The House of the Dead by Fyodor Dostoyevsky

Here’s an oldie but goodie: The House of the Dead, a novel by Fyodor Dostoyevsky, describing life in a Siberian prison. The narrator, a resident of a Siberian town, throws the reader off balance early in the novel by describing the many wonderful qualities of Siberia, the favorable climate, the fertile land, the abundant game for hunting and so forth.

The narrator becomes fascinated by one Alexander Petrovitch, sentenced to 10 years in a Siberian prison for murdering his wife, recently released from prison, and now working as a tutor in the Siberian town in which the narrator resides.  Although Alexander Petrovitch is a relatively young man, he dies not long after attaining his freedom, and the narrator finds a manuscript among the dead man's belongings.  The manuscript describes Alexander Petrovitch’s time in prison.

Through this manuscript, Dostoyevsky, a master of characterization, offers detailed descriptions of the physical appearance and behavior of the inmates and the people they have contact with, and insights into their motivation.  The prisoners are of multiple different backgrounds, including Russians, Tartars, Poles, Circassians, Old Believers, political prisoners, soldiers who have murdered their officers, tramps who have committed no particular crime, and a single Jew.  The prisoners come from different social strata, and include so-called gentlemen as well as peasants, with significant friction between these two groups.

A number of activities and opportunities serves to enrich the lives of the prisoners, including a variety of capitalist endeavors that may be undertaken to obtain spending money. Some with special skills are even allowed to work in town during the day.  Those funds can be spent on better food, better clothing, vodka, modest valet services, and gambling. There is a complicated supply chain leading to vodka being smuggled into the prison. Sampling of the smuggled item results in loss of some vodka and dilution by water at each step of the process. Those with deep pockets can even arrange a visit from prostitutes; not only must the ladies be paid, but guards must be generously bribed. Alexander Petrovitch is not tempted to partake in this exercise. He proclaims one such working girl to be the dirtiest woman he has ever seen.

The annual Christmas pageant, with elaborate plays staged by the prisoners, is often a great success. A pre-Christmas trip to an abysmal bath house sounds more like a visit to hell than a rare opportunity to achieve a state of cleanliness.  The one Jew is allowed to attend synagogue on Shabbat, accompanied by a guard; this is a government-mandated privilege. Hospitalization is a memorable experience, allowing the patient to rest and recover while dressed in particularly filthy, lice-ridden hospital gowns.

Interestingly, capital punishment is apparently rare even for the most egregious crimes, such as the murderer who has killed multiple children and the soldier who has stabbed his commanding officer to death. Flogging, in contrast, with sentences calling for hundreds or even thousands of blows, is routine. Dostoyevsky is clearly against this brutal practice.

While there is remarkable characterization, and there are interesting situations, there is little advancement of the plot. The prisoners have an existence that is largely static, and the essential status of the prisoners never changes. I initially found this troubling, but then realized that it is fitting, as we are visiting the House of the Dead. A rare exception to this static existence occurs when two prisoners attempt escape, but they are captured and promptly returned to the monotony of prison life (after a good flogging).

Alexander Petrovitch is so eloquent, so insightful in his manuscript describing the prison, and he has so many fellow inmates with whom he successfully interacts, but when he is finally released from prison, he becomes a taciturn loner with very few friends. He dies not long after his release from prison. I am reminded of the Shawshank Redemption, in which some prisoners functioned well while incarcerated, achieving a certain status and security, but once released, having lost their familiar position in the world, became depressed and sometimes committed suicide. We are not told why Alexander Petrovitch died.

The House of the Dead is written in delicious, rich, elegant 19th century language, uncommonly found in today’s novels. It provides an interesting view into life in another time in a remote part of the world. I recommend this classic work. 4 of 5 stars.