Using masterworks of Romantic and Early Modern literature, we will explore together two archetypal themes: the conflict between Good and Evil and man’s struggle to find meaning. Goethe’s rollicking, earth-shattering play Faust, Part I (1808) will set the frame for us. Then, we will proceed through Gogol’s ironic and prophetic short story The Nose (1836), Dostoevsky’s probing novel The Brother’s Karamazov (1880), Tolstoy’s incomparable novel Anna Karenina (1878), and conclude with Chekhov’s searing play The Cherry Orchard (1903).
We will read: Goethe Faust 1–807, Faust 808–2804, Faust 2805–3834, Faust 3835–4614, Tolstoy The Nose, Anna Karenina I–II, Anna Karenina III–IV, Anna Karenina V–VI, Anna Karenina VII–VIII, Dostoevsky Brothers Karamazov I–III, Brothers Karamazov IV–VI, Brothers Karamazov VII–IX, Brothers Karamazov X–XII and Epilogue, Chekhov The Cherry Orchard I–II, and The Cherry Orchard III–IV.
