{"id":986202,"date":"2016-06-06T17:22:49","date_gmt":"2016-06-06T17:22:49","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/dostoevsky-bts.com\/blog\/?p=986202"},"modified":"2019-12-09T11:10:35","modified_gmt":"2019-12-09T19:10:35","slug":"e-m-forster-on-dostoyevksy-as-a-prophetic-writer","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/dostoevsky-bts.com\/blog\/e-m-forster-on-dostoyevksy-as-a-prophetic-writer\/","title":{"rendered":"E.M Forster on Dostoyevksy as a Prophetic Writer"},"content":{"rendered":"

Hello again dear readers and welcome back to the Dostoyevsky-BTS website!<\/a> As always I issue a sincere and warm welcome to those who visit for the first time.<\/p>\n

Previously I discussed the extraordinary impact Russian literature, and particularly Dostoyevsky had on the literary perspective of Virginia Woolf.<\/a> Her passion is shared by her contemporary E.M Forster, the beloved writer of novels such as\u00a0Howard\u2019s End\u00a0<\/em>and\u00a0A Room with a View<\/em>, works that perfectly reflect Edwardian sentiment, style and sensibility.<\/p>\n

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Today I will ever so lightly touch upon the background of E.M Forster, one of my most admired writers as well as the effect that his reading of Dostoyevsky had on his work.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
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E.M Forster, a literary swan cultivating the literary landscape of the British Edwardian Era was a publicly delicate, quiet figure.\"FORSTER-KID-1\"<\/a> Born in Marylebone, England in 1879 he lost his father at a young age and was raised primarily by the women in his family.<\/p>\n

In the literary Magazine\u00a0Grand Street,\u00a0<\/em>Santha Rama\u00a0Rau describes the enchanting writer, \u201cAt various times in his long life he was described as dowdily dressed and physically awkward but with “fine eyes … and a most expressive and sensitive mouth,” and as a “very pale, delicately-built young man, slightly towzled and very shy, with a habit of standing on one leg and winding the other round it”(Rau 99). Her description of him renders vivid an image of this elegant writer. A New York reporter\u00a0described him as “a shy, apprehensive Edwardian gentleman with a long sensitive nose and tousled tan moustache\u201d (Rau 99). He was said to be in possession of “good manners to the level of charm” (Stape 133).<\/p>\n

A graduate and honorary fellow from King\u2019s College at Cambridge, he decided to become a writer upon graduation. He was to become one of England\u2019s most distinguished writers and was,\u00a0without a doubt, a true gentleman of the Edwardian Era.<\/p>\n

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E.M Forster’s Signature<\/p><\/div>\n

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Forster at Cambridge College<\/p><\/div>\n

Like Woolf, Forster wrote critically on Dostoevsky\u2019s novels and shared some of Woolf\u2019s views on Dostoyevsky. Woolf\u2019s own focus on cultural distance between Russian and British culture was also noted by Forster. Echoing Woolf\u2019s views, Forster offers the following measurement of the distance between Dostoevsky\u2019s work and the cultural realities of Edwardian England, : \u201cThe Russian is simply too far removed from English traditions and values”(Kaye 163).<\/p>\n

Evidently both Virginia Woolf and E.M. Forster displayed a great deal of admiration for Dostoyevsky’s work but had no comprehensive certainty of its broader effect.\u00a0Although both Woolf and Forster focus on the disparities of cultural understanding and meaning of Dostoevsky\u2019s works, Forster focuses more on the prophetic aspect.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
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E.M Forster<\/p><\/div><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n

Now it is likely you are asking to yourself, \u201cWhat is a prophetic writer, and what is a prophetic novel?\u201d The concept may appear somewhat ambiguous and abstract.<\/p>\n

The successful prophetic novel requires the attainment of a certain moral understanding or achievement.\u00a0\u201cThe prophetic aspect of the novel demands two qualities of the novel: \u2018humanity and suspension of the sense of humor.\u2019 “Without humility or humbleness or modesty, says Forster “we shall not hear the voice of the prophet.” “Prophetic fiction\u2026demands humility”(Sarker\u00a0<\/em>1089).<\/p>\n

Forster found four different writers to be deserving of the title\u00a0prophetic writer<\/em> including: Fyodor Dostoyevsky, Herman Melville, Emily Br\u00f6nte and D.H Lawrence. However, like Dostoevsky, E.M Forster himself has also been likened unto a prophet:\u00a0In her biography of Forster, \u201cA Great Unrecorded History,\u201d Wendy Moffat describes Forster as a \u201csensitive, sensuous and kind, an artist who possessed a keen, plain sort of wisdom and lightness of touch that make him, to this day, an immensely influential novelist,\u00a0almost a prophet” <\/em>\u00a0Indeed Forster’s writing does rival the prophetic state, his writing is consistently\u00a0adorned\u00a0by humility rather than pretension.<\/p>\n

Forster turns his attention toward the concept of Dostoyevsky as a writer of prophetic novels and asserts without specificity the concept of Dostoyevsky as a literary prophet. In his book\u00a0Aspects of the Novel<\/em>\u00a0Forster refers to Dostoevsky: \u201cHe is a great novelist in the ordinary sense\u2026he has also the greatness of a prophet, to which our ordinary standards are inapplicable” (Forster 192-193).<\/p>\n

\"2\"<\/a>The concept of the Russian writer as an embodiment of a prophetic figure is salient in the history of Russian literature. \u201cDostoevsky, following Gogol\u2019s lead, was responsible for establishing the image of the writer as prophet within the context of a supporting canon; subsequent writers such as Vladimir Solov\u2019ev and the religious symbolists extended and elaborated in their essays on the theurgic aesthetics the method of validation of the writer\u2019s prophetic status that Dostoevsky had already set in place” (Davidson \u00a0509).<\/p>\n

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Forster<\/p><\/div>\n

Moreover, the concept had popular appeal: \u201cThe promotion of a prophetic message in this tradition conferred upon a writer a considerable legacy of moral, spiritual, historical, and political authority\u2014a factor which doubtlessly accounted in part for the strong appeal of the prophetic role\u201d (Davidson 509).<\/p>\n

The prophetic form focuses on a sense of detachment from personal arrogance. “We shall hear the prophetic voice only after we have developed within us humility (humbleness or modesty) and the sense of seriousness;\u2026the prophetic characters are those that spiritually grow up and expand so much that they attain, so to say, the magnitude of infinity, such that we feel pity and love for them, in spite of anything and everything they do.\u201d (Sarker 1089)<\/p>\n\n\n\n
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Another aspect of the prophetic form of the novel is the concept of social interconnectedness. \u201cForster employed the term \u2018prophetic\u2019\u2014that the prophetic characters feel a sort of unity with all \"a-passage-to-india-cover\"<\/a><\/em>people on the earth and that they are attended by infinity” (Sarker 388). It has been suggested that writing\u00a0A Passage to India<\/em>, was Forster\u2019s own attempt to write a prophetic novel, which he associated specifically with Dostoevsky.<\/p>\n

\u201c<\/em>Forster\u2019s A\u00a0Passage to India<\/em>\u00a0has distinct parallels to Dostoevsky\u2019s The Brothers Karamazov, especially in its expressions of collective guilt and its emphasis on the oneness of all beings, and this study argues that Forster\u2019s novel seeks to delineate a new form for the novel, one that emphasizes oral tradition and communal existence over the novel\u2019s traditional emphasis on individuality.\u00a0A Passage to India\u00a0<\/em>is Forster\u2019s own attempt to write a \u201cprophetic novel,\u201d a form he associated with Dostoevsky and envisioned as capable of conveying the spiritual message of interconnectedness.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
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It seems\u00a0Forster was already interested in the concept of social and spiritual interconnectedness even before his introduction to Dostoevsky. Though\u00a0A Passage to India<\/em>\u00a0is considered his most \"MPW-39821\"<\/a>prophetic novel, this interconnectedness can also be seen in\u00a0Howard\u2019s End<\/em>, a stunningly elegant novel, a white rose in which the sacredness of it’s most elevated characters are stained by the folly of misplaced good intention. Despite the distinctions in social class and education, people from different backgrounds come together in this novel causing tragedy and change. However,\u00a0Howard\u2019s End<\/em>\u00a0was published fourteen years prior to\u00a0A Passage to India,\u00a0<\/em>thus\u00a0preceding his knowledge of\u00a0The Brothers Karamazov. <\/em>Forster was apparently already interested in the idea of interconnectedness. I imagine this is part of his attraction to Dostoevsky though I can only conjecture.<\/p>\n

Describing Dostoevsky Forster says: \u201c He has penetrated-more deeply, perhaps than any English writer\u2014into the darkness and goodness of the human soul, but he has penetrated by a way we cannot follow. He has his own psychological method and marvelous it is. But it is not ours” (Forster 17). However, Forster also remarks that Dostoevsky\u2019s powerful influence is \u201cinvaluable\u201d.<\/p>\n

\u201cProphecy for Forster is the greatest achievement. It is the breakthrough, the seeing of the visible world as the living garment of God, the miracle of natural supernaturalism” (Kaye 17). Though his perspective on the influence of Dostoyevsky and Russian literature in England is somewhat divided, it is clear that Forster was strongly influenced by Dostoyevsky enough to inspire aspects of some of his most acclaimed novels.<\/p>\n

And thus I leave more exploration on this extraordinarily vast topic for the future, my friends. I hope you are feeling inspired to delve into the glorious literary realm of Forster. I hope to see you next time!<\/p>\n

For more information about the director\u00a0Vitaly Sumin<\/a>\u00a0and his incredible visionary adaptations of Dostoyevsky\u2019s masterpieces come visit us at the Dostoyevsky-BTS website:\u00a0http:\/\/www.dostoevsky-bts.com<\/a>. Also\u00a0be sure to visit us at home and sign up for our\u00a0free newsletter<\/a>\u00a0at\u00a0Dostoyevsky Reimagined: The Making of Notes from the New World<\/a>. You\u2019ll gain exclusive access to our members-only content and the incentives.<\/p>\n

*****<\/strong><\/p>\n

\"CRIME&PUN-WEB\"<\/a><\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n

VM Productions is happy to announce that the pre-production of our feature length project Crime & Punishment, LA<\/strong><\/em> – following by the shoot of the movie – is scheduled to begin on Tuesday, January 7th 2020 in Los Angeles!\u00a0http:\/\/www.vmpfilms.com\/#August_<\/a><\/p>\n

Crime and Punishment, LA<\/strong><\/em>, represents the third chapter of VM Productions<\/a> ambitious Dostoyevsky-LA Project (following the completed movies\u00a0 Shades of Day<\/span><\/i><\/a><\/strong> & Notes From the New World<\/span><\/i><\/a><\/strong>)\u00a0 – a re-envisioning of Dostoyevsky’s classic novel <\/a>transported to LA during the riots of 1992. C&P, LA<\/strong><\/em> -currently in the active development- was selected, as the winner, for the European Co-Production Matchmaking Program at SXSW –https:\/\/bit.ly\/324e5kD<\/a><\/p>\n

*****<\/p>\n

Want to know about VM Productions<\/a>‘ Dostoyevsky-Los Angeles Project<\/em> and about the films we make? Want to participate in our projects? Sign up to get tickets to the premiere of our movie (currently in post production), Dostoyevsky Reimagined-BTS<\/em> and grab our\u00a0 FREE e-books !<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n
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References:
\nRau,\u00a0Santha Rama., Remembering E. M. Forster \u00a0Grand Street\u00a0<\/cite>Vol. 5, No. 4 (Summer, 1986), pp. 99-119Published by:\u00a0Ben Sonnenberghttp jstor.org<\/p>\n

Kaye, Peter., Dostoevsky and English Modernism 1900-1930. Cambridge University Press, May 6, 1999. Print<\/p>\n

Stape, J.H., E.M Forster Interviews and Recollections. London: St. Martin’s Press, 1993. Print<\/p>\n

Moffat, Wendy., A Great Unrecorded History. New York: D&M Publishers Inc, 2010. Print<\/p>\n

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Davidson, Pamela.,The Validation of the Writer\u2019s Prophetic Status in the Russian Literary Tradition: From Pushkin and Iazykov through Gogol\u00a0to Dostoevsky, The Russian Review 62 (October 2003): 508\u201336 Copyright 2003 The Russian Review<\/p>\n

Available at:\u00a0http:\/\/webcache.googleusercontent.com\/search?q=cache:ZvGVJ_Q7D2AJ:discovery.ucl.ac.uk\/12920\/1\/12920.pdf+&cd=1&hl=en&ct=clnk&gl=us<\/p>\n

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Dolan, Ashley., The Influence of Fyodor Dostoevsky on E.M Forster and Virginia Woolf<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

Available at:https:\/\/mospace.umsystem.edu\/xmlui\/bitstream\/handle\/10355\/11167\/research.pdf?sequence=3<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

 <\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Hello again dear readers and welcome back to the Dostoyevsky-BTS website! As always I issue a sincere and warm welcome to those who visit for the first time. Previously I discussed the extraordinary impact Russian literature, and particularly Dostoyevsky had on the literary perspective of Virginia Woolf. Her passion is shared by her contemporary E.M […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":25,"featured_media":991376,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"om_disable_all_campaigns":false,"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"_uf_show_specific_survey":0,"_uf_disable_surveys":false},"categories":[61,1],"tags":[4,269,151,154,18,266,289,276,277,270,6],"aioseo_notices":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/dostoevsky-bts.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/986202"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/dostoevsky-bts.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/dostoevsky-bts.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dostoevsky-bts.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/25"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dostoevsky-bts.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=986202"}],"version-history":[{"count":111,"href":"https:\/\/dostoevsky-bts.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/986202\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":991306,"href":"https:\/\/dostoevsky-bts.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/986202\/revisions\/991306"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dostoevsky-bts.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/991376"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/dostoevsky-bts.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=986202"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dostoevsky-bts.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=986202"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dostoevsky-bts.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=986202"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}