Did Dostoevsky and Tolstoy meet?

Dostoevsky had wanted very much to meet Tolstoy, but this meeting never took place. Dostoevsky wrote extensive reviews of Anna Karenina, and engaged Tolstoy overtly in his works. Tolstoy’s tributes to Dostoevsky are much more covert.

Why do people love Dostoevsky?

Because he deals with universal issues and questions. Because his story telling is powerful, intense, sympathetic and interesting. Because he is Russian and Russian novelists (as a rule) have a well-earned reputation for excellence. Because he is one of the best writers of all time.

Who did Dostoevsky read?

READ MORE: 5 reasons why Dostoevsky is SO great The Russian novelist was also fascinated by the writings of Charles Dickens, Victor Hugo, Honoré de Balzac, Walter Scott, William Shakespeare, Lord Byron, and Diderot. The following five books, however, were among Dostoevsky’s all-time favorites.

What is history according to Leo Tolstoy?

In Tolstoy’s view, history, like battle, is essentially the product of contingency, has no direction, and fits no pattern. The causes of historical events are infinitely varied and forever unknowable, and so historical writing, which claims to explain the past, necessarily falsifies it.

What are some character traits of Tolstoy?

Tolstoy was orphaned at any early age and he and his siblings were eventually forced to move from their childhood home, the family estate of Iasnaia Poliana, to the distant city of Kazan. For much of his youth, he felt like the biblical Joseph, yearning to return to the bosom of his family while making a life for himself elsewhere.

Why is Rousseau so important to Tolstoy?

It attests the supreme importance of Rousseau for Tolstoy. Although Tolstoy prided himself for having read “all twenty volumes” of Rousseau’s works and declared that “many of his pages are so kindred to me that it seems to me that I wrote them myself,” he singled out three works, Confessions, Émile, and Julie for their particular influence.

What did Tolstoy say about sexuality?

Tolstoy tended to blame sexuality for what was wrong with the world around him. The world would be better off—and the dangers of sex contained somewhat—if men returned to manual labor in the fields and women concentrated all their energies on what he regarded as their one and only purpose in life: motherhood.

How many books did Leo Tolstoy read?

Tolstoy came up with a list of around 50 books, but then gave up on the project. See what Tolstoy included on his list, and a few others you could find on his bookshelves. Tolstoy singled out the story of Joseph from Genesis as one that was “enormously” meaningful to him in his early years.