Two gentle spirits: a man and his wife

[Gladys]

Are the man and wife in A gentle Spirit unnamed? The alienation between these nameless, wounded souls is poignant and points to communication breakdown so common in even the closest of our relationships. Good intentions in life often count for little.

This mature novella from Dostoevsky with its desperately sad ending is a wonderful read.

[Theunderground]

This is a very sad story. Sometimes Fyodors realism annoys me. I just want one good ending mister! But he captures the selfishness, lack ofcommuncation,isolation and naivety of people extremely well.
Just goes to show you without REAL love this world is nowt.
The greek for love in the new testament 'agape' supposedly means affection and respect.(as opposed to mushy western over sentimentality.) The Gospel of thomas says love and guard your brother (or sister or partner,etc) like your own eye. How true thomas is.