Dostoevsky began writing The Neighbor in the autumn of 1846. He wrote to his brother at the time: This new story will be better than Poor Folk. It is of the same kind, but my pen is guided in writing it by inspiration that springs directly from the soul. I do not suffer in writing it as I suffered in writing Prokharchin, which exhausted me all summer. When the story was published, Belinsky had become intolerant of any literature that went beyond the realm of social realism, so he could not understand anything of the beauty of this romantic story, which in reality differs greatly from Poor Folk. In fact, the story, which is very beautiful, is the first story in which Dostoevsky portrays the character of a “dreamer.” Ordynov is an educated young man, isolated from society, confined to the world of his imaginary thoughts and many dreams, and devoted to writing a history of the Church. This last trait in him connects him with the romantic young man Shidlovsky, whom Dostoevsky had been a friend of his youth. He is also a very enthusiastic young man who sometimes has epileptic fits. This is the first time Dostoevsky describes his own illness and the intense feelings he felt. Ordynov is a solitary man, his soul overflowing with repressed passions that are just waiting to burst forth from his heart. Overwhelming, here he is, taking care of his beautiful neighbor, in whose house he has rented a room and who he does not know whether she is the daughter of the man he lives with or his wife. He is an old man who seems to be a mystery, and he also has epileptic fits. The whole story takes place in an atmosphere that is more like a dream than a wakefulness... an atmosphere in which the hero can hardly distinguish between his dreams and the real world. Dostoevsky was undoubtedly influenced by Gogol in writing this story. The neighbor resembles Catherine, the heroine of “The Terrible Vengeance” (he even borrowed her name), whom her sorcerer father exploited for himself. But Dostoevsky transferred the characters of the Ukrainian atmosphere - described by Gogol - to Greater Russia in the Volga forests frequented by bandits. He is also influenced by this captivating folk storytelling style, which he knew how to imitate in a skillful and successful manner. This story has an important place among the youth works produced by Dostoevsky. Catherine is a “weak heart” just like Ordynov, and here she herself says: “Give freedom to a weak person, he himself rejects it and returns it to you.” This idea will be returned to by Dostoevsky many years later in “The Brothers Karamazov,” presenting it with more force and depth. Catherine is a captive, bewitched, corrupted by Maureen, the murderer of her parents, and she exclaims about him, saying: “He is my evil devil, I sold him my soul, so I am his… I am his right hand.” Ordynov realizes that Maureen is right when he describes her as a “weak heart.” This weak heart is subject to Maureen’s devilish will. Catherine cannot enjoy the freedom that Maureen pretends to give her. In the final act, she returns to the one who seduced her, even though she loves the young man with a strong love. This woman with a hot, ardent soul, this woman who wants to give true and free love to a man worthy of her, and yet she cannot free herself from the chains of her sin, is she not a picture of the heroine of The Idiot, Nastasya, and the heroine of The Brothers Karamazov, Grushenka? Finally, we will find this feverish, rabid passion that takes hold of Maureen, this passion that expresses the thirst for power, we will find it in the novels that Dostoevsky will write in the future. Dostoevsky is already dealing with the problem of freedom and will, in this story. Our TikTok account: / lisanarabi Our Instagram account: / lisanarabi Our Facebook account: / nlisanarabi Our Twitter account: / lisanarabi1 Voice: Nizar Taha Hajj Ahmad #Dostoevsky #The Neighbor #Arabic_Language #World_Literature #Dostoevsky #audio_books #Novels #Audio_novels #Audio_book #World_literature #Lisan_Arabi #Arabic_Language