Citation

Allan D. J. Eur. Stud. 2014; 44(2): 97-111.

Copyright

(Copyright © 2014, SAGE Publishing)

DOI

10.1177/0047244113518874

PMID

unavailable

Abstract

The engineer Kirillov, an important character in Dostoievskii's Demons, has provoked considerable critical disagreement. In a well-known section of Le Mythe de Sisyphe, Albert Camus describes him as a figure who expresses the theme of 'logical suicide' with 'the most admirable range and depth'. Other commentators have not always been so sanguine, some dismissing Kirillov as a madman in the grip of a mad theory. While dissenting from Camus's analysis in certain respects, this article offers an interpretation consistent with his basic argument. Kirillov's decision to commit suicide is based on a simple, if implacable, logic which convinces him that as long as he kills himself for the right reason, his death will be an act of redemption for all humanity. Kirillov is a wholly 'metaphysical' character - one of the earliest in modern fiction - whose ambition to become the 'man-god' is explored by Dostoievskii to its ultimate, desolate conclusion. © The Author(s) 2014.

Language: en

Keywords

suicide; Albert Camus; God; madness; redemption