The Hell of Victimized Evildoers and the Judgment of the Merciful Lamb: On the Topic of Injustice in Fyodor Dostoevsky’s Works
Elżbieta MIKICIUK
University of Gdańsk , PolandAbstract
In his literary works Fyodor Dostoevsky describes states of psychic closure, alienated being and feeling hurt. He penetrates dark, perverted areas of human nature, in which both being harmed and harming others are connected not only with suffering, but also with delight. The author of Humiliated and Insulted asks whether it is possible to accept injustice and transform it into compassion, whether it is possible to transgress the situation in which the harmed one becomes the one who harms, takes revenge, lasts in the hell of self-torture, or commits suicide. In his vision of injustice, the writer often transgresses social, psychological, or moral order to look at the problem from a religious, eschatological perspective. Protagonists of the novel of the author of Crime and Punishment question not only whether (and how) it is possible to forgive someone who hurt them—they also ask about the love of Christ that embraces both victims and evildoers. By raising the issue of punishment and hell, they ask about the Justice of God, salvation and hope for final peace between a victim and an evildoer.
Keywords:
Dostoevsky, injustice, forgiveness, hellUniversity of Gdańsk
