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Starting the elder meeting and was like wait who was who. Thanks for the video

lol I dog-ear pages, write in books, totally wreck them. You can pull any book from my shelf and tell how much I loved it by my destruction of it. I adored this book. I have the bind up of the three books and to be honest, there was a bit in the middle that dragged a little for me but overall, such a perfect book. I haven't read it in many years but still think about it.

Thank you professor ❤

If I am allowed to express my personal opinion: Dostoevsky is one of the most overestimated writers of all time. Really D.? What can one say about Alyosha's theological discussions with a 13 year old boy? What can one think about the ending of Brothers Karamazov, where Alyosha together with some pre-adolescent children (!) are all together cheerfully happy as they celebrate... the coming of the Last Judgement Day!... Seriously? Is this suppose to be good literature? Even a believer reader should have enormous problems with such a literary, such an artistic solution, which is not. In Dostoevsky we find always the following concept: All "good" guys get to be rewarded and all "bad" guys either commit suicide or go to prison or get crazy. Ivan Karamazov, the one that could have saved Dmitri's - his brother's - life, gets crazy one day before the court! And why? Because he is the "atheist" of the novel! Is there anything more p r e d i c t a b l e in whole literature? Do we want our literature to be predictable in that silly way? How can a healthy human mind accept this forced and totally disgusting solution? And this novel is considered by many, many, many "serious" people that read (do they actually read?) serious literature as "the best novel ever written". H o l y cow! After having read Dostoevsky's works again and again I have come to this conclusion: He is the most horrible, boring and kitsch author out there. Not even his language has anything to offer! And although I don't agree with every single critical opinion Nabokov expressed for a number of authors, I totally agree with his opinion on Dostoevsky. There are so many writers out there that are... writers! D. is at least mediocre. And please, for all of you reading this comment and thinking that I am crazy: Read D. anew; don't let yourself repeating "what the world is saying". Shape your own opinion.

Loved this! I just ordered both books and look forward to diving in.

Thank you professor ❤

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Great insights! I don’t 100% agree but love your take nonetheless

I’ve noticed both religious folks and atheists tend to spin Dostoevsky a little. He made his criticisms and points about all of it. He’s a master of truly complex characters, and truly simple ones. Religious, atheist, whatever it was, he had a piercing gaze on the best and worst in something

Thank you ❤

Thank you ❤

I’ve learned so much listening to you. I think I am better now. Thank you.

Glad I found this! However I'm not reading the same translation. What translation are you reading?

I will finish reading this book from just my phone 😊

I'm going to start reading this novel today, 12th of June, 2024...i hope i don't die before I'm done with it

It's so compact an intro, and it offers wonderful background to the story

you start this video by saying "the reason we have spent so much time discussing The Abolition of Man . . . . " => have you posted that video (where you discuss The Abolition of Man" on your TH-cam channel? I have been unable to find it, but I'm really interested.

Surprised by Joy.. I'm loving this.

Fantastic! I am nearly to the end of my first read of this book, and wish I had found your videos sooner!

Oh utube, oh utube, how I love the algorithm :) Once again throwing an awesome channel my way when I was in need of this vibe. Super that I have now a new podcast to catch up on that will hit the spot I was lacking. Great days indeed, and they are longer so I am happy out in both meaning

Imagine having her as your professor. You’d fall in love with the material in class.

she was a racist bigot- are you going to talk about that, how about what this says about you and the fact that she is your favorite writer

Christ added absolutely nothing to Homer message from The Iliad. He neither clarified nor added to it. He simply repeated it. I totally dug your video though.

This notion of masks makes me wonder if CS Lewis was inspired by this book to write Till We Have Faces

This is so helpful

Thanks for having Abigail Favale as a guest. Her writing is beautiful.

Thank you for your commentary. It is really helping me understand and appreciate this book as I read it.

In book 6 lines 448-449 are about Caenus, not Dido: "And Caeneus, once a young man, now a woman-since fate had changed her back - walked by their sides." From the Sarah Ruden translation. Here's also her note: "448-Caeneus: A woman who was transformed into a man after her r-pe by Neptune; Caeneus was eventually killed by Centaurs and reverted to female form in the afterlife." *not that big of a correction, I just noticed because I had read over that section for Catherine Project a bit ago!

error: - You forgot to mention that lizaveta had a homeless drunk father. And it originally says "[...] which made her even more acceptable in the eyes of the religious persons of the town, as an orphan. In fact, everyone seemed to like her; even the boys did not tease her, and the boys of our town, especially the schoolboys, are a mischievous set. She would walk into strange houses, and no one drove her away. Every one was kind to her and gave her something. If she were given a copper, she would take it, and at once drop it in the alms-jug of the church or prison. If she were given a roll or bun in the market, she would hand it to the first child she met. Sometimes she would stop one of the richest ladies in the town and give it to her, and the lady would be pleased to take it. She herself never tasted anything but black bread and water. If she went into an expensive shop, where there were costly goods or money lying about, no one kept watch on her, for they knew that if she saw thousands of roubles overlooked by them, she would not have touched a farthing." - Grigory originally says "“A child of God-an orphan is akin to all,” he said, “and to us above [106] others. Our little lost one has sent us this, who has come from the devil's son and a holy innocent. Nurse him and weep no more.” - The book originally says "he was very fond of hanging cats, and burying them with great ceremony. He used to dress up in a sheet as though it were a surplice, and sang, and waved some object over the dead cat as though it were a censer. All this he did on the sly, with the greatest secrecy."

Why spoilers though?

Having just finished reading this astonishing book, I so appreciate your in-depth discussions of each section. It has helped me make sense of small details and grand themes in the work. I loved listening to you read passages before and after making the case for your interpretations. You did a brilliant job of balancing discussions of the book with points about Dostoyevsky's life and the historical context. As someone who long ago finished school, it's wonderful to be able to sit in on your lectures and broaden my understanding of this book. I will be sure to follow more of your lecture series on other classics. Thank you!

Thanks for your reflections on 4 Quartets. I have a friend who has memorized parts of the poem and uses Eliot's words to comment on various observations of his. I have long desired to enter the world of 4 Quartets as my friend and the two of you have. I still hope for the day I get to fall into the 4 Quartet rabbit hole?

I've reread this chapter several times trying to get to the bottom of the discussion. It appears as you said Ivan does not want a separation of church and state. The Elder however doesn't necessarily want the church to transition into the state, but the state to 'dissolve' into a singular church. The Elder does not seem to have faith in the state and it seems he thinks it would be better to have the church as a forgiving jurisdiction over society. I'm interpreting this correctly? This seems like a really pivotal section of the book.

Petrashevsky Circle

Thank you for this! I really like your analysis - this is helping me read the book for the first Time

i love u

ur amazing

This was an awesome introduction, just what I needed while beginning to enjoy her stories. Question- I loved your analysis of the role of skandalon in her fiction. Can you point to other scholars or artists who were working with this device?

Note to self: Pay attention to when Homer refers to Odysseus by name versus merely alluding to him

Insightful, professional and very helpful for a first time TBK reader. Well done, Jessica!

one should listen to John Todd to get a full understanding of these teachings

Since this interview, I have read Thurman, and yes, I see the connection.

These are very useful and interesting talks. But I am interested in your use of the word misogynistic, in the introduction and here. Throughout you illustrate the way that Lewis points to those things that are good and those which are not. I don't hear your demurring at all, except where Lewis shines light on the behaviour of Jane, who is encouraged not to behave 'like a modern woman'. In this video, just before 14 minutes, you point to one of the most joyful moments in the book with Jane surprised' by that joy and yet dismiss, almost scribble over, this 'misogynistic moment' in which Jane is told to ask her husband's permission to join him, 'which Jane finds horrendous and rightly so...' You are a wordsmith and I take it that you are using the word misogynist in its full meaning of hatred of women. Is it really hatred of women to suggest that they are different, or should behave differently in any way? If one thinks that they are no different, that they are spiritually identical, don't we get to the position in which we now are, in which no-one dares say the difference between a man and a woman.

Feel like you are missing the critique of the church.

The devil dream with ivan really unsettled me. Made me feel uncomfortable and slowly like i was losing my own mind along with Ivan, so well written and chilling

I love this content and presentation. Thank you