Spiritual Awakening
Dostoevsky was born into a Christian family, and he was familiar with the Christian teachings from early on in his life. However, a real spiritual awakening took place in Siberia where Dostoevsky’s beliefs underwent a radical transformation during his 4 years in the prison labour camp.
After experiencing near death at the execution, he was sent to Siberia where he reflected his values and formed new visions and perspectives on life. For example, he came to believe in the power of Russian peasantry, common people and that Russia had a God-given mission to save the world. He also formulated his famous theory that suffering is necessary in the process of one’s redemption. This idea is visibly manifested in many of his works like Crime and Punishment.[1]
In the prison, he witnessed vivid cruelty and dark fallen human nature as he lived with other criminals and guards many of whom showed no mercy or compassion. His moral standard was challenged and his belief system questioned. Yet, despite the difficulties, he saw “fundamental goodness of common people”[2] and human dignity, and envisioned the brotherhood of common people in Russia.[3]
Dostoevsky’s first experience of epilepsy in Siberia contributed to this transformation as well. Although epileptic seizures were a painful tag that followed him for the rest of his life, he experienced auras and a feeling of peace right before the attack of epilepsy. This happens to Myshkin in The Idiot as well, and it can be safely assumed that Dostoevsky had spiritual epiphany during these moments.[4] His seizures, though terrible in reality, provided him with inspiration and convinced him of his theory of suffering.
Although Dostoevsky did not explicitly indicate what happened to him in Siberia that caused such a dramatic change in his ideas, there are some clues left behind. For instance, his dedication to Christ and his teachings can be traced back in his New Testament. When he went to the prison camp, he was only allowed to take his New Testament with him, and he was not allowed to write during his imprisonment. Nonetheless, he was not discouraged by the restrictions. In fact, he left 1413 marks on 527 pages out of 620 pages of the New Testament, and these marks consist of fingernail marks and page folds. These marks show that Dostoevsky read the Gospels very attentively over and over again, and he drew many ideas from the Gospels.[5] One might guess that with the hardships in the prison, the only book he can interact with became even more dear and influential to him. Not surprisingly, this period of his life left a lasting impact on him, and he treasured the Gospels until his last days and weaved the themes and parables of the New Testament into his novels.