O Idiota Dostoievski Review

And in Dostoevsky’s world (and perhaps in ours), sincerity is indistinguishable from insanity.

We are so afraid of looking foolish that we have become hollow. We have traded our souls for the armor of cynicism.

I think about Myshkin every time I see a post about "toxic positivity" or when someone says "you’re too nice." o idiota dostoievski

Because Myshkin’s compassion is a mirror. When you look at a truly good person, you don’t see their goodness; you see your own flaws. Myshkin doesn’t judge anyone—he pities them. And nothing enrages a guilty person more than unearned pity.

How do the "clever" people react to the Idiot? They lose their minds. And in Dostoevsky’s world (and perhaps in ours),

The tragedy of The Idiot is that Myshkin cannot save anyone. The world isn't broken because people are ignorant; the world is broken because people choose the lie over the truth. We prefer Rogozhin’s violent passion to Myshkin’s gentle clarity because passion is exciting and clarity is boring.

We are all trying very hard not to be idiots. I think about Myshkin every time I see

We have pathologized kindness. We tell our children, "Don’t be a pushover." We tell our friends, "They don’t deserve your empathy." We have decided that to be good is to be naive; to be moral is to be a mark.