A novel in nine letters

In October 1845, Nikolai Nekrasov planned to release a humorous anthology “Zuboskal”, to the editorial board of which, in addition to him, Dmitry Grigorovich and Fedor Dostoevsky were to enter. From the letters of Dostoevsky to brother Mikhail it follows that in October-November 1845 the writer was fascinated by the idea of ​​publishing an almanac. In the eleventh issue of the journal " Patriotic Notes " even published an announcement of his authorship of the publication of a new magazine ^[1] .

At first, Dostoevsky planned to write “Notes of a footman about his master” for the new almanac. But in a letter dated November 16, Dostoevsky tells his brother that in the first half of November he came up with the idea of ​​a “novel in nine letters.” The idea of ​​the story arose during a visit to Nikolai Nekrasov, after which, returning home, Dostoevsky wrote a "novel" half the size of a printed sheet overnight. The very next morning the writer received 125 rubles from him for notes from Nekrasov, and in the evening of the same day the work was successfully read by Turgenev. It follows from the same letter that the first issue of Zuboskal, in which it was planned to print the story, was due out before the first of December. For censorship reasons, the conceived almanac did not take place, so the publication of the story was transferred to Sovremennik ^[1] .

The choice of the form of the story was predetermined by the success of the writer Poor People , written shortly before this first novel. The debate over Poor People among the public and critics explains the writer’s desire to show the diametrically opposite artistic possibilities of the novel genre in letters with the help of a new humorous work ^[1] . The title of the story has allusions to the works of literature of the 1830-1840s: “The novel in letters” by Nikolai Nekrasov, “The novel in seven letters” by Alexander Bestuzhev-Marlinsky ^[1] . The story continues the study of the “ physiology of St. Petersburg ” as part of an attempt by the natural school to present the reader with a socially important reading ^[2] .

Censorship approved the story on December 30, 1846. It was first published in 1847 in the first issue of the journal " Contemporary " by Nikolai Nekrasov and Ivan Panayev . In the collected works for the first time I got into the second volume of the 1882 edition ^[3] .

Pyotr Ivanovich and Ivan Petrovich exchange letters among themselves, in which they agree to meet and discuss some important matter, however, the meeting never happens. Despite the formal observance of etiquette in correspondence, they mercilessly scold each other ^[4] . Pyotr Ivanovich writes that for three days he has been looking for Ivan Petrovich at balls, in theaters and with friends. Tells that they need to explain themselves and invites him to the evening. In addition, he rebukes Ivan Petrovich for recommending him to Evgeny Nikolaevich ^[4] . In response, Ivan Petrovich writes that he was at home ^[4] , arrives in the evening and the next morning to Pyotr Ivanovich, but does not find that house. Deny Evgeny Nikolaevich offers himself. Pyotr Ivanovich justifies himself by visiting his aunt, who was very ill. He reports that after that he tried to find Ivan Petrovich in his house, but found only Evgeny Nikolaevich there. He promises to wait in the evening for Ivan Petrovich with mutual acquaintances.

Ivan Petrovich writes that he waited in vain for acquaintances and writes his letter from the house of Pyotr Ivanovich, where he tried to find him. He accuses Pyotr Ivanovich of deliberately avoiding a meeting, since he took money from Ivan Petrovich without a receipt, and Ivan Petrovich was about to leave for Simbirsk . Pyotr Ivanovich is justified by the fact that his aunt died, and he was forced to become a steward at the funeral . At the same time, he notes that he did not borrow money, but under certain conditions. Ivan Petrovich writes that he waited three days after this, during which, however, he made inquiries and made sure that Pyotr Ivanovich deceived him with time, when his aunt was ill and died. Ivan Petrovich decisively accuses Pyotr Ivanovich of idle talk, deceit, theft of a letter in which the terms of their contract were mentioned, evasion of a personal meeting and slander of Yevgeny Nikolaevich. In response, Pyotr Ivanovich demands that he no longer come to him. Ivan Petrovich reports that he is leaving for Simbirsk and his legs will not be in the house of Pyotr Ivanovich.

In addition, Pyotr Ivanovich finds a letter from his wife to Yevgeny Nikolaevich, in which she invited him to her home while Pyotr Ivanovich was absent. Ivan Petrovich also finds a letter from his wife to Yevgeny Nikolaevich, in which she says goodbye and asks not to forget her. Pyotr Ivanovich writes to Ivan Petrovich that Evgeny Nikolaevich also goes to Simbirsk and offers him to fellow travelers . At the end of the story, it turns out that the man because of which, in particular, Pyotr Ivanovich and Ivan Petrovich quarreled, is the lover of the wives of both of these gentlemen ^[5] .

The main characters of the story are two gentlemen with "mirror" names - Peter Ivanovich and Ivan Petrovich ^[4] . Dostoevsky made a start from the images of Gogol's “ Litigation ” and “ Players ”: in the center of the story is the twists and turns of two cheaters, whose similarity is emphasized by the similarity of names dating back to Gogol's names Ivan Ivanovich and Ivan Nikiforovich, Kifa Mokievich and Mokiy Kifovich ^[6] .

At the end of the story, the image of a clean, deceived girl - the wife of Ivan Petrovich, Tatyana Petrovna, sharply contrasted with other characters . The final tragic image introduces a mournful note into the humorous story, thereby indicating its connection with the author’s previous works ^[2] .

Even on November 16, 1845, long before publication, Dostoevsky in a letter to his brother Mikhail describes the reaction to the story he read: “In the evening, Turgenev read my novel in our entire circle, that is, between 20 people. at least it made a splash ... Belinsky said that now he is completely confident in me, because I can take on completely different elements ... Belinsky says that I will profane myself by posting articles in Zuboskal " ^[1] .

After the publication of the story in early 1847, the opinion of Belinsky and other members of his circle changed dramatically. With disappointment, the critic wrote to Turgenev: “To my surprise, I simply did not like Dostoevsky’s correspondence of cheaters, I read it by force. This is a general impression ” ^[2] . The only printed review of the published story was the opinion of Apollo Grigoriev in “Review of Journal Phenomena”: “From the works of this school ( Gogol ), Dostoevsky’s wonderful story,“ A Roman in Nine Letters, ”draws attention” ^[2] .

Researcher of the work of Dostoevsky Kannosuke Nakamura noted that it was this small work that best indicates that Dostoevsky knew how to laugh ^[4] .

• Nakamura K. Dictionary of characters by F. M. Dostoevsky. - St. Petersburg: Hyperion, 2011 .-- 400 p. - ISBN 978-5-89332-178-4 .
• Friedlander G. M. Notes // F. M. Dostoevsky. Complete Works in thirty volumes / ed. G. M. Friedlander. - Leningrad: Nauka, 1972. - T. 1. - 520 p. - 200,000 copies.

• The first lifetime publication in the journal Sovremennik, 1847 (unopened) (inaccessible link) . Network publication “Fedor Mikhailovich Dostoevsky. Anthology of life and work. " Date of treatment July 13, 2017. Archived on October 6, 2014.
• Announcement of the magazine “Zuboscal” in the journal “Domestic Notes”, 1845 (unopened) (inaccessible link) . Network publication “Fedor Mikhailovich Dostoevsky. Anthology of life and work. " Date of treatment July 13, 2017. Archived on October 6, 2014.