Space-time Art And Cultural Implication Of The Brothers Karamazov

Dostoyevsky,a giant of Russian literature in the 19th century,is renowned for his skillful portrayal of human psyche.His masterpiece The Brothers Karamazovdisplays multi-layer temporal system and polymeric spiritual space,which is the most distinctive feature of the temporal-spatial art in the novel,and the cultural implications contained in the art reveal the profundity and dignity of the spiritual tone of Russian culture.The temporal system of in The Brothers Karamazovconsists of three layers:first,narrative time and the story time,second,the split-second moment of the human psyche and the third,earthly time and the time of the other world.The narrative time and story time of the novel functions the temporal marks of plot developments,supporting the narrative framework and forming narrative up-and-down rhythm of suspense and climaxes,thus constituting the surface of the temporal art.The splitsecond moments of the characters' psyche constitute the middle layer of the temporal art.This layer focuses on the portrayal of characters'actions and psychological changes and the disclosure of the spiritual mores of the characters,functioning as foretelling plot developments,enlightening spiritual elevation and forging Dostoyevsky's unique style.The earthly time and the time of the other world,as the core layerof temporal art,implicate that the writer's individual consciousness feels and experiences in a double world—earthly world and the world of the other side,signifying respectively the transient and limited material reality and the infinite eternal spiritual ideals.Dostoevsky's revelation-styled way of thinking is the basis for demarcating the two types of the time and worlds.The coexistence of the time of reality and ideals can also be regarded as the "split" of the time,diverging towards both inevitability and possibilities,and more importantly,making the presentation of ideals possible.It is Dostoevsky'shigh heed to the possibilities rather the inevitability that helps gain the fantastic narrative effects—presenting the limitlessness and unfinished state of the characters' spiritual space.The unique presentation of time in plots and stories leads not only to ambiguous narrations,but also creates a limitless sense of a spiritual universe.The spiritual space formed by multitudes of images in The Brothers Karamazov,showsall kinds of spiritual mores on the one hand and implicates the idealized orientation of spiritual development,constituting a polymeric space based on the principle of the unity of freedom and love.The polymeric space consists of three spiritual categories:hellish soul,"god-man",and people in the predicament of freedom,in distinctive traits respectively,and they are all associated with highly philosophical images of "man-like god" and "god-like man".In this manner,Dostoyevsky demonstrates the diversity of spiritual worlds and incorporates his own life experiences and religious feelings while hinting at an ideal direction for spiritual development.The spiritual realms of all kinds of characters in the novel interact,influence and reflect one another,thereby forming the multi-lens focusing of characters.Scattered point of view,focal point of view and anti-perspective become the perspectives in which Dostoyevsky portrays characters,among which antiperspective is the writer's own way of expressing his subjective stance.Multi-lens focusing and triple perspective are the artistic tactics employed by the writer to show the polymeric space.In addition,the processes of the spiritual changes of the main characters in the novel are accompanied by the depiction of illusions in dreams.These illusions in the dreams are often associated with specific temporal and spatial experiences,which not only embody the different levels of the spiritual mores of the characters,reveal their mental state,but also complement the narration of the polymeric spiritual space.The temporal-spatial art of The Brothers Karamazov reflects the influence of both traditional culture and the trend of the times on Dostoyevsky.Therefore,the novel contains rich cultural implications.Among them,the writing of intergenerational relations metaphorically implies Dostoyevsky's position on the cultural relations between Western Europe and Russia and meanwhile reflects his cultural anxiety against the context of the historical transitional period of Russia:abnegation of the tendency of giving supremacy to rationality in European culture and a desire to return to the underlying foundation of national culture.The path of Father-seeking in the novel is thus a symbol of cultural roots-seeking.On the road to tracing national cultural roots,it is found that the love advocated by the Orthodox Church is both the essence of the traditional culture and the ferry boat for the soul to arrive at the other side of the world.Accordingly,to interpret the understanding of the nature of love,an ideal image is created—Zosima,who responded to the questioning of the Grand Inquisitor in a manner of revelation.Constructed in this way,the novel is not only a manifestation of the national culture but also a powerful weapon against the sweeping trend of Western European cultural invasion.It clearly shows Dostoyevsky's choice in the face of cultural anxiety:Russian culture should grow stronger and independently by inheriting traditional culture.Dostoyevsky' scultural anxiety and choice of identity are ultimately expressed in the works by reproducing real life.The notion of "life is heaven",emphatically elaborated in the novel,is to establish "sacred time and space"in the earthly world,andis in close association with proposition of "beauty can save the world",as an artistic presentation of Dostoyevsky's Utopian historical perspective.Dostoyevsky affirms the proposal of "beauty can save the world" by resorting to the notion of "life is heaven".The beauty here,has gone beyond the ostensive form,but also obtained a profound connotation of aesthetic consciousness of life.By doing so,Dostoyevsky expresses his aspirations in his deepest heart:to transcend the limited and ephemeral material reality,to search for the infinite and eternal spirit,and to construct a divine space and time imbued with the deepest and profound love.The life spirit grown from the spirit of Russian culture is presented vivid and alive in The Brothers Karamazov,which is not only the ultimate artistic purpose of the novel,but also Dostoyevsky's deepest motivation for literary creation.