoevsky

ARIEL: AReview ofInternationalEnglishLiterature, 2 9 : 2 , A p r i l 1998


2/27

1 3 2 RACHELLAWLANw i fe , A n n a G r i g o r e v n a D o s t o e v s k a y a , ne S n i t k i n a , a n d a s t e p s o nf r o m h i s first m a r r i a g e , P a v e l A l e x a n d r o v i c hIsaevthere arevital d i f fe r e n c e s b e t w e e n t h e tw o . M o s t n o t a b l y , D o s t o e vs k y 'sa d o p t e d s o n P a v e l d i d n o t d i e i n 1 8 6 9bu t ac tua l lyl i v e d o n fo r 2 0years after h i s s tepfa th er ' s de ath i n 1 8 8 1 . As far as we can te l l ,D o s t o e v sk y d i d n o t r e t u r n f r o m h is e x i l e u n t i l 1 8 7 1 ; and i t wasw h i l e h e w a s i n D r e s d e n t h a t h e h e a r d o f t h e p o l i t i c a l k i l l i n g o fth e s tuden t Ivan o v by th e r evo lut io n ar y an d ter r o r i s t Nech aev , ane v e n t w h i c hcame to do m in ate h is th o ugh ts an d f in a l ly r esul tedi n the w r i t i n g o fDevils (1 8 7 1 ) . 2 I n The Master ofPetersburg, h o w e v e r , i t i s P a v e l w h o d i e s , h a v i n g c o m m i t t e d s u i c i d e o r h a v i n gb e e n m u r d e r e d , e i t h e r by t he p o l i c e o r (as F y o d o r g r a d u a l l ycomes to bel ieve) by Nechaev.B e f o r e e x a m i n i n g C o e t z e e ' s reasons f o r m a k i n gthese" h i s t o r i c a l " changes , i t i s necessary to c lar i fy exac t ly w hat the n ov el 's" r iva l ry" to h is to r y en ta i l s . D a v i d A t tw e l l notes that the terms ofC o et ze e's a r g u m e n t are " u n h a p p i l y M a n i c h e a n " s u p p l e m e n tarityorr ivalry,h i s t o r y or th e n o v e l a n d t ha t t hi s h as cost h i m " agreat d e a l i n t e rm s o f h i s r e l a t i o n s h i p w i t h o t h e r w r i t e r s i n S o u t hA f r i c a a n d w i th r e a d e r s w h o s e f o r m o f p o l i t i c i z a t i o n d e m a n d s ar e a l i s t d o c u m e n t a t i o n o f l i f e l i v e d u n d e r o p p r e s s i o n " (" T h eP r o b l e m o f H i s t o r y " 5 9 2 , 5 8 2 ) .H o w e v e r , i t m u s t b e b o r n e i nm i n d that Coetzee ispolemicizing h e r e , a n d t h a t w h a t w e find i nt he n o v e l s m a y b e q u i t e d i f f e r e n t a n d i n f i n i t e l y m o r e c o m p l e xth an a do gm at ic e i th er /o r . I t i s a l so im po r tan t to r ea l ize th a tCo etzee ' s use o f th e w o r d "h is to r y , " a t least i n h i s p o l e m i c s , d o e sn o t c o r r e s p o n d t o t h e u s u a l sense acco r ded to i t , th a t o f l ivedr e a li t y a n d e x p e r i e n c e , o f a c c e p t e d facts abo ut th e date o f ane le c t io n , o r a ba t t le , o r a s t r ike , o r th e contents o f a cer ta in p ieceo f l e g i s l a t i o n . I n s t e a d , h e uses th e w o r d to r e fer to h is to r ica ld i s c o u r s e , t h u s a d o p t i n g t h e p o s i t i o n t h at , e v e n i f w e k n o wh i s to r y t o h a ve h a p p e n e d , to h av e b e e n t h e " R e a l " o r l i v e d reality,o u r o n l yaccess to it n o w is tex tu a l , v ia d isco ur se , an d th er e fo r et h r o u g h i n t e r p r e t a t i o n .

Co etzee ' s quar r e l i sw i th types o f f i c t io n th a t re fuse to ack n o w ledge t h is la t te r p o i n t , a n d s i m p l y p r o v i d e t h e r e a d e r w i t h "v icar ious f i rs t -hand exper ience o f l i v i n g i n a c e r t a i n h i s t o r i c a l t i m e ,e m b o d y i n g c o n t e n d i n g forces i n c o n t e n d i n g characters a n d f i l l


3/27

COETZEE ANDDOSTOEVSKY 133i n g o u r e x p e r ie n c e w i t h a c e r t a i n d e n s i t y o f o b s e r v at io n " ( " T h eN o v e l T o d a y "3 ) . O n a d i f f e r e n t o c c a s i o n , C o e t z e e h as c r i t i c i zedth e u n t h i n k i n g n a t u r a l i s m o f n o v e ls l i k e M o n g a n eSerote's ToEveryBirth Its Blood ( 1 9 8 1 ) a n d S i p h o S e p a m l a ' s Ride on theWhirlwind (1 9 8 1) , w he re the re i s "a fa i l u re , a lm o st a re fusa l tocreate a s t ruc ture in w h i ch t h e r e is s o m e c e n t r e o f i n t e l l i g e n c e "( " G r u b b i n g f o r th e Id e o l o g i c a l I m p l i c a t i o n s "3 ) . T h is is a type o ffiction from w h i c h , i n t he w o r d s o f N j a b u l o N d e b e l e , " l it t let r a n s f o r m a t i o n i n r e a d e r c o n s c i o u s n e s s i s t o b e e x p e c t e d s i n c eth e o n l y r e a d e r f a c u l t y e n g a g e d i s t h e f a c u l t y o f r e c o g n i t i o n .R e c o g n i t i o n d o e s n o t n e c e s s ar il y l e a d to t r a n s f o r m a t i o n : i t s i m p ly c o n f i r m s " ( 4 5 ) .I n c o n t ra s t, t h e p o s i t i o n o f " r iva l ry , " w h i c h Coetzee i s c l ear lyd e f i n i n g f o r h i s o w n fiction, w o u l d l e a d t o

a no ve l t h a t opera tes in te rms o f i ts o w n pro ce du res a n d issues i ts ow nc o n c lu s io n s , n o t o n e t h a t o p e r a t e s i n t e r m s o f t h e p r o c e d u r e s o fh i s t o r y a n d e v e n t u a t e s i n c o n c lu s io n s t h a t a r e c h e c k a b le b y h i s t o r y(a s a c h i l d ' s s c h o o lw o r k is c h e c k e d b y a s c h o o lm is t r e s s ) . I n p a r t i c u la rI m e a n a n o v e l t h a t ev o lv e s i ts o w n p a r a d ig m s a n d m y t h s , i n t h ep r o ce s s ( a n d h e r e i s t h e p o in t a t w h ic h t r u e r i v a l r y , e v e n e n m i t y ,p e r h a p s e n t e r s th e p i c t u r e ) p e r h a p s g o i n g s o f a r as t o s h o w u p t h em y t h i c sta tu s o f h i s t o r y i n o t h e r w o r d s , d e m y t h o l o g i z i n g h is to r y.( " T h e N o v e l T o d a y " 3)I t is q u e s t i o n a b l e w h yC o e t z e e s h o u l d find i t n e c e s sa r y t o e m p l o ys u c h aggressive terms as " r i v a l r y " a n d " e n m i t y " t e r m s th a t i m p ly a c o m p l e t e b re a k b e tw e e n fiction a n d rea l ity . I f fiction isjustfiction a n d h a s n o effect w h a t s o e v e r o n r e a li ty , t h e n w hyw r it e atall? It iseasy to i m a g i n e C o e t z e e w i n c i n g a t th e m o d i f i e r i n "justfiction," b u th e h i m s e l f p o i n t st o w a rd itw i t hstatementsa b o u t t h e" i n e v i t a b i l i t y " o fh i s t o r y ' s c la im s to " p r i m a c y ," t o b e i n g " a m a s te r -f o r m o f d i s c o u r s e " ( 4 ) . C o n v e r s e l y , a n d t o p u t i t c r u d e l y , i t i sd i f f i c u l t t o i m a g i n e p e o p l e r u n n i n g t o t h e i r c o p i e s o f Waitingforth eBarbarians to get the l o w d o w n o n th e c u r r e n tstateo f a ffa i rs i nS o u t h A f r ic a . T h e p o i n t o f C o e t z ee 's fiction d o e s n o t l i e h e r e , i nthis b i n a r y o p p o s i t i o n b e tw e en s u p p l e m e n t i n g o r rivalling his tory, a n d i t i s ( to say the least) i r o n i c t h a t h e s h o u l d present i t asth e o n l y choice in an address tha t a t tacks " the terms of c lassc o n f l i c t ,racec o n f l i c t , g e n d e r c o n f l i c t o r a n y o f t h e o t h e r o p p o s i t i o n s o u t o f w h i c h h i s t o r y a n d th e h i s t o r i c a l d i s c i p l i n e serectt h e m s e l v e s " ( 3 ) .


4/27

1 3 4 RACHELLAWLANIn fact, as A t tw e l l dem o n str a tes ver y c lear ly , Co etzee ' s n o ve lsd o "engage h is to r y -as - th e -Rea l in qu i te sp ec i f i c w ays" ( "T h e P r o bl e m o f H i s t o r y " 5 8 8 ) . F o r e x a m p l e , e a c h o f t h e n o v e l s p r e s e n t s ap a r t i c u l a r c o n s c i o u s n e s s e n g a g e d i n a s t r u g g l e t o i n t e r p r e t a n du n d e r s t a n d t h e p e o p l e o r t h e s i t u a t i o n t h a t s u r r o u n d s t h e m ,o f t e n t h r o u g h t h e a c t o fw r i ti n g o r n a r r a t i n g . 5A l th o u g h C o e t z e ei n si st s r i g h t l y t h at " m a k i n gsense o f l i f e i n s i d e a b o o k is d i f f e r e n tf r o m m a k i n gsense o f re a l l i f e n o t m o r e d i f f i c u l t o r less d i f f i c u l t ,just d i ff e r e n t " ( " G r u b b i n g f o r th e I d e o l o g i c a l I m p l i c a t i o n s "3 ) , h is d e t e r m i n a t i o n t o f o c u s o n p a r t i c u l a r i n s t a n c e s o f i n t e rp r e t a t i o n seems to gesture outwards to the ways in w h i ch al l of usa t t e m p t t o as c ri b e m e a n i n g s t o o u r l iv e s a n d t h e d i f f e r i n g l a n guages , cu l tur es , an d h is to r ies in w h i ch w e a r e c a u g h t u p .A t t w e l lq u o t e s f r o m R o b e r t S i e g l e ' s The Poetics of Reflexivity ( 1 9 8 6 ) ,w h i c h posi ts su ch ref l ex ive , se l f -co n scio us e lem en ts i n fic tion askey e lem en ts o f a " co n s t i tut ive po et i cs , " th a t i s , a po et i cs d i r ec tedat

t h e m e c h a n i c s a n d a s s u m p t i o n s o f c o m p o s i n g , i n t e r p r e t i n g , s tr u ctu r in g , pos i t ing . . . [ a poe t ics wh ic h i s ] a spec ia l i zed ap p l i ca t io n o f al a rg e r s tu d y o f h o w a c u l t u r e w h e t h e r i n l i t e r a t u r e , c u l t u r a l c o d i n gi n g e n e r a l , s c ie n ce , o r p h i l o s o p h y c o m p o s e s its i d e n t i ty a n d t h a to f i ts ind iv idu a ls an d cons t i tu tes th e w or ld w i t h i n wh ich i t takesp lace . ( 5 9 0 )

In contrast to real is t or natural is t f ic t ion , w h i c h a t tempts top r e s e n t i ts el f as " p u r e " r e p r e s e n t a t i o n , u n m e d i a t e d b y a n y c o n t r o l l i n g " c e n t r e o f i n t e l l i g e n c e , " C o e t z e e ' s m e t a f i c t i o n a l , d e c o n -s t r uc t ive n o ve ls ac t ive ly an d se l f - co n sc io us ly ch a l len ge var io usm o d e s o f i n t e r p r e t i n g a n d a sc r i b in g m e a n i n g to one'ss u r ro u n d i n g s . H i s n o v e l is t ic p r o j e c t i n v o l ve s i m a g i n i n g a c e r t a i n c o n s c i o u s n e s s w h i c h i n c l u d e s t h e b o d y i t f i n d s i t s e l f i n , t h el a n g u a g e it s p e ak s, t he p o l i t i c s a n d c u l t u r e s u r r o u n d i n g it a n di n f o r m i n g its p o i n t o fv iew , t h e h i s to r i e s it is a p a r t o f a n d t h e ns e tt in g i t i n m o t i o n ,t r y i n g to a l l o w i t to speak fo r i tse l f a t a ce r ta ind i st an c e f r o m d ir e c t a u t h o r i a l i n t e r v e n t i o n o r o p i n i o n , b u t c o n c e n t r a t i n g p a r t i c u l a r l y u p o n t h e l i m i t s a n d t he p o s s i b i l i t ie s o f itsc o n d i t i o n s , t h e b o u n d a r i e s o f i t s t h o u g h t .A n o t h e r w a y i n w h i ch C o e t z e e ' s n o v e l sengage "h istory-as- the-R e a l " is t h r o u g ha f f i l i a ti o n . E d w a r d S a i d , i n h i sessayo n " S e c u l a r


5/27

COETZEE ANDDOSTOEVSKY 135C r i t i c i s m , " d e s c r i b e s " t h e t r a n s i t i o nf r o m a f a i l e d i d e a o r p o s s ibi l i tyo f filiation to ak i n d o f c o m p e n s a t o r y o r d e r t ha t, w h e t h e r i tis a p arty , an i n s t i t u t io n ,a cu l t u re , a s et o f be l i e fs , o r e ve n a w o r l dv i s i o n , p r o v i d e sm e n a n dw o m e n w i t ha n e w f o r m o f r e l a t i o n s h i p ,w h i c h [Sa i d has ] be e n c a l l i n g a f f i l i a t i o n b u t w h i ch i s a lso a news y s t e m " ( 1 9 ) . A t t w e l l suggests th at Co etze e 's f irst tw o n o vels ,Dusklands a n d In the Heart of the Country, " c a n b e d e s c r i b e d a sd e l i v e r i n g a c r i t i q u e o f t h e f o r m s o f filiation tha t m us t be fe l t asc h a in s o f i m p r i s o n m e n t b y a n y c r i t i c a l o r r e f l e c t i v e S o u t h A f r i c a n , " a n d t h a t w h i le C o e t z e e n e v e r p r o c e e d s t o a f f i l i a t e h i m s e l fw i t h a n y p a r t i c u l a r p o l i t ic a l p a r t y , i n s t i t u t i o n o r s et o f b e l i e f s ,aff i l ia t ive p a t t e r n s d o a p p e a r w i t h r e g a r d t o t h e v a r i o u s a u t h o r s ,t y p e s o f fiction-writing a n d c r i t i c a l p r a c t i c e t o w h ic h t he nove l sa l l u d e :

T h e in t e r t e x t u a l n e t w o r k s o f l i t e r a t u r e i t s e l f s e e m t o p r o v id e C o e t ze ew i t h a k in d o f g u a r a n t e e o f t h e p o s s ib il i ty o f [ q u a l i f i e d o r p a r t i a lf o r m s o f ] f r e e d o m , e v e n i f t h is m e a n s o n l y t h e f r e e d o m t o r e t h i n k ,as he pu ts i t , t he ca tegor ies o f do m in an ce . Th is la rge m ov em en tt h r o u g h t h e s e q u e n c e o f n o v e ls c a n n o t b e d i s c e r n e d , h o w e v e r , w i t h o u t re fe r en ce to the h is to r ica l na r ra t ive wh ic h the fic tion i t se l f es tabl i shes , n o t on ly as a s tory to be to ld , b u t a lso as a fie ld o f a u th or ia lende avou r . . . . A n o th e r way o f p u t t in g th is is t o say tha t aga ins t t heh is to r ica l nar ra t ive , us ing the mater ia ls o f s t ruc tu re , Coetzee cas ts inr e l i e f c o n f i g u r a t i o n s o f l a n g u a g e c o n c e i v e d as s u b je c ti v it y, se lf-r e p r e s e n t a t io n , m y t h , a n d i d e o l o g y w h i c h c o n t a i n d i f f e r e n t accounts o f t he l im i t s and poss ib i l i t ies o f l i f e l i ved ou t in h is to ry .( " T h e P r o b l e m o f H i s t o r y " 6 0 1 )

T h e a f f il i a ti v e r e l a t i o n s h i p s t h at C o e t z e e chooses t o m a k e i n h i sfiction p r o v i d e a n in d i r e c tl i n k w i t h " h i s t o r y - a s - t h e - R e a l , "s u p p l y i n g a l i t e r a r y - i d e o l o g i c a l , l i t e r a r y - h i s t o r i c a l , a n d l i t e r a r y - c r i t i c a lbas is against w h i ch h e c a n e x p l o r e a n d q u e s t i o n v a r i o u s w a ys i nw h i c h p e o p l e h a v e m a d e sense o f t h e i r l ives, e x p l a i n e d a n dj u s t i f i e d t h e m s e l v e s a p r o c e s s a l w a y s i n v o l v i n g t o g re at e r orl e s s e r d e g re e s s ome f o r m o f p l o t t i n g o r n a r r a t i v i z i n g .B e a r i n g t h e a b o v e i n m i n d , i tbecomes d i f f i c u l t to agree w i t hC o e t z e e t h a t " r i v a l r y " t o h i s t o r i c a l d i s c o u r s e is th e best way tod e s c r i b e s u c h n o v e l i s t i c e n t e r p r i s e s . A t tw e l l suggests a t h i r d o p t i o n " c o m p l e m e n t a r i t y " w h i c h is m o r e h e l p f u l i n e x p l a i n i n gt h e d y n a m i c s o f C o e t z e e ' s fiction, h i s a t t e m p t t o r e t h i n k a n de x p a n d th e l i m i t s o f s p e c i f i c f o r m s o f c o n s c i o u s n e s s - i n - h i s t o r y


6/27

1 3 6 RACHELLAWLAN( 5 9 2 ) . T h i s b r i n g s us b a c k t o m y o r i g i n a l q u e s t i o n w h y h asC o e t z e e c h a n g e d v a r i o u s aspects o f D o s t o e v s k y ' s b i o g r a p h y i nTheMasterofPetersburg}W h y a f f i l ia te h i m s e l f if th is is w h at h e i sd o i n g t o D o s t o ev sk y ? W h a t is t he f o r m o f c o n s c io u s n e s s e xp l o r e d h er e , an d w h at are its l im i ts? H o w is h isto r y , o r h is to r ica ld i s c o u r s e, " c o m p l e m e n t e d " o r r e t h o u g h t by C o e t z e e 's a lt er at io n s to th e " r ea l " l i f e o f th e " r ea l " D o sto evsky?

These a r e ques t io n s th a t ba f f led m an y o f th e r ev iewer s o f TheMaster of Petersburg.M i c h i k o K a k u t a n i , i n th e New York Times,c o m p l a i n e d t ha t w h i l e " C o e t z e e 's m a n i p u l a t i o n o f these factsa n d fic tions is p er fec t ly n im b le , i t a lsofeelsc o m p l e t e l y a r b i t r a ry , "a n d b e m o a n e d " t h e w a ste o f [h is ] c o p i o u s t al en t s o n s u c h a n o d da n d u n s a t i s fy i n g e n t e r p r i s e " ( C 3 5 ) . P a t r i c k M c G r a th , in th e NewYorkTimesBookReview, d e s c r i b e d it as " a n o b s c u r e b o o k . . . i ts p l o tl a b y r i n t h i n e , its tone r e len t less ly m ela n ch o ly . . . den se an dd i f f i c u l t , a n o ve l th a t f r us t r a tes a t ever y tur n " (g ) ; wh i le R ich ar dE d e r , in th e Los AngelesTimes, c l a i m e d t ha t " t h e substance isen gr o ss in g but i t f a l l s sh o r t " (11 ) . H a r r i e t t G i l b e r t , i n NewStates-man and Society, a c c u s e d C o e t z e e o f " c o y n e s s " f o r w a i t i n g u n t i lp a g e 3 3 to r evea l D o sto evsky 's " t r ue iden t i ty " ( 4 1 ) , a n d , i n t h eSpectator, B a r r y U n s w o r t h f e lt " t r o u b l e d by s t ir r in g s o f d i s b e l i e ft h r o u g h o u t t h e n o v e l " ( 3 1 ) . W h ate ver C o e tzee ' s a im s ar e in TheMaster ofPetersburg, they w o u l d appear to be qui te o bscur e o r ,at least, n o t qui te as o bv io us as in Foe ( 1 9 8 6 ) , the f irst n o ve l inw h i c h he used aconcrete h i s t o r i c a l c h a r a c te r w h o a ls o h a p p e n e dt o h a v e b e e n a n a u t h o r . T h e r e , h e r e w r o t e D e f o e ' s RobinsonCrusoe ( 1 7 1 9 ) to give vo ices to those s i l e n c e d b y h i s t o r y a n dl i ter a t ur e . A t first g lan ce , there w o u ld s e e m t o b e n o c o r r e s p o n d i n g l y a p p a r e n t m o t i v a t i o n b e h i n d t he e n t e rp r i s e o f r e w r i t i n gDostoevsky.T h e r e a r e p e r h a p s s i m i l a r i t ie s b e t w e e n t he p o s i t i o n s o fC o e t z e e a n d D o s t o e v s k y : b o t h a u t h o r s l i v e ( d ) i n a t i m e o f p o l i t i ca l un r es t in th e i r r espec t ive co un tr ies (an d wr o te w i t h the threato f c e n s o r s h i p h a n g i n g o v e r t h e m ) ; b o t h chose v o l u n t a r y e x i l ea b r o a d f o r a t i m e before r e t u r n i n g t o t h e i r n a t i v e c o u n t r i e s ; b o t hh av e b e e n a c c u s e d o f b e i n g r e a c ti o n a r y , o fd i s p l a y i n g c o m p l i c i t yi n t h e o p p r e s s i o n o f c e r t a i n g r o u p s i n t h e i r s o c i e t i e s . T h e w o r k i n g s o f r e v o l u t i o n a r y o r g a n i z a t i o n s i n b o t h c o u n t r i e s a re a ls o


7/27

COETZEEANDDOSTOEVSKY 137comparable, c o n s is ti n g o f " u n d e r g r o u n d ce ll s" u t i l i z i n g terroristtactics to attack th e sections o f society they see as su bju ga t in gt h e m . A sizeable p r o p o r t i o n o f t h e o p p o s i t i o n t o w h i t e n a t i o n a l i s m i n S o u t h A f r i c a h as been M a r x i s t e s p e c i a l l y d u r i n g the1 9 6 0 s a n d 1 9 7 0 s a n dCoetzee hasbeen s i n g l e d o u t b y c o m m u n i s t g r o u p s w h o have attacked h is w r i t i n g fo r i t s l ack o f co n crete p o l i t i ca l engagement.4 D o s t o e v s k y w as s t r o n g l y against thea ctiv itie s a n d p r o p a g a n d a o f c e r ta i n p r o t o - c o m m u n i s t a n d n i h i l ist g r o u p s i n p r e - re v o l u t io n a r y R u ss ia , m o d e l l i n g t he c u n n i n ga n d m u r d e r o u s character o f P y o t r S t e p a n o v i c h V e r k h o v e n s k y( in Devils) o n t h e rea l l i fe f i gure o f N ech aev . V erkh o ven s kyp r o c l a i m s :

Those wi th h igher ab i l i t i es can ' t he lp be ing despo ts and have a lwaysd o n e m o r e h a r m t h a n g o o d ; t h e y ' l l e i t h e r b e b a n i s h e d o r e x e c u t e d .C i c e ro ' s t o n g u e w i l l b e c u t o u t , Co p e rn i c u s ' s e ye s w i l l b e g o u g e d o u t ,S h a ke s pe a re w i l l be s t o n e d . . . . T h e r e ' s n o n e e d f o r e d u c a t i o n ; w e 'v eh a d e n o u g h s c i e n c e ( 4 4 2 - 4 3 )I n The MasterofPetersburg, F y o d o rattacks th e r i g i d i n f l e x i b i l i t y

o f th is k i n d o f a n t i - i n t e l l e c t u a l i s m , w o n d e r i n g a t a w o r l d - v i e wfocused s o l e l y o n d e s t r u c t i o n a n d chaos w h i ch rejects l e a r n i n g ,a r t , a n d science a s i m p r a c t i c a l . F y o d o r asks N e c h a e v :"W ha t o f m e, w ha t o f m y p lace in yo ur u top ia? Sha l l I s t i l l be a l lo we dto d ress u p l i ke a w o m a n, i f the sp i r i t takes m e, o r l i ke a yo u ng da nd yin a w h i te su i t , o r w i l l I be a l low ed on ly on e na m e, on e address, on eage,one paren tage? . . . S ha l l I s t i ll have the f r e ed om to pass my se l f o f fas w h o m e v e r I w i s h a s a y o u n g m a n , f o r i n s ta n c e , w h o s p e n d s hisi d l e h o u rs d i c t a t i n g l i s t s o f p e o p l e h e d o e s n ' t l i k e a n d i n v e n t i n gb l o o d t h i r s t y p u n i s h m e n t s f o r t h e m . . . ? O r s h o u l d I b e a r i nm i n d wh a t I h e a rd y o u say i n G e n e v a : t h a t we ha v e h a d e n o u g hCo p e rn i c u s e s , t h a t i f a n o t h e r Co p e rn i c u s we re t o a r i s e h e s h o u l dhave h is eyes gouged ou t? " ( 1 8 5 )

It is p o s s i b l e t o i m a g i n e Coetzee's v o i c e b e h i n d th is speech,v o i c i n g h isconcern o v e r th e h i d d e n tyrannies a n d h y p o c r i s i e s o fc e r t a i n f o r m s o f c o m m u n i s m a n d n a t i o n a l i s m , perhaps h i t t i n gback a t c r i t i c i s m o f h i s re fus a l t o declare h is allegiance t o a n dserve " t h e cause"whichever cause i t i s i n S o u t h A f r i c a . A s isalways the case w i th Coetzee, however , i t i sd i f f i cu l t to saywhereh e stands i n r e l a t i o n t o h i s texthere, he is a sha do w y figure


8/27

138 RACHELLAWLANp o s i t i o n e d behind a complex fictional/historical mise-en-abmeas Fyodoraccuses (the fictional) Nechaevofdeclarations w h i c hecho Verkhovensky's i n Devils, while Verkhovensky's speechesecho thoseof (thereal) Nechaev, filtered through Dostoevsky'sc r i t i c a l consciousness to become a fictional representation.

It isalso feasible tosuggest a connection between the expansionist projects of the Soviet U n i o n and those o f Europeanc o l o n i a l i s m , especially considering the current problems ofstateslike Chech nya and Georgiaw h i ch areengaged i nreasserti n g their independence from modern Russia. A g a i n , Coetzeenever makes the connection explicithis narrative ends farbefore theOctob er Revol ution andtheevents w h i c hf o l l ow ed but itlooms over thebook, c olou ringthe reader's perception ofthe conversations between Fyodor and Nechaev, as aforeb odingof what may accompan y any fo rm ofp o l i ti c a lextremism, blacko rw h i t e , communist or colonial, nationalist or democratic (asfor the latter, witness the portrayal of the US aggressions inDusklands [ 1974] ) .

H o w e v e r , none ofthese similarities and connection s prop erlye x p l a i n Coetzee's choice o fDostoevsky as a protagonist, or thechangeshemakes to hisbiography. One way into thepuzzleTheMaster of Petersburgsets may lie in an examination of its title.Petersburg, as Dostoevsky famously described it i nNotes fromUnderground (1 8 6 4 ) , is "themost abstractand intentional city inthe whole roundw o r l d " (17).TheU n d e r g r o u n dM a nisplagu edby abstraction an d inte nt ion: his attempts atconfession revealtoustheinter minab le labyrinthso fconsciousness as hetries inva i nto explainhismotives andact ions , aware that even i n hismostpersuasive moments he issimply tal king likeabook ( 1 0 0 ) " Iwas on the point of tears, although at the same time I quited e f i n i t e l yknew that al lofthiscameoutofSilvioand Lermontov'sMasquerade 83) .He is a prime example of a man who,to useBakhtin's phrase, has ceasedtocoincide w i thh i m s e l f (117) ;hecannot reason straightforwardlyor act naturally, for he is self-conscious to such a degree that he is continually aware ofdubious orfraudule nt motives be hi nd whatever he does or thinksor says.He notonly preempts thereader's judgm ent ofhis story


9/27

COETZEE ANDDOSTOEVSKY 139( ' Y o u t h i n k t ha t n o w I ' m m a k i n g s o m e k i n d o fc o n f e ss i o n to y o u ,d o n ' t y o u?. . .I 'm s ure y o u d o . . . B u tIassure y o u i t 's a l l the sam et o m e i fyo ud o t h i n k s o " [ 1 6 ] ) , b u t h e j u d g e s i t h i m s e l f , a n d t h e nj u d g e s t h a t j u d g e m e n t , a n d so o nad infinitum.T h i s a s s o c i a t i o n o f P e t e r s b u r g w i t h ( u n s u c c e s s f u l ) c o n f e s s i o n a lw r i ti n g a n dw i th f r a u g h t d e a l i n g s w i th thee n i g m a o fone'sc o n s c i o u s n e s s , i m p u l s e san dr e a s o n is p i c k ed u p by C o e t z e e , 5w h o discussesNotes from Undergroundats o m e l e n g t h i n h i s l o n g es t sus ta ined p iece o fl i t e ra ry c r i t i c i s m toda te , " C o n f e s s i o n a n dD o u b l e T h o u g h t s : T o l st o y , R o u s s e a u , D o s to e v s k y " ( 1 9 8 5 ) . T h i sessaydea l s w i th thep r o b l e mo fs e c u l a r c o n f e s s i o n , n a m e l y , h o wt o a c h ie v e a b s o l u t i o n f r o m g u i lta n d s h a m e w h e n t h e re i s n o G o d(o r at least, nor e a ch a b le G o d ) to ab s o lv e o n e . T h ep r o b l e m ist h a t o f s e l f- c o n s c io u s n e s s : w i th n o a b s o l u t e , e x t e r n a l f o r g i v e n e s s ,h o w is one to u n t a n g l e the e n d l e s s s k e i no fq u e s t io n i n g w h i c ht h r o w s i n t o u n c e r t a i n t y al lm o t iv e s forc o n f e s si o n ? T h i s is thed i t c h atw h i ch a l l ( s ec u la r ) c o n f e s s i o n s m u s t s t u m b l e t h e t r a po f the dvoinaya mysV, the d o u b l e t h o u g h t . T h e p h r a s e c o m e sf r o m P r i n c e M y s h k i n , p r o t a g o n i s t o f D o s t o e v s k y ' s The Idiot( 1 8 6 9 ) , w h e n he is c o n f r o n t e d by a c h a r a c t e r c a l l e d K e l l e r ,w h o hasc o m e to hisr o o m s " o v e r f l o w i n g w i t h c o n f i d e n c ean dc o n f e s s i o n s " :

Y o u d i d n ' t b y a n y c h a n c e w a n ttob o r r o w s o m e m o n e y , d i d y o u ? "thep r i n c e p r o m p t e d himve ry g rave lyands im p ly , a lm o s ta l i t t le shyly.

K e l l e r g a veav i o l e n t s t a r t . . . " W e l l , t h a t' s h o w y o u s t u m pa f e l l o wc o m p l e t e l y . . . Ofc o u r s e , th e w h o l e o b j e c tofmy v is i t wastoask yo uf o r a l o a n in thee n d . " 324)It is no ttha t K e l l e r d i dnott ruly w a n t to c o n f e s s h e sw e arsu p o n o a t h t h a t w h a thew a n t e d w astom a k e"af u l l a n d h e a r t f e l tc o n f e s s i o n to y o u. . . top r o m o t e m y o w n s p i r i t u a ld e v e l o p m e n t "

( 3 2 5 ) . Bute v e n as he lays o b b i n g , a " m o s t fiendish t h o u g h t "o c c u r r e dtoh i m : "' A n d why ,a f ter a l l , s h o u l d n ' tIas k h i m to l e n dm e s o m e m o n e y a f t e r m y c o n f e ss io n , o f c o u r s e? 'So Ip r e p a r e dm y c o n f e s s i o n l i k e , so to s p e a k , s o m e ' s p i c e d sauce l a c e d w i t htears , ' so as topave the w ayw i th t h o s e tearsa n d ,h a v i n g s o f t e n e dy o u u p , m a k e y o u f o r k o u t o n e h u n d r e d a n d fifty r o u b l e s. D o n ' ty o u t h i n k t h a t w a s m e a n ? " ( 3 2 4 ) . Coetzee g losses thepassagethus:


10/27

1 4 0 RACHELLAWLANW e r e c o g n iz e t h a twe are at theb e g i n n i n g of a p o t e n t i a l l y i n f i n i t eregress ion of s e l f - r e c o g n i t i o n and se l f -abasement in w h i c h the self-s a t i s f i e d c a n d o u r of each leve l of c o n f e s s io n of i m p u r e m o t iv ebec o m e sanew source o f sham eandeach tw inge o f shameanew sourceo f s e l f - c o n g r a t u l a t i o n . . . .At thek e r n e loft he pa t te rn l ies. . . " d o u b l et h o u g h t , " [ w h i c h ] is p e r h a p s b e t te r i m a g i n e d as adoublingback oft h o u g h t , the c h a r a c te r i st ic m o v e m e n t of self -consciousness.

( " C o n f e s s io n and D o u b l e T h o u g h t s " 222)It is t h e r e f o r e a d o u b l e t h o u g h t in K e l l e r to w a n t s i n c e r e l y toconfess and a l so to b o r r o w m o n e y a n d t h en to confess thei g n o m i n y of his u l t e r i o r m o t i v e w i t h the same "se l f -sat i s f iedc a n d o u r " as the rest of his c a t a l o g u e of s i n s . P r i n c e M y s h k i ndetectsi n " d o u b l e t h o u g h t "them a l a i sew h i ch r e n d e r s a l l c o n f e ss i o n p o w e r l e s s to te l l the t r u t h and hence c o m e to an en d.C o e t z e e p o i n t sout t hat"it is the d o u b l i n g b a c k of t h o u g h t t h a tu n d e r m i n e s the i n t e g r i t y of the w i l l to confess by d e t e c t i n gb e h i n d it a w i l l to d e c e i v e , and b e h i n d the d e t e c t i o n of thiss e c o n d m o t i v e a t h i r d m o t i v e (a w i s h to be a d m i r e d for one'sc a n d o u r ) , and so o n " ( 2 2 2 - 2 3 ) . M y s h k i n h i m s e l f is t r a p p e dw i t h i n the s a m e s y n d r o m e : r e c o g n i z i n g t h a t " e v e r y o n e is l ikethat " i t se l fbecomes a d o u b l e t h o u g h t " s o t h a t I e v e n b e g a np a t t i n g mysel f on the b a c k " ( D o s t o e v s k y , TheIdiot3 2 5 ) .

A l l th is mays e e m to be an a b s tr a c t a c a d e m i c e x e r c is e u n r e l a t e d to The Master ofPetersburg,but i n fact it has the greatests i g n i f i c a n c e . In an i n t erv i ew w i th A t t w e l l , C oe t ze e s ay s t hat morea n d m o r ehe sees theessayonT o l s to y , R o u s s e a u a n d D o s to e v s k y" e m e r g i n gasp i v o t a l" i n hist h i n k i n g a b o u t h i m s e l f a n d h i s w o r k(Doubling the Point 3 9 1).

W h a t was g o i n gon in theessay?In thep r e s e n t r e t r o s p e c t I see in it as u b m e r g e d d i a l o g u e b e t w e e n twop e r s o n s .One is ap e r s o n I d e s i r e dto be and was f e e l i n g my way t o w a r d . The o t h e r p e r s o n is m o r eshadowy :let usca l lh im thep e r s o n I t h e n w a s, t h o u g hhe may be thep e r s o nIs t i l l a m .The fieldoft h e i r d e b a t eistruthinautobiography.Thesecond person takes the p o s i t i o n [ t h a t ] t h e r e is no u l t i m a t e t r u t habout onese l f , t here is nop o i n t in t r y i n gtor e a c h it,w h a tweca l lthet r u t h iso n l yas h i f t i n g s e l f -r e a p p r a is a l w h o se f u n c t i o nis tom a k eonef e e l g o o d ,ora s g o o dasp o s s ib le u n d e r thec i r c u m s t a n c e s . . . . In thet e r m s b r o u g h t i n t o p r o m i n e n c e in the essay, the d e b a t e isbetweencynicism and grace C y n i c i s m : the d e n i a l of any u l t im ate bas is forva lues . Grace : a c o n d i t i o n in w h i c h the t r u t h can be t o ld c lear ly ,


11/27

COETZEE ANDDOSTOEVSKY 141w i th ou t b l indn ess . T he d eba te is s taged by Dos toevsky [ inDevils] thei n t e r l o c u t o r s a r e c a l le d S t a v r o g in a n d T i k h o n .

( 3 9 2 ; emphases add ed )H e r e C o etze e d isp lays a firmly D o s t o e v s k i a n g r a s p o f h i s o w nc o n s c i o u s n e s s , i n d i a l o g u e w i th i tse l fb e h i n d th e o b jec t ive v e i l o ft h e a c a d e m i c a r g u m e n t . H e b e li ev e s t h a t " a l l a u t o b i o g r a p h y iss t o r y t e l l i n g , a l lw r i ti n g is a u t o b i o g r a p h y " ( 3 9 2 ) . I f Co etze e r eadsh is essay o n T o l s t o y , R o u s s e a u , a n d D o s t o e v s k y a s h i d d e n a u t o b i o g r a p h y , e v e n as i t e x p l o r e s t h e p r o b l e m s o f a u t o b i o g r a p h y i no th er wr i ter s , th en i t i s po ss ib le to r ead in to h is n o ve ls a co ver ts e l f - e x a m i n a t i o n o f h i s r o l e ( a n d p e r h a p s d u t y ) as a w h i t e S o u t hA f r i c a n a u t h o r , e v e n as h e i n t e r r o g a t e s t h e g u i l t a n d s e l f - d o u b t o fh is ch ar ac ter s . Eq ua l ly , i f i t i s p o s s ib le to r ea d Co e tzee ' s auto b i o g r a p h y , o r a u t o b i o g r a p h i c a l c o n f e s s i o n , i n h i s n o v e l s , t h e nth e r ea de r can be su r e th a t w h at h e o r sh e r eads i s " s to r y te l l in g . "T h e o n l y t h i n g w h i ch c o u l d r es o lv e t his p a r a d o x t h e p a r a d o xo f " c y n i c i s m " i s " g r a c e ," t he g r a n t i n g o f a c o n d i t i o n i n w h i c ht h e t r u t h c o u l d b e t o l d c l e a r l y . I n c h o o s i n g t o a f f i l i a t e h i m s e l fw i t h D o s t o e v s k y , C o e t z e e i s t a c k l i n g these p r e o c c u p a t i o n s d i r ec t ly , in so far as th e fo r m er was equal ly obsessed w i t h thepo s s i b i l i t y o f t r a n s c e n d e n c e o v e r s e l f - d o u b t a n d t h e i n f i n i t e r egress o f d o u b l e t h o u g h t .D o s t o e vs k y is k n o w n f o r h i s o p e n , p o l y p h o n i c n o v e l s; hi s c h ar acters ac t a n d t h i n k m o m e n t b y m o m e n t , r e a c t i n g t o t he chancec o n t i n g e n c i e s l i f e t h ro w s a t t h e m . G a r y S a u l M o r s o n d e s c r ib e st hi s o p e n , c o n t i n g e n t c o n c e p t i o n o f h o w l i fe is l i v e d as " K a i r o v at i m e , " r e f e r r i n g t o a n o t o r i o u s case w h i c h D o s t o e v s k y c o m m e n t e d o n i n A Writer'sDiary. K a i r o va was th e m is t r ess o f am a r r i e d m a n , V e l i k a n o v . O n d i s c o v e r i n g t h at h e r l o v e r w a s r eu n i t e d w i t h h i s w i f e , s h e p u r c h a s e d a ra z o r , w e n t t o w h e r e t h ec o u p l e w a s s l e e p i n g , a n d a t t a c k e d t h e w i f e w i th i t. T h e c o u p l ea w o k e a n d re s t ra i n e d K a i r o v a , w h o w as p u t o n t r ia l f o r th e attacka n d s u b s e q u e n t l y a c q u i t t e d . D o s t o e v s k y a r g u e d , i n A Writer'sDiary, that thej u r y h a d n o c h o i c e b u t to a c q u i t K a i r o v a , s ince theq u e s t i o n t h a t t he y w e re a s k e d w h e t h e r s h e h a d d e l i b e r a t e l yp r e m e d i t a t e d h e r a c t a n d f u l l y i n t e n d e d to k i l l V e l i k a n o v ' s w i fe ,b u t w a s p r e v e n t e d f r o m d o i n g s o w a s i m p o s s i b l e t o a n sw e r,becausei t w as qu ite l i k e l y th a t K a i r o v ah e r s e l f d i d n o t k n o w , even


12/27

1 4 2 R A C H K I . I . A W I . A Na s s h e e n t e r e d t h e c o u p l e ' s b e d r o o m , e v e n a s s h e b e g a n h e rattack.

M o s t l i k e l y sh e h a d n ' t t h e s li g h te s t id e a o f [ w h e t h e r sh e w o u ld k i l lVe l ikano va ] even w he n s i t t ing o n the s teps w i th the razor in he r ha nd ,wh i le jus t b e h in d her , on h er ow n bed , lay he r lover an d her rival. N oone, n o on e in the w or ld co u l d have the s ligh tes t idea o f t h is .Moreover , even though i t may seem absurd , I can s ta te tha t evenw h e n s h e h a d b e g u n s la s h in g h e r r i v a l , s he m ig h t still nothaveknownw h e t h e r s he w a n t e d t o k i l l h e r o r n o t a n d w h e t h e rthis ivasherpurposei n s la s h in g h e r . ( Q t d . b y M o r s o n 143)

In " K a i r o v a t i m e , " t h e state o f m i n d " r e s p o n d s u n p r e d i c t a b l y t oe v o l v i n g c i r c u m s t a n c e s . T i m e a n d i n t e n t i o n e x h i b i t m u l t i p l ep o t e n t i a l s c h a n g i n g f r o m m o m e n t t o m o m e n t " ( M o r s o n 1 4 5 ) .D o s t o e v s k y ' s novels are suffused by " K a i r o v a t i m e . " I n Crimeand Punishment ( 1 8 6 5 - 6 6 ) , r i g h t u p t o t h e p o i n t a t w h i c h h eswing s the axe , R a s k o l n i k o v d o e s n o t b e l i e v e h e w i l l m u r d e r t h em o n e y l e n d e r . W h e n h e le a rn s th a t th e m o n e y l e n d e r wi l l bea l o n e t h e f o l l o w i n g n i g h t , h e i s s h a k e n b y t h is k n o w l e d g e , b u tsti l l d o e s n o t m a k e u p h i s m i n d t o c o m m i t t h e c r i m e . I n f a c t ,as M o r s o n p o i n t s o u t , " R a s k o l n i k o vneverd e c i d e s to c o m m i tt h e m u r d e r , w h ic h is o n e r e a s o n h e l a t er h a s so m u c h t r o u b l ein a s c e r t a i n i n g why h e d e c i d e d t o d o s o " ( 2 2 5 ; f i rs t emphasisa d d e d ) .T h e m u r d e r m a y b e v i tal i n te r m s o f th e p l o t o fCrime andPunishment, b u t D o s t o e v s k ygoes t o g re at l e ng t hs t o s how us t hatR a s k o l n i k o v is n o t " f a t e d " i n an y w a y t h i n g scouldh av e t u r n e dout d i f f e r e n t l y a t a n y stage.L i k e w i s e , i n TheIdiot,R o g o z h i n , a r m e dw i th a k n i f e , c o n c e a l sh i m s e l f i n t h e s ta i rwel l l e a d i n g to M y s h k i n ' s a p a r t m e n t s , i n t e n d in g to k i l l h i m .M y s hk i n sees h i s w o ul d -b e ass as si n a n d cr ie s o ut .H e has an e p i l e p t i c fit, h i sfaceb e c o m i n g" h o r r i b ly d i s t o r t e d , " hisb o d y s e iz e d b y " sp a s m s a n d c o n v u l s i o n s " a n d " a t e r r i b l e , q u i t ei n c r e d i b l e s c r e a m " ( 2 5 2 ) b r e a k i n g f r o m h is chest. T h e c h a n c eo c c u r r e n c e o f M y s hk in ' s fi t f o i l e d R o g o z h i n ' s i n t e n t i o n a t t h e la stm o m e n t ; t h e " b l o w o f th e k n i f e " w a s n o t " i n e v i t a b l e " a f te r a l l .C o n t i n g e n c y a n d c o i n c i d e n c e s u d d e n l y c o n s p i r e to c h a n g e t hec o u r s e o f e v e n t s i n a q u i t e u n f o r e s e e a b l e m a n n e r .T h e r e a re m a n y e x a m p l e s l i k e these to be f o u n d i nD o s t o e v s k y ' sw o r k s. O p p o s e d to th is o p e n , c o n t i n g e n t ti m e , h o w ever, there is a d r i v e t o w a r d c l o s u r e , t o w a r d a state i n w h i c h


13/27

COETZEEANDDOSTOEVSKY 143transcendence over themutabilityof Kairova time wouldbepossible. M o rso n calls this state vortex time (162). U nl i keKairova time, which is thewayinwhich real life with all itspossibilities isexperienced, vortex time is a mentalstatein

which time speeds up. . . until amomentofapparently infinitedensityis reached (165). M y sh k inis obsessed with such mentalstatesthemoment before an epilepticfit,for instance,or thelast minute ofacondemned man's life.The experience ofthissort of time isl i nked to a final,truthful knowledge; the soul canfinallytwistitselffree of self-consciousness and double thoughts.Foraman aboutto beexecuted, M y sh k in thinkst h e b r a i n , t r e m e n d o u s l y a l i v eandac tiv e, m u s t . . .bew o r k i n g h a r d ,h a r d , h a r d , l i k e an e n g i n e g o i n gatf u l l s p e e d . . . . al lthe t i m ehek n o w s e v e r y t h i n g and r e m e m b e r s e v e r y t h i n g ; t h e r e is onep o i n tw h i c honec a n n e v e r f o r g e t , a n d o n e c a n ' t f a in t , a n d e v e r y t h in g g o e sr o u n d a n d r o u n dit ,r o u n d t h a t p o i n t .A nd tot h in k th a t th is goesont o the las t f ra c t i on o f a sec ond wh e n h is he ad a l ready l iesont h e b lo c ka n dhewa i t s ,andh e k n o w s ,ands u d d e n l yheh e a r sthei r o n c o m es l i t h e r i n g d o w n o v e rhish e a d Hem u s t c e r t a in l y h e a r t h a t (88)

In the moment before one ofhisfits,M y sh k inexperiences anintenseheightening of awareness: atthatmoment theextraordinarysayingthatthereshallbe time no longerbecomes, somehow,comprehensibletome.Isuppose . . .thisis thevery second inwhichtherewas not time enough for the water from the pitcherof the epileptic Mahomettospill,whilehe had plenty of time inthatvery secondtobehold allthedwellingsofA l l a h (244).Theextraordinarysaying is, of course, from the Book ofRevelation

(10: 6), and it ischaracteristic of vortex time that it is anapocalypticmentalstate.InDevils,K irillovcommits suicide inanattempt toexperience it,this feeling of eternal harmony, completelyattained (662), but in his finaltrance, workinghimselfupto take his own life,he becomes more likeawildanimalthanasuperman, biting Verkhovensky'sfinger:

T e r r i b l e s h r i e ks c a m e b u r s t i n gout oft h e r o o m a f t e r [ V e r k h o v e n s k y ]:" N o w , n o w , n o w ,now. . .T e n t im e s . 700)

Even M y sh k in is aware that all those gleams and flashes of thehighest awareness and,hence, also of the 'highest mode of


14/27

144 RACHELLAWLANexistence,' were nothing but a disease, a departure from then o r m a l co nd it io n, an d, if so, it was not at all the highest mode ofexistence, but, on the contrary, must be considered to be thelowest (Dostoevsky, TheIdiot2 4 3 ) . Nevertheless, M y s h ki n finallydecides that he could give [his] whole life for this mome nt( 2 4 4 ) " W h a t if itis a disease? ( 2 4 3 ) . Th e experien ce of vortext i m e , " of harmony and comple te knowledge, is valu ed an dsought after by many of Dostoevsky's characters, even though,finally, it is merely a state of false consciousness.

Dostoevsky's juxtapos it ion o f " K a i r o v a tim e an d vortex timei n his novels can be seen as analogous to Coetzee's strugglebetween the two posit ions of cyni ci sm and grace . The verytitle The Master of Petersburg becomes a metaphor for thestruggle for insight and grace, i m p l y i n g as it does mastery ora u t h o r i t yover the ramif ications of self-consciousness an d doub lethought w h i c h Petersb urg suggests. Coetzee's Fyodor is a hyb r i d creature, a construction containing these recurrent preoccupations of Dostoevsky combined w i t h a certain interpretationof Dostoevsky's character or identity. Dostoevsky is his tory now,a n dso we cannot accesshis real, com pl ex identi ty apart from thetraces he has left of it in his novels and letters. Coetzee takesthese traces and fuses them w i t h received interpretations ofDostoevsky's identity, such as might be found in biographies, inthe potted histories in tr od uc in g his novels, even in psychoanalytic explanations l i k e Freud's essay Dostoevsky an d Parr ici de( r o , 2 7 ) . He then places this h y b r i d consciousness, this mythicv e r s i o n of Dostoevsky, in a typically Dostoevskian threshol ds i t u a t i o n " h a v i n g to face up to the suicide or murder of astepsonand tracks its progress, attempting to gauge its reactions given the specific construction of its identity.

F y o d o r ' s identity is constructed on the basis of rebellionagainst a cruel and tyrannical father, a figure so d i s l i k e d that thei m p u l s e to parricide possiblyenters into the relationship. This istrue to what we know of Dostoevsky's l i f e : for him, the rebellionwas against his own fearsome father (a tyrannical ma n who wasm u r d e r e d , possibly by his own serfs, in 1 8 3 9 ) ; against the Tsar(byw ayofh isinvolvementw i th the Petrashevsky circle of c o n s p i r ators); and against God (although Dostoevsky was fascinated by


15/27

COETZEEANDDOSTOEVSKY 45the figure ofC h r i s t , a n d v e n e r at ed h i m ,hef o u n d thei d e aofa na l l - p o w e r f u lG o d h e a dd i s t u r b i n g , e v e n h o r r i f y i n g ) .InTheMasterof Petersburg,F y o d o ris o f t e n q u e s t io n e d or r e m i n d e dof thesef a t h e r - f i g u r e s an d hisr e b e l l i o n a g ai n st t h e m . He t h in k sof hisw r i t i n gas "at r a p toc a t c h G o d " ( 2 4 g );heg a m b l e s "tom a k e G o ds p e a k " ( 2 3 7 ) . M a x i m o v r e m a r k s :

"Not easyto be af a t h e r ,isit?I am af a t h e r m y s e l f,butl u c k i l y a f a t h e ro f d a u g h t e r s .I w o u l dnotw i s hto be af a t h e rofsonsin ourage .Butd i d n ' t y o u r ownf a t h e r . . .w a s n ' t t h e r e s o m e u n p le a s a n t n e s s w i t hy o u r f a t h e r ,or do I m i s r e m e m b e r ? "

H e t h e n e n q u i r e s"A s for Pet rashevsky and his fr i e n d s , w h a t is y o u r o p i n i o n ? W e r ePet rashevskyand hisf r i e n d s in theg r i p of d e m o n s ? "

Pet rashevsky Whyd o e s he b r i n g up Pet rashevsky ? (45)C o e t z e e ' s l i t e r a r y d e v i c eofk i l l i n g o f fF y o d o r 's s t e p s o n , Pavel ,t u r n se v e r y t h i n go n i ts h e a d . T h i s d e v i c e , t h isr e w r i t i n go f the re a lD o s t o e v s k y ' s b i o g r a p h y ,is thec r u xofth e n o v e l , thep o i n t a b o u tw h i c h e v e r y t h i n gelse t u r n s . 6Fyodorn o w is the t y r a n n i c a l f a t h e rw h o hasm i s t r e a te d h i s s o n .T h es o n hasb e e n i nr e b e l l i o n , b o t ha g a i n s ttheP o l i t ic a l F a t h e r , theT s a r ( i n h i si n v o l v e m e n tw i ththeN e c h a e v i t e c o n s p i r a t o r s ) , a n d a g a i n s t hiss te p f a th e r , F y o d o r ,ast h e l a t te r d i sc o v e r s w h e n hereads Pa vel ' s ( p l a i n l y a u t o b i o g r a p h i cal) story:" I havenopare nts , " says Se rgeitoM a r f a . " M y f a th e r ,myr e a l f a t h e r . . .d i e d w h e n I was seven.Mym o t h e r m a r r i e das e c o n d t i m e .Her newh u s b a n ddid notl i k e m e .Assoo n asIwasol de n o u g h ,hep a c k e dmeo f fto c ad e t s c h o o l . .. .L a t e r t h e y m o v e d b a c k toP e t e r sb u r g ,set uph o u s e ,ands e n tfor m e . T h e n mym o t h e r d i e d ,and I was le f t a lonew i t h m y s te p f a th e r , a g l o o m y m a n w h o b a r e l y a d d re s s e d a w o r dto mef r o m one day to then e x t . I w as lo n e ly ;myo n l y f ri e n d s w e re a m o n gthe servants ;itw as f r o m t h e m t h a tI got tok n o wthes u f f e r i n g sof t hep e o p l e . " 151)Pave l ' s d e a t h and these s u b s e q u e n t r e v e l a t i o n s d e s t r o yF y o d o r ' s i d e n t i t yw i th a s i n g l e b l o w . H i s r e a c t io n is on e of a n g e r

t o w a r d P a v e lm i x e d w i t h g u i l t g u i l tatb e i n g an g r y, a n dg u i l tatthe wayhe hasb e h a v e d .I n on er e v i e w ofth e n o v e l , Z i n o v y Z i n i knotes w i t h p u z z l e m e n tthep o r t r ay a lo f a " m y s t e r i o u s . . . b o n db e t w e e n D o s to e v sk y a n d h i s s t e p s o n , " c o m m e n t i n g t h at " i n r e a l-


16/27

146 RACHELLAWLANity, such a bo n d n ever ex is ted , fo r . . . in r ea l l i f e P ave l Isaev wasn o t h i n g b u t a s o u r c e o f e m b a r r a s s m e n t f o r t h e a u t h o r , s p o n g i n go n h i s m o n e y a n d r e p u t a t i o n , a p a t h et ic p o s e u r D o s t o e v s k yr e f e r r e d t o h i m a s ' a f o p ' i n h i s n o t e b o o k s " ( 1 9 ) . But th isis ex ac t ly th e p o in t : F yo do r a t tem pts desp er a te ly to fo r ge sucha b o n d , t r y i n g t o i d e n t i f y h i m s e l f w i t h P ave l an d t ie h im se l f toh i m i n so m e w a y i n o r d e r t o a v o i d f a c i n g u p t o t he consequenceso f h is d e s p o t i c b e h a v i o u r t h a t is , t h e t h r ea t o f a c o m p l e t eb r e a k d o w n o f h i s iden t i ty . T h e a t tem p t fa i ls . A s th e n o v e l p r o gresses, F y o d o r ' s s u p p r e ss e d rage at an d d is l ike o f h is s tepso n f o r d o i n g t h is to h i m , f o r r e v e a l i n g t o h i m th e b o g u s c o n s t r u c tso f h is p e r c e p t i o n o f h i m s e l f b e c o m e s i n c r ea s i n g ly a p p a r e n t ,s l i p p i n g o u t i n h is m o r e e m o t i o n a l o r h o n e s t m o m e n t s . H ec o m p l a i n s t o A n n a Ser geyevn a abo ut P ave l ' s laz in ess an d o ver s l e e p i n g a s a c h i l d , a n d s h e r e m a r k s w i t h s u r p r i s e " h o w a n g r yw i t h h i m y o ustillseem to be " ( 2 7 ;e m p h a s e s a d d e d ) . H e d r e a m so f s w i m m i n g d o w n t h r o u g h w a te r to k is s P a ve l' s s u b m e r g e db o d y , "but when he touches h is hard l ips to i t , he is not sure he isn o t b i t i n g " (1 8 ) . By th e en d o f th e bo o k h ebecomes aware that tor e l ieve h is "par a lys i s " an d h is wr i ter ' s b lo ck h e m ust " le t h i s o wnrage l o o se . . . l ik e a gen ie f r o m a bo t t le , aga in s t th e im p ie ty an dth an klessn ess o f th e so n s" ( 2 3 g ) . T h e " m y s t e r i o u s b o n d " Z i n i kt a l k s o f i s a b o n d w h i c h F y o d o r r e q u i r e s i n o r d e r t o reassert hiss h a t t e r e d i d e n t i t y : i t a m o u n t s t o a n e e d t o i d e n t i f y c o m p l e t e l yw i t h th e So n , th e sub jec t -po s i t io n h e feels i s h i s o w n b u t w h i c hP avel h as r o b b e d h i m o f b o t h b y h is d e a t h , a n d by i n t r u d i n gh i m s e l f o n F y o d o r ' s a t t e n t i o n s o f o r c i b l y a n d fin ally w h e n h e h asbe en try in g fo r mo st o f h is l i fe to fo rget h is very ex isten ce . T o th ise n d F y o d o r t ri es t oassert that it is he w h o h as d i e d , n o t P a v e l ( i g ,1 2 4 ) .

T h e d e s i r e f o r d e a t h a l s o s i g n i f i e s t h e d e s i r e f o r p u n i s h m e n t p u n i s h m e n t to r el i ev e t he g u i l t s u f f e r e d d u e t o F y o d o r ' s p a r r i c i d a l i m p u l s e s (a p u n i s h m e n t w h i c h t he r e a l D o s t o e vs k y d i dr ece ive in h is l i f e t im e as a death wh ich " fa i led to ar r ive" in th em o c k - e x e c u t i o n c e r e m o n y h e u n d e r w e n t a t t h e h a n d s o f t h eTsar , an d a lso , as F r eud w o u ld s u g g e s t , i n t h e f o r m o f " n e u r o t i c "ep i lep t i c a t tacks ) ; b ut m o r e im p o r tan t ly , to r e l ieve th e gu i l ta t ten d an t o n h is r ea l iza t io n o f h is d is l ike o f h is s tepso n an d h is


17/27

COETZEEANDDOSTOEVSKY 147a b a n d o n m e n t o f h i m a n a b a n d o n m e n t c a r r ie d o u t to r e i n fo r ce h is iden t i ty (that i s , h i s i d e n t i f i c a t i o n w i t h th e So n ) butw h i c h h e n o w sees ha s u n d o n e h i s id e n t i t y b y m a k i n g h i m p l a yo ut th e r o le o f th e tyr an n ica l Fa th er .F y o d o r ' s g u i l t is e m p h a s i z e d b y C o e t z e e b y i d e n t i f y i n g h i m a tc e r t a i n p o i n t s w i t h characters i n D o s t o e v s k y ' s n o v e l s , n a m e l yR a s k o l n i k o v a n d S t a v r o g i n . W h e n F y o d o r a r r i v e s a t t h e p o l i c estat ion for h is f i rs t in terview w i th M a x im o v , h e ha s a p r e m o n i t i o nof a fit

an d in the same movement recognizes that an attack wo u ld be adevice, an d the m ost ch ild ish o f devices at that, for e xtricatin ghimself from a fix, while somewhere to the side falls the naggingshadow o f a me m ory : surely he has been herebefo re, in thisveryanter o o m or on e l ike it, an d had anattack or a fain ting fit Bu tw hyis itthat he recollects the ep isode o n ly so dimly? A n d w hat has therecollection to do with the smell of fresh paint? ( 3 1 )

T h e r e c o l l e c t i o n is o f c o u r s e t ha t o f R a s k o l n i k o v i n Crime andPunishment w h o , s i c k w i t h f e v e r a n d g u i l t , is s u m m o n e d t o t h ep o l i c e s ta t io n w h er e h e h as a fa in t in g fit"it was ver y c lo se , a n d ,i n a d d i t i o n , t h e p l a c e w a s p e r v a d e d b y t h e n a u s e a t i n g s m e l l o ff r e s h p a i n t a n dstale l i n s e e d o i l f r o m t he n e w l y p a i n t e d r o o m s "( 1 1 3 ) . F y o d o r i s a l s o i d e n t i f i e dw i th S t a v r o g i n : t he r o o m w h i c hh e rentsf r o m A n n a S e rg e y e v n a ( P av e l' s f o r m e r r o o m ) i s a m o d e lf o r t h a t o f S t a v r o g i n i n Devils7 a n d h is r e l a t i o n s h i p wi thh i s l a n d l a d y ' s d a u g h t e r , M a t r y o n a , bears m an y s im i lar i t ies toS t a v r o g i n ' s p o w e r games ( w h i c h c u l m i n a t e i n a n u n s p e c i f i e dsex ual assaul t an d th e g i r l ' s su ic ide) w i t h his l a n d l a d y ' s d a u g h t e r a l s o c a l l e d M a t r y o n a . A l t h o u g h F y o d o r d o e s n o t ( p h ys ic al ly )s e x u a l l y a ss au lt M a t r y o n a , t h o u g h t s o f i t d o enter h i s h e a d ( 7 6 ) .T h e v i o l e n c e o f s u c h i m a g i n i n g s h as a f o r c e w h i c h , t h o u g h n o tt h e fo r c e o f a n a c t u a l a ct , p e r h a p s b e g i n s t o b l u r t h e b o u n d a r yb e t w e e n t h o u g h t a n d a c t i o n , h i n t i n g a t t h e p o s s i b i l i t y o f r e a lv i o l a t i o n . T h i s i s s o m e t h i n g t h a t M a t r y o n a ' s m o t h e r , w i t h w h o mF y o d o r i s c o n d u c t i n g a n a f f a i r o f s o r t s , r e c o g n i z e s a n d accusesh i m o f u s i n g h e r " as a r o u t e " t o h e r c h i l d : " I w o u l d never haveg o n e s o f a r i f I w e r e n ' t a f r a i d y o u w o u ld u se M a t r y o s h a i n t h esame w a y " ( 2 3 2 ) .

F y o d o r ' s d e s ir e f o r b o t h m o t h e r a n d d a u g h t e rseems to have asit s so u r ce a des i r e to us ur p P ave l ' s p lace i n th e i r a f fec t io n s . W h e n


18/27

1 4 8 RACHELLAWLANA n n a S e r g e ye v n a t eil s F y o d o r t ha t " [ M a t r y o n a ] a n d y o u r s o nwere very c lose . I f he has lef t a mark behind, i t i s on her , " hed e m a n d s q u e ru l o u sl y, " A n d o n y o u ? " ( 1 4 2 ) . H e feels jealous o ft he y o u t h o f P a v e l a n d N e c h a e v : h e a tt e m p t s t o ta l k t o M a t r y o n abut sh e "bar e lyhears h i m . W h a t a n u n e q u a lcontest H o w c a n h ec o m p e t e w i t h these y o u n g m e n w h o c o m e f r o m n o w h e re a n dv a n i s h i n t o n o w h e r e b r e a t h i n g a d v e n t u r e a n d m y s t e r y ? " ( 1 6 1 ) .A t the same t im e , h e feelsasense o f ex u l ta t io n th a t h e is a l ive an dPavel dead , th a t h e i s th e o n e en jo y in g A n n a Sergeyevn a 's sexu alf a v o u r s " T h e f e s t i v a l o f t h e senses that w o u l d have been h is[ Pa v el 's ] i n h e r i t a n c e s t o l e n a w a y f r o m h i m L y i n g in P ave l' s be d ,h e c a n n o t r e f r a i n f r o m a q u i v e r o f d a r k t r i u m p h " ( 1 3 5 ) .A g a i n , Fyo do r ' s des i r e i s to wr es t f r o m P avel th e po s i t io n o f th eS o n . T h e a t t e m p t i s d o o m e d t o f a i l u r e , a s P a v e l i s i r r e v o c a b l yg o n e ; d e s p i t e a l l o f F y o d o r ' s m a n o e u v r e s , h i s son's de ath hasb r a n d e d h i m as a t y r a n n i c a l f at he r. H e c a n n o t escape his guilt , asR a s k o l n i k o v a n d S t a v r o g i n c o u l d n o t escape theirs.T h e r e i s a l s o a n i m p u t a t i o n o f a m o r e u n i v e r s a l t y p e o f g u i l t .T h e r e c u r re n t i m a ge s o f P a ve l p l u n g i n g to h is d e a t h p l u n g i n gto w a t e r a n d F y o d o r ' s f a il u r e to save h i m ( e v e n t h o u g h h e w a si n D r e s d e n , h u n d r e d s o f m i l e s a w a y ) a r e s u r e l y a n i n t e r t e x t u a lreference t o A l b e r t C a m u s ' s The Fall ( 1 9 5 6 ) an d th e water yd e a t h w h i c h t h at n o v e l l a ' s a n t i - h e r o , C l a m e n c e , f a i l e d t o p r e v e n t . 8 C l a m e n c e is a m a s t er o f D o s t o e v s k i a n " d o u b l e t h o u g h t , "e x p l a i n i n g to h is acq uain tan ce th a t " th e co n fess io n o f m y cr im esa l lows m e t o b e g i n a g a i n l i g h t e r i n h e a r t a n d t o taste a d o u b l ee n j o y m e n t , f i r s t o f m y n a t u r e a n d s e c o n d l y o f a c h a r m i n g r e p e n tance" ( 1 0 4 ) . H e a l s o shares w i t h C o e t z e e a n d D o s t o e v s k y a nu n d e r s t a n d i n g o f t h e i m p o s s i b i l it y o f t r u t h i n a u t o b i o g r a p h i c a lc o n f e s s i o n :

I haveceasedto like an ythin g but confessions, an d authors o f confessions w rite especially toavoidcon fessing, to tell n o thin g of w hat theyknow.W he n they claim to get to the p ain ful admissions, you have towatch out, for they are about to dress the corpse. Believe me, I knowwhat I 'm talking about. ( 8 9 )C l a m e n c e ' s m o n o l o g u e , as i t p r o g r e s se s , b e g i n s t o s ap t her e a d e r 's c o m p l a c e n c y , d r a w i n g h i m i n t o t h e " c i r c l e s o f h e l l " t h e p o w e r g a m e s , th e p a s si ve c r i m i n a l i t y , t h e a r r o g a n c e w h i c h


19/27

COETZEEANDDOSTOEVSKY 149h e descr ibes . The Fall is th us a c o m p l e x e x a m i n a t i o n of n o n s p e c i f i c u n i v e r s a l g u i l t , p o i n t i n g the finger out of the p a g e tod e m o n s t ra te m a n k i n d ' s m u r d e r o u s co m p l i ci t y in all sorts ofo u t r a g e s (most s i g n i f i c a n t forC a m u s w as E u r o p e ' s w i l l e d b l i n d ness andl a c k ofresistance to the H o l o c a u s t ) .W earen o w n e a r i n g theh e a r t ofC o e t z e e ' s p r o j e c t . TheMasterofPetersburgis a n o v e l a b o u t g u i l t an d the des i r e for g r a c e c o n f e s s i o n , a b s o l u t i o n , a n dane n d tog u i l t . T h i s senseofg u i l tisn o t l i m i t e dto F y o d o r ,bute x t e n d s to C o e t z e e h i m s e l f .It is theg u i l to f h is b a c k g r o u n d , o f t he u n f a i r p r i v i l e g e s a n d p o w e r s o f h i sp o s i t i o n as aw h i te S o u t h A f r ic a n ; a n diti sag u i l t w h i c h i n c a p a c i tates, t h w a r t i n g hisc r a v i n g to s p e a k or w r it e the t ruth c lear ly ," w i t h o u t b l i n d n e s s . " T h a t t h i s is so is sugges ted by the self-r e f le x i v e a n d m e t a f i c t i o n a l e l e m e n t s oft he n o v e l ,thefact thatitis a b o u t aw r i te r w h oistr y i n g a n d f a i l i n gtow r it e ( u n t i lthe finalc h a p t e r, " S t a v r o g i n , " w h e r e hisw r i ti n g is a " p e r v e r s i o n of thet r u t h " [ 2 3 6 ] ) ; a n d , m o r e i m p o r ta n t l y ,by thefact th a t Co etzeeh a s a l r e a d y a f f i l i a t e d h i m s e l f to D o s t o e v s k y i n" C o n f e s si o nan dD o u b l e T h o u g h t s , " l i n k i n g h is a ims tothoseofD o s t o e v s k y i nhisi n t e r v i e w w i t h A t t w e l l , and c l a i m i n g t h a t "al lw r it in g is a u t o b i o g r a p h y . " TheMasterofPetersburgisaw o r k i n g - th r o u g hoftheseideas o fc y n i c i s m a n d g u i l t , a n dana t t em p t tot r a c k d o w n g r a c e ,th e e lus ive t r uth abo ut o n ese l f . We r e tur n to thei d e a o f " c o m p l e m e n t a r i t y " toh i s t o r yo r theR e a l C o e t z e e ' s p r o j e c t p o i n t s o u t w a r d to the r e a l p r o b l e m s of r e a l p e o p l e , e v e n as it i n w a r d l ydissects thee x p e r i e n c e s a n d t h o u g h t s ofthe hy p o th et ica l figureo f F y o d o r .

TheMaster of Petersburgis p e s s i m i s t ic a b o u t the p o s s i b i l i t yofc o n f e s s i o n . " D o u b l e t h o u g h t , " the s k e i n of se l f - co n sc io usn ess ,c a n n o t beu n r a v e l l e d : a l l c o n f e s s io n is" c o n f e s si o n w i t h o u t e n d "( 2 2 2 ) . F y o d o r c a n n o t g ri ev e i npeace; his th o ug h ts a lwaysbec o m e t r o u b l e d , t a k i n go nm u l t i p l e m e a n i n g s w h i c h g n a w at hish e a r t a n d m a k e h i m q u e s t i o n hism o t i v e s a g a i n a n d a g a i n , wi thn o firm r esul t ( 1 2 5 - 2 6 ) . Hefeelshe isw a n d e r in g a r o u n d " i nam o r a l t r a n c e ; " heis " s u r p r i s e dath is o w n pass iv i ty "(19 7 ) . "Ever yt h i n g is c o l l a p s i n g : l o g i c , r e a s o n " ( 2 0 2 ) . The c o l l a p s e of hisi d e n t i t y is a c c o m p a n i ed by a g r o w i n g sense of a b j e c t i o n 14).

H e remembers M axim ov 's assistant and the question he asked:" W h a t k i n d ofb o o k doyou w rite?"He knows now the answerhe


20/27

1 5 0 RACHELLAWLANs h o u ld h a v e g i v e n : I w r i t e p e r v e r s io n s of the t r u t h . I c h o o s e thec r o o k e d r o a dandt a ke c h i l d r e n i n t o d a r k p la c e s.I f o l l o w thed a n c eo f the pen. ( 2 3 5 - 3 6 )P e r v e r s i o n ,J u l i a Kr i s t eva suggests , is the f a t h e r ' s a c c o u n t , verseau prepre-version ( 2 ) : F y o d o r w r ite s the t y r a n n i c a l , a u t h o r i tar ian w o r dsofthe F a ther , theS u p e r e g o . P a v e l 's d e a t h b y f a l l i ngt h r e a t e n s h i mw i t h a loss of se l f by b e c o m i n g a " c o r p s e (orcadaver : cadere, to f a l l ) , " tha t w h i c h hem u s tbutc a n n o t " p e r m a n e n t l y thrust as ide ino r d e r to l i v e " 3).T h e m e t a p h o ro f the nove l ' s t i t l e there fore becomes i r o n i c t h e r e can be no" m a s t er y "o fthe self,oft h e e n d l e ss c o n v o l u t i o n sa n d h i d d e n m o t i v e sofc o n s c i o u s n e s s, o n l y d o u b l e t h o u g h t a n da b j e c t i o n . B a r r y U n s w o r th neat ly misses the p o i n t w h e nhe dec lares in hisreview oft h e b o o k th a t " [ C o e t z e e ] d o e snotn e e dtoc o n v i n c e us tha t D os to evsky wasa master ; wek n o w th i s a l re ad y"( 3 1 ) . F y o d o r ' s view is c l o s e r to the t ruth :

Master.It is aw o r dhea sso cia te s w i t h m e t a l w i t h the te m p e r i n gofswords ,thec a s t i n gof be l ls .A m a s t e r b l a c k s m i t h ,a f o u n d r y - m a s t e r .

" Iam far f r o m b e i n gamaster , "hesays. "Th e re is ac ra c k r u n n i n gt h r o u g h me.W h a t can one do w i t h a c ra cke d be l l? A c r a c k e d b e l lc a n n o t be m e n d e d . " 140-41)

T h e t e r m " m a s te r" als o i m p l ie s o p p r e s s i o n o n c e m o r e we ret u r n to g u i l t . The t i t le sums up these two m e a n i n g s : F y o d o rpossesses them astery w h i ch e n a b l e s t y r a n n y o v e r o t h e r s ( P a v e l ,M a t r y o n a , and , he c l a i m s , t h o s e he " b e t r a y s " and" se l l s " in hisb o o k s [ 2 5 0 ,2 2 2 ] ) , t h u s c a u s i n g g u i l t ; on the o t h e r h a n d , hetota l ly lacks them a s t e ry o v e r s e lf - c o n s c i o u s n e s s ( r e p r e s e n t e dby" P e t e r s b u r g " ) w h i c h w o u l d a l l o w s u f f i c i e n t c o n f e s s i o n of thatg u i l t , s u f f i c ie n t s e lf - k n o w l e d g e ,to e n a b l e a b s o l u t i o n andp eace .T h e m y s te r y o fF y o d o r 's id e nt i tyf o rthe first3 3p a g e s o f t h e n o v e lishencead r a m a t i z a ti o n of thei m p o s s i b i l it yofever re al ly k n o w i n g o n e s e l f a n done's t ru e m o t iv e s , a n dnot " m e r e l y c o y n e s s "aso n e of the n o v e l ' s r e v i e w e r s c l a i m e d ( G i l b e r t41)." G r a c e " is s i n g u l a r l y l a c k i n g f r o m The Master ofPetersburg.A t t w e l l d i scusses Coetzee ' s use of t i m e , u s i n g t e r m s b o r r o w e df r o m F r a n k K e r m o d e ' s TheSenseof anEnding. He d e m o n s t r a t e sthat , up to and i n c l u d i n g Foe, two m o d e s of t e m p o r a l i t yaree m p l o y e d : Kairos(the m a n - m a d e u n d e r s t a n d i n gof eventsan d


21/27

COETZEEANDDOSTOEVSKY 151crises w h i c h isH i st o r y ) iso p p o s e d tochronos(thecycle o ftheseasons) i no r d e r tod e s t a b i l i z e thef o r m e r asp a r t o f C o e t z e e ' sproject o f " r i v a l r y " to h i s t o ry . W i t h Age ofIron, A t t w e l l suggeststhat a t h i r d t e r m hase n t e r e d thew r i ti n g , that o fpleroma,the" f u l l n e s s o f t i m e . "

Coetzee'spleroma, itseems,w o u ldbethe res torat ion o f udgm en t ,orat least the creat ion of con di t ion s in w hi chj u d g m e n t w o u l dbecomepossible onceagain. Sucham om en t is pro jected negatively inAge ofIronin the d ram atization of thefailureo f rec ipro ca l udgm en t beforescenesofcruelty. (Coetzee 1 2 3 )I n TheMasterofPetersburg, the" f u l l n e s s o f time" becomes " t i m eo u t o f t i m e , " " v o r te x t i m e " t h e m o m e n t before an e p i l e p t i cattack. In TheIdiot, M y s h k i n d e s c r i b e s the f e e l i n g o f the lastm o m e n t o fc l ar i t y before thed a r k n e s s d e s c e n d s :

H ishearta n dm i n dw ere f lo od ed by adazzlingl ight. A l l his agitation,all hisdoubts an d wo rries , seemed com p osed in a twink l ing , culm i n a t i n g inagreat ca l m, full ofserene an d h armo n i o us j o y an dh o p e , ful lofun ders t an di n g an d the knowledgeof the final cause.( 2 4 3 )F y o d o r hasth esame s e n s a t i o n :

H e awakes fu l lo f surprise. T ho ug h i t isstilldark, hefeelsas i f he hasrested enough for seven nights . Heisfresh an d in vin cible: the verytissues of his bra in seem w ashed clean . H e can barely con tain himself.H e isl ikeach i ldatEaster, on fire for theh o us eh o l d to wake upsothathecanshare his jo y with t h e m . . ..Joybreakin g l ikead aw n[Then] hehears n o t h i n g ,he isg o n e , there isnolon ger t ime.(67-68)

" T h e e p i l e p t i c k n o w s ita l l , "he says, "thet h i n k i n g that t h i n k si ts e l f c r a z i l y o v e r a n d o v e r l i k e a - b e l l p e a l i n g i nth eh e a d : Timeshallhave an end,thereshallbe no death ( 1 1 8 ) . In TheMasterofPetersburg, there is nograce tobef o u n d i nthese m o m e n t s ; therea r e d e a t h , d is ea se , n o t h i n g n e s s " n o t e v e n a m e m o r y o fd a r k ness" ( 6 9 ) .K r i s t e v anotes that "thet i m e o fa b j e c t i o n isd o u b l e : a t i m eo fo b l i v i o n a n d t h u n d e r , o fv e i l e d i n f i n i t y a n d them o m e n t w h e nr e v e l a t i o n b u rs ts f o r t h " ( 9 ) , b u t f o r F y o d o rthere is o n l y a b j e c t i o na n d o b l i v i o n , a n d n os i g n o fr e v e l a t io n . H i s e p i le p s y , w h i c hhecal l s " the f a l l i n gs i c k n e s s " ( 2 2 6 ) " t h e a p p r o a c h tot h e e d g e ,the


22/27

1 5 2 RACHELLAWLANg l a n c e d o w n w a r d , th e l u r c h o f t he s o u l " ( 1 1 8 ) i s l i n k e d t oP a v e l' s d e a t h b y f a l l i n g ; F y o d o r fears that P a v e l , u n l i k e h i m s e l f ,did experience r eve l a t i o n (h e w an t s t o " e t h er i ze h i ms el f aga i n s tt h e k n o w l e d g e that P a v e l ,falling, hneiueverything [ 2 1 ;emphasesa d d e d ] ) . T h e o n l y " r e s t o r a t i o n o f j u d g m e n t " i n The Master ofPetersburgis P avel 's j u d g m en t o f h i s fa th er , w h i ch is a curse o nh i m . F y o d o r isdesperate f o r P a v el 's f o r g i v e n e s s r e a d i n g h is la stletter to h is son , s tung by the pettiness o f h is words to Pavel , hefeels h e " w o u l d l i k e t o b u r n t h e letter, to erase i t f r o m h i s t o r y "( 1 5 0 ) , m u c h a s h e w o u l d l i k e t o erase h i s t y r a n n i c a l b e h a v i o u r .H e has a v is io n o f Pavel in acasket, c l u t c h i n g a t e l e g r a m a t w h i c hh e peers " u n t i l h iseyess w i m , l o o k i n g f o r t he w o r d o f f o rg iv e n e ssthat i s not there. T h e t e l e g r a m is w r i t te n i n H e b r e w , i n Sy r ia c , i ns ymbo l s h e h as n ever seen before" ( 2 2 3 ) . H e h a s seen the symb o l s before t h o u g h i n another v i s i o n :

H e has a v i s io n o f Pe te rsbu rg s t re tche d ou t vas t an d low un de r thep i t i less s tars . W r i t t e n i n a scr o l l across the heavens is a w o r d inH e b re w c h a ra c t e rs . H e c a n n o t re a d t h e wo rd b u t h e k n o ws i t is ac o n d e m n a t i o n , a c u r s e . ( 1 9 )A t t h e en d o f t h e n o vel , Fyo do r f i n ds thatthere i s n o a b s o l u t i o n ,o n l y m a k e - b e l i e v e r e s u r r e c t i o n . H e t h i n k s o f h i s i n d i s c r e t i o n sa n d g a m b l i n g , a n d t h e subsequent " v o l u p t u o u s u r g e t o confess"to his wife:

F a l l i n g , b u t n e v e r a n i r re v o c a b l e f a l l i n g . No : t o f a l l a n d t h e n c o meb a c k f r o m t h e f a l l n e w, re m a d e , v i rg i n a l , r e a d y t o b e wo o e d a g a i n a n dt o f a l l a g a i n . A p l a y i n g w i t h d e a t h , a p l a y o f re s u r re c t i o n . ( 6 3 )T h e p r o b l e m , F y o d o r r e a l i z e s , i s that t h i s s o l ut i o n i s mere l y" p l a y i n g , " another f o r m o f s e l f - d e c e i t , a n d o f n o h e l p w h e nd o u b l e t h o u g h t s take o v e r one's c o n s c i o u s n e s s. T h a t grace o n l ycomes i n " t i m e o u t o f t i m e " o r i n d e a t h is p r o f o u n d l y p e s s im i s t ic ,s u g g e s t i n g that t he r e s t o r a t io n o f j u d g m e n t wi l l o n l y b e p e r m i tted to those w h o a r e s o m e h o w ( i m p o s s i b l y ) o u t s i d e o f t i m e ,o ut s i de o f h i s t o ry , o r s uf fer i n g t h e disease o f false consciousnessw h i c h i s " v o r t e x t i m e . " F o r o r d i n a r y m o r t a l s l i v i n g i n " K a i r o v at im e , " G o d , j u d g m e n t , wi l l n o t speak.

A l l of this has consequences f o r Coetzee's project o f " r i v a l r y "o r c o m p l e m e n t a r i t y t o hi st o r y . I h a ve s h o w n t h e w a ys i n w h i c hh e a f f i l ia t es h i m s el f t o Do s to evs ky , but it s h o u l d be n o t ed that


23/27

COETZEEANDDOSTOEVSKY 53the novel i t se l f deals w i t h t h e h a z a r d s o f a f f i l i a t i o n P a v e l i sF y o d o r ' s adopted s o n . F y o d o r h a s m a d e t h e c h o i c e t o " a f f i l i a t e "P a v e l t o h i m s e l f , b u t h a s b e h a v e d i n a n i n c r e a s i n g l y a u t h o r i t a r i a n m a n n er t ow a r d s h i m . It is p os s i b l e t o see t h i s as a d r a m a t i z a t i o n o f t he t h i r d stage o f a f f i l i a t i o n i n S a i d ' s m o d e l , w h e r ew e find " t h e d e l i b e r a t e l y e x p l i c i t g o a l o f u s i n g that n e w o r d e r[ o f a f f i l i a t i o n ] t o reinstate vestiges o f t h e k i n d o f a u t h o r i t y assoc i a t e d i n t h e past w i t h f i l iat ive order" (Said 1 9 ) . F y o d o r ' s r e instatement o f a u t h o r i t y i n h i s r e l a t i o n s h i p w i t h Pavel has qui ted i sa s t r ou s effects, p l u n g i n g h i m i n t o a b je c t io n a n d g u i l t. F y o d o rpresents h i m s e l f t o A n n a Ser g ey ev na a l m ost a s a m a r t y r t o Pa v e l :" I w a s t h e o n e w h o h a d t o b r i n g h i m u p d a y b y d a y . I m a d e h i mm y s o n w h e n e v e r y o n e else h a d l e f t h i m b e h i n d " ( 1 3 7 ) . Sheretorts s h a r p l y :

Do n ' t e x a g g e ra t e . H i s o wn p a re n t s d i d n ' t l e a v e h i m b e h i n d , t h e yd i e d . Bes ides , i f yo u ha d the r ig h t to choose h im as a son , why had henoright tochoose afatherfor himself. ( 1 3 7 ; emphases added)F y o d o r d e n i e s that P av e l h a d a n y s u c h r ig h t . S o u n d i n g m o r e a n dm o r e d e s p o t i c , a n d c o n v e n i e n t l y f o r g e t t i n g that h e c o u l d b ed e s c r i b i n g h i m s e l f , h e d e c l a r e s :

I t has be co m e a s ickness in th i s age o f ou r s , y o u n g pe op le tu rn in gt h e i r b a c k s o n t h e i r p a re n t s , t h e i r h o me s , t h e i r u p b r i n g i n g , b e c a u s et h e y a re n o l o n g e r t o t h e i r l i k i n g N o t h i n g w i l l s a tis fy t h e m , i t s ee ms ,b u t t o b e s on s a n d d a u g h t e rs o f S t e n k a R a z i n o r B a k u n i n ( 1 3 7 - 3 8 )I n fact, P a v e l h a s c h o s e n h i s o w n a f f i l i a t i v e r e l a t i o n s h i p s w i t ht h e N e c h a e v i t e s w h i c h h a v e been e v e n m o r e d i s a s t r o u s t h a nF y o d o r ' s , l e a d i n g h i m t o h i s d e a t h .I n The Master ofPetersburg, C o e t z e e is f a c i n g u p to t h e r e a l i z a t i o n that h i s l o n g i n g f o r grace, f o r transcendence o v e r c o n t i n g e n c y a n d e t e r n a l c o n f e s s i o n , is fin ally a l o n g i n g f o r a u t h o r i t y . A ss u c h , i t is a d a n g e r o u s l o n g i n g , i m p l y i n g t he p oss i b l e t y r a nni es o fm o n o l o g i c c l o s u r e a n e n d to debate, d ea t h t o t hou g ht i t se l f .F y o d o r ' s attempts to " m a k e G o d speak" m i r r o r Coetzee's o w nd e s i r e f o rgrace, a n d b o t h e n d i n asenseo f b e t r a y a l ( 2 5 0 ) . In thefinal c h a p t e r , " S t a v r o g i n , " F y o d o r is s t i l l s u f f e r i n g f r o m w h a tC o e t z e e c a lls " c y n i c i s m " " t h e d e n i a l o f a n y u l t i m a t e basis f o rv a l u e s " ( 2 3 5 ) . H e is p r e s e n t e d b o t h as O r p h e u s ( h is i d e n t i t y t o r ni n t o pieces a n d scattered) a n d a s t h e p e r s o n w h o m u s t p u t


24/27

154 R C H F . I . I. A W I . A NO r p h e u s b a ck t o g e t h e r ( s a lv a g i n g his own i d e n t i t y as w e l l ast r y i n g to b r i n g P a ve l b a c k to l i f e ) . He e x h i b i t s a w e a r i n e s sat thef a i l u r e to a c h i e v e g r a c e ( 152-53), bu t it is in the a c c e p t a n c e o ft h e f a l l a c c e p t a n c e of c o n t i n g e n c y ,ofd o u b l e t h o u g h t , e v e n ofc y n i c i s m t h a t c r e a t i o n fina lly c o m e s .Thea u t h o r i t a r i a n p o w e ro f F y o d o r ' s " a f f i l i a t i o n " to his son and his h a r d e n e d , t y r a n n i c a li d e n t i t y m u s t bed e s t r o y e d in o r d e r for thep r o c e s sof r e c r e a t i o nt o b e g i n .He has to a c c e p t P a v e l' s d e a t h ,hisg u i l t , hisf a l l , b e f o r eh e can b e g i n to w r i t e o n c e m o r e :

... he is a manc a u g h tin aw h i r l w i n d . T o r r e n tsofp a p e r, f r a g m e n t sofa nold l i f e to rn loosebv the r o a rof the u p w a r d s p i r a l ,flv all a b o u th i m . H i g h a b o v e thee a r t h he isb o r n e , b u f f e te d byc u r r e n t s , b e f o r et h e g r ipof the w ind s lackensand for am o m e n t , b e fo r e hestartstof a l l ,he isa l low ed u t te r s t i llnessandc lar i ty ,thew o r l d o p e n i n g b e lo wh i m l i k ea mapof i tself .

L e t t e r s f r o m thew h i r lw in d . S c a t t e r e d le av es , w h ic hhega thersup;a sca t te red bo t ly , wh ich he reassembles . ( 2 4 5 - 4 ( ) )G r a c e is no t to be f o u n d a p a r t f r o m in the h u m a n , fa l l i b l e ,c o n t i n g e n t c r e a t i o n s of " K a i r o v a t i m e , " in l i f e l i v e d as we al l l i v ei t . A f t e r c a l l i n g h i m s e l f ac r a c k e d b e l l , " F y o d o r r e c a l l s t h a t oneo f theb e l l sof theC a t h e d r a lof the T r i n i t y in S e r g i ye v is c r a c k e d ,a n d hasb e e n f r o m C a t h e r i n e ' s t i m e . It hasn e v e r b e e n r e m o v e da n d m e l t e d d o w n . I t s o u n d s o v e r the t o w n e v e r y day (141).

C o e t z e e ' s w r i t i n g may not r e a c h the t r u t h , " but it is t r u t h -d i r e c t e d . C i x o u s s a y s of t n i t h :

O f c o u r s e ,Ic i r c le them i t h ' " w i thallk in d s o fs igns,q u o t a t i o n m a r k s ,a n d b r a c k e ts ,top r o t e c tit f r o manyf o r moff i x a t i o norc o n c e p t u a l i z a t i o n ,s inceitis on eofthose word s that co nsta nt ly c rossesourun iverseinad a z z l i n g w a k e ,but isa lso pu rsu edbys u s p i c i o n .I w i l l ta lk a bo utt h e t r u t h a g a i n , w i t h o u t w h i c h ( w i t h o u t thew o r d t n i t h , w i t h o u t themysterytruth) t h e r e w o u l dbe now r i t i n g .It isw h a t w r i t i n gwants.Buti t (thet r u t h ) " ist o t a l l y d o w n b e lo wand al o n gway off. And all the[w r i t e rs ] t ha t I love . . . areb e in g swho are b e n t on d i r e c t i n g t h e i rw r i t i n g t o w a r d t h i s t r u t h - o v e r - t h e r e , w i t h u n b e l i e v a b le l a b o r . (6)

T h i s c o u l d be a d e s c r i p t i o n ofJ . M. C o e tz e e ' s w r i t i n g , of ther e a l i z a t i o n t h a t a c t u a l l y to r e a c h g r a c e is b e t r a y a l and c l o s u r e ,t h a t thel o n g i n g forg r a c e m u s t r e m a i n ad e s i r e , s o m e t h i n g t ofeelhis zuay towards.In The Master of Petersburg,the s e a r c h for t r u t hl e a d s to g l o o m y w a te r s : i n t o the u n d e r g r o u n d l a b y r i n t h s of c o n -


25/27

C O E T Z E E AND D O S T O E V S K Y 155s c i o u s n e s s ,g u i l ta n d d o u b t ; t o w a r d i l lne ss a n d d e a t h .But to r eadthe b o o k isnot i tsel fa g lo o m y experiencethere isasenseo fh o p e and ofl i f e .The e f f o r toft r u t h - d i r e c t e dw r i ti n g b r i n g snewl i fe in i tself, h o l d i n g offd e a t h : F y o d o r tenses the p o w e r o fhisw i l l e d t h o u g h t s to" k e e p P a v e l a l ive , s u s p e n d e d in his fa l l " :

Sittingatthe t a b l e ,hiseyes c l o s e d ,his fists c l e n c h e d ,hewardstheknowledge o fdeath away f rom Pave l .Hethinks ofhimself as theTr i tonon thePiazza Barber in iinR o m e , ho ld ingtohislipsaconchfr om which jetsaconstant crystal f o u n t a i n .All day and alln ighthebreathes life into the water. The tendons ofhis n e c k , caught inb r o n z e , are taut with effort 21).

NOTES1 Inorder todistinguish between thehistorical Dostoevsky and Coetzee's fictionalcharacter,I shallrefertothe former as Dostoevsky andtothe latteras Fyodorthroughout thisessay.2 Bibliographical information about Dostoevsky is taken from Frank and Goldstein,

Select edL et t e r sofF y o d o r o s t o ev s k y xxiii-xxvi, 2 4 4 - 4 5 , 3 2 8 n , 519-26. For a moredetailed description ofthis partofDostoevsky's life, seeFrank's D o s t o ev s k y : T h eM i r a c u l o u s Y e a r s , 8 6 y i 8 j i , chs. 19-25.

3 Eugene Dawn explores thecontrasts between theAmerican andVietnamesepsyches in his report for the New Life for Vietnamproject,andJacobus Coetzeenarrateshisaccountof his expeditiontothe li dof the Great Namaqua ( D u sk l a n d s1 8 - 3 0 , 1 2 3 - 2 5 ) ; Magdais aspinster withalocked diary wholater attemptstocommunicate with the sky-creatures byformingwordswithpaintedstones( I n t h eH ea r t o f T h e C o u n t r y 3, 1 3 2 - 3 4 ) ;the Magistrate tries, and fails, to writesomekindofhistoryormemoir ( W a i t i n g f o r t h e B a r b a r i a n s 5 8 ) ; theMedical Officer imagineswritingalettertoMichaelK L i f e T i m es o f i c h a e l K 149-52 ;Susan Barton writestoDanielFoe, describing her experiencesasacastawayand begging himtoturnher memoirs into thesubstanceof the truth ( F o e51 ;the whole ofA g e o f r o n isalastletterwrittenbythedyingElizabeth Curren to her daughter inAmerica; and inT h e a s t er o f et er s b u r g , we see the Real beingtransformed intoaworkoffictionasFyodor begins towriteD e v i l s 2 3 4 - 5 0 ) .

4 See, for example, the review ofL i f e T im eso f i c h a e l K ,by Z.N., in A f r i c a nC o m m u n i s t : Frankly,Michael Kisabore and it isdifficultto sustaininterestin hisnon-activities. He is too negative to comment on or even interpret whatisgoing onaround him. . . . Certainly those interested inunderstanding or transformingSouth African society canlearn little from thelife andtimes ofMichael K(102-03).

5 There are explicitreferencestoNot es r o m U n d er g r o u n d inThe a s t e r of e t e r s b u r gitselfnote especially the similarity of Fyodor's judgment of himselfina conversation withAnnaSergeyevna, his landlady:I am behavinglikeacharacterina book,he thinks 2 7 ) .

6 Itisa peculiarity ofT h e a s ter o f e t e r s b u r g to rely so heavily upon thereader'spriorknowledge of Dostoev

lawlan, rachel - confession and double thoughts - tolstoy, rousseau, dostoevsky.pdf

Documents