Loving, or an idiot?

Hey all... When I finally thought I might be close to being consistent, I realized I haven't posted for about five weeks haha. Summer just seems to be flying by... Before long, I'll be back in LA, continuing with academic goodness... Madness!

Anyways, during the expanse of summer, I've read through a few books here and there. Being a fan of Dostoevsky, I happened to read a few of his stories. The one that struck me the most was a novel called The Idiot. The title struck me as something different, and I was quite curious to see what the book was all about. Well, the protagonist of the novel is a man named Lev Nikolayevich Myshkin. Yet, due to his family lineage, Myshkin is a prince, and thus is typically addressed as Prince Myshkin.

Anyways, in a very brief summary of Myshkin's character, he's quite different than the rest of society. Myshkin suffers from epilepsy, which caused him to be pulled out of a normal education as a child and to be raised in the countryside without "proper schooling". Considering that this novel is set in 19th century Russia, there's some prejudice against him not only for a lack of education, but also for his disease. Thus, most people that don't know Myshkin personally (or those that don't like him) tend to reference as "the idiot" (hence the title! Partially at least...). Yet, this doesn't really do his character justice, for Myshkin is also a very loving person. He tends to be willing to help those that are in need, is very friendly with children, etc etc. But, his character may be better explained with a direct story reference... (If you want to avoid being spoiled, please refrain from reading any farther!)

Without giving too much of the story away, Myshkin comes to acquire a moderate sum of money. It doesn't make him filthy rich, yet it does make him more acceptable to higher parts of society. But, since the sum was received from someone who passed away, many debt collectors go after Myshkin to collect dues. Myshkin ends up paying a large amount of these debt collectors, even though they have no physical evidence that some debt it owed. In fact, many collectors come to know of this, and many come to Myshkin to collect, even if nothing is owed to them, essentially taking advantage of Myshkin. Even though Myshkin's friends warn him of what's happening, he still intends to pay the collectors, even if it's just to make up for some wrong that may have happened earlier in their lives. Hence, this is another reason for why Myshkin is referred to as an idiot. Yet, in a way, it shows how loving Myshkin is toward others. As further evidence (without saying too much), Myshkin offers to marry someone he doesn't love (romantically in this case; Myshkin pities her a great deal, which may be seen as love, yet not the same kind exactly) if it would simply be a form of recompense for the woman's harsh past.

Hm... I think the second example tends to show Myshkin's loving character better, but the first is hugely important as well, for it raises the question of what love truly is. Essentially, through his love, Myshkin is getting taken advantage of. Myshkin is receiving a negative outcome and giving a positive outcome to others. This would not necessarily be a bad thing, since it is a thing of sacrifice, which can be an important quality of love, yet it depends on what it's for I would think... For example, giving your life to save a child could fit the previous description, yet also giving money to those in need who may use the money for negative purposes (however we may describe that... Hopefully you get the idea) would fit the bill. It seems both acts could be reinforcing to the recipients... Yet, if you're reinforcing a negative act (such as in the second case), would it really be an act of love?

At this point, we would have to define what love is... Of course, this is one of the bigger problems, due to how many definitions the word tends to have. Let's assume that love is desiring the best for another. Of course, this definition also runs into a number of problems, for how do you determine what is best? At here, I think this is where love becomes horribly confusing... You see, one person may view Myshkin's first act as loving, due to how he's helping others. Yet, I find it questionable, for he seems to be reinforcing negative behavior. By giving his money to those that he doesn't owe, he may be encouraging them to collect on others in a similar way. Of course, one may argue that collectors already do that, etc. etc. But, it can still help to reinforce their behavior. Also, if this example is generalized to other acts, then it could be more questionable for behavior that's not as routine (such as calling on a friend to drive you at three in the morning simply because you know they can't say no). Thus, even if you're doing a kind thing for them, is it truly loving? It's a big question that may not have a clear answer, but it's definitely something to think about...

Interestingly enough, most of the people in The Idiot that originally were against him become friends with him. Many of the people closest to Myshkin in the end are those that were against him in the beginning parts of the story. Yet, once they witness his kindness and love, they start to recognize he's more than an idiot, and thus they become affectionate to him. Thus, his love and kindness does seem to have a profound effect on others, even if he is taken advantage of at some points. It's really an interesting predicament, for it seems there can be both positive and negatives in the varying situations... Maybe there's some way to distinguish when it would be more or less loving, but I don't think there's some over-arching guide that would be able to answer the question so easily haha. And just for clarification, the title is meant to be a false dichotomy (meaning that it doesn't have to be an either/or thing, as witnessed by Myshkin's acts of love, even though he's labelled as an idiot). Also, to make the matter of love more pressing, Myskin is a Christ-like figure. Not only is this noted by him being referenced as a prince (like Prince of Peace, among other names of Christ) and his religious devotion, but also his many acts of selfless love, only a few of which I mentioned.

Anyways, love is definitely a very interesting concept (not to mention one of the most important commands Christ gives), yet something that doesn't exactly seem the easiest to define... Please don't get me wrong; I don't want to encourage people not to help others at all, but simply to become aware of what is happening. It's an interesting problem, but not exactly something that should be avoided. Hm... I'll probably return to the issue of "love" in some other post since there's so much to say about it... But for now, my thoughts are dwindling, thus probably meaning it's a good time to call it a night. So yes yes, I hope you have enjoyed this post, and, at the very least, I hope I have given you some food for thought...