Alexander Ostrovsky vis-a-vis Fyodor Dostoevsky: the omedy “Rich Brides” and the novel “The Idiot”
The comedy “Rich Brides” by Alexander Ostrovsky and the novel “The Idiot” by Fyodor Dostoevsky are close in staging the main plot move - the fate of a woman who sinned due to life circumstances. The main characters of both works fell victims to wealthy patrons who were going to marry them off. They have different personalities, and the heroine of “Rich Brides” Valentina Belyosova, unlike Fyodor Dostoevsky’s heroine Nastasya Barashkova, at first glance seems frivolous, but the women, being accused of immorality, transformed, as female pride and a desire to defend themselves awakened in them. Impressed by Yuriy Tsyplunov’s bitter emotional accusations, Valentina Belyosova is imbued with respect for him and even confesses her love. The characters in “Rich Brides” are melodramatic and comic with unexpected turns of events. Alexander Ostrovsky does not parody or imitate the author of the novel “The Idiot”, but the metamorphosis that occurred in the feelings and behaviour of Valentina Belyosova (partly in Yuriy Tsyplunov) testifies to the playwright’s ability to portray complex characters, which brings his talent closer to Fyodor Dostoevsky’s ability to artistically represent the dialectic of personality.