“Beauty will save the world” (Dostoevsky, The Idiot). What do you think it means?

[han401]

I was always curious about this quote and what it may mean. I would love to see what everyone thinks.

Also, if you have the time please check out my blog under contact in my profile! It is a blog on literary criticism and I would love to have more literary minds comment on it. :)

[cacian]

Hi han401

Dostoevsky, The Idiot
When I first saw the the title I thought to myself how offputing.
I tend to ignore titles and anything slightly insulting in books and stories so I won't bother going there.
But since this about the quote, then I had to look it up as I have never heard of Dostevsky.

The quote reminds me of a Frecnh quote

Il faut souffrir pour etre belle
which means one has to suffer to maintain beauty.

I think the quote is an irony or a sarcasm on thinking that everything is as straight forward and as great just because things around it are beautifull.
Hence the word Idiot.
It propably highlights the naively that one can think that beautifull things and beatifull people everything have a better deal in life then those who are not.
beauty and attractive does not mean happiness is I think what the quote is trying to dequote.

[han401]

Thank you for your response, that seems plausible. I never read the book, but I always liked this quote for some reason. The only novel I read by Dostoevsky was "Crime and Punishment," which was beautiful and haunting at the same time. Thank you again for your response.

[samanimz]

I have read a few works of Dostoyevsky, but because I have not read The Idiot I may be off the mark. To me, however, I think he means beauty in a much more ambiguous terms. I feel that ambiguity itself is what is its strength. Most of the writings I have read of his are focused on life in prison camps, which usually leads to a more bleak tone. But he does give moments and revelations about the smallest of pleasures meaning volumes in such a dark place.

So with this quote, I think he is touching on those arresting moments in life that genuinely silence your mind for a fleeting moment of peace. I believe he means it is that beauty in life which gives us our will to live and to thrive under any circumstances. It is that aspect of the human experience that is the everlasting silver lining.

[Judy499]

I agree that the word "beauty" here is meant in a more classical/religious sense; and that (as samanimz points out) it is consistent with the strength required to survive a Dostoyevsky prison camp. Hence, if all insincere social interaction would fall away, beauty is that which remains and is truly sustaining.

[amanda62]

"I agree that the word "beauty" here is meant in a more classical/religious sense; and that (as samanimz points out) it is consistent with the strength required to survive a Dostoyevsky prison camp. Hence, if all insincere social interaction would fall away, beauty is that which remains and is truly sustaining."

I really agree with this statement.
On another note, the world is governed more by beauty and perceptions than anything else, despite advancements in society this has been and probably always will be true.

[Atomic]

This often qidely known but often misunderstood quote is in relation to one of the novel's chief characters, Nastassya Filippovna.

"So, you appreciate that kind of beauty?" she asks the prince.

"Yes. That kind—" the prince replies with an effort.

"Why?" she asks.

"In that face—there is much suffering," he says, as though involuntarily, as though he is talking to himself.

"Beauty like that is strength," one of the other women in the room angrily declares. "One could turn the world upside down with beauty like that."

After losing her family in a fire, Natassya was seduced by a guardian, who kept her as a concubine. She is then driven near mad by hatred of herself and a desperation for control; yet Myshkin sees this as beauty, because unlike many other characters in the novel, Natassya has a derranged truthfulness about her. Beauty is thus portrayed as both a destructive and redemptive force, but ultimately, as those who have read the novel in its entiriety know, beauty alone cretainly does not change the world - at least not for the characters in this novel, and not for any greater good...

[nancybella]

Well, the beauty that saves the world is certainly not the blasted beauty that was responsible for launching a thousand ships :-D

[GMK]

I have read The Idiot a few months back, and I still have it in my kindle. According to my kindle the words "beauty will save the world" never occur in that order. Anyway I am fairly certain by beauty it is not physical beauty that is referred to, there are many types of beauty in the novel but the only kind that can save or redeem anyone is religious beauty- faith and kindness. The only type of person who could have 'saved the world' would be a 'beautiful' person like the idiot prince himself. I think.

[Ad Astra]

I read The Idiot many years ago, and sadly I have not read it since. What "Beauty will save the world," means, to me, is simply this: a true work of art can make even the most vile creatures surrender to its beauty, its essence, its form. Many of you mentioned Dostoevsky and the prison camps. What allowed him to endure was the thought of composing art so beautiful that it essentially saved him. This is what art does to us - It saves us, gives us hope. It is the artist's job not to point out the symptoms, but to provide a way to endure the disease - in Dostoevsky's case, the absurdity of existence. Beauty (art) gives us refuge from the absurd. Beauty saves us, it gives us a reason to live.

[russellb]

As far as i can remember a character says "the idiot says,'beauty will redeem the world.'" So perhaps we cannot be sure the idiot has actually said it but i would say it is intended as a mockery of the idiot's apparent niavety. It is a great line though and it is used by a Russian mafia boss in the BBC drama 'Spooks.'

[hellsapoppin]

Beauty Will Save the World by Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn

http://www.mro.org/mr/archive/24-2/articles/beauty.html



"perhaps art, literature, can in actual fact help the world of today."

[jayat]

Maybe it's ironical...It looks to me as if only an "idiot" can think that the beauty will save the world. If you think about beauty as a metaphor for literature and arts in general we must take into account that reading books is not a very common activity among us the mortals. I prefer Bertrand Russell's quote when he says that the only thing that will redeem the mankind will be the cooperation. Anyway...I think it's an irony.

[cafolini]

Maybe it's ironical...It looks to me as if only an "idiot" can think that the beauty will save the world. If you think about beauty as a metaphor for literature and arts in general we must take into account that reading books is not a very common activity among us the mortals. I prefer Bertrand Russell's quote when he says that the only thing that will redeem the mankind will be the cooperation. Anyway...I think it's an irony.

Beauty is a castle in the air. ~ Anatole France. Beauty can be destroyed without a moment's notice. It has happened many many times. I'd have to agree with Russel on this one. That's why we need globalization of democracy. Cooperation is the only possible exit into the future. Then there will be that beauty backed by actuality. No longer an individual's or closed culture's castle in the air. We will prevail.

[hypatia_]

Hi han401

It propably highlights the naively that one can think that beautifull things and beatifull people everything have a better deal in life then those who are not.
beauty and attractive does not mean happiness is I think what the quote is trying to dequote.

I think happiness is the true essence of beauty, though. Would you agree?

[Pen Name]

Maths will save the world.

In the end everything is numbers.

And it will be a beautiful equation.

As others have said, beauty is not always someones face.

[hypatia_]

i think it's a mistake to think one thing/subject/field is more beautiful than another.

[NowInBuda]

This is an interesting thread. Unfortunately I've never read The Idiot - I've come across this quote in the past, but frankly I would never have been able to assign source or authorship. In any case, I realize that English was not the original language, so that adopting the word "beauty" to more Anglicized worldview might be a bit misleading...but regardless, the quote reminds me of the things that Keats' Grecian Urn says:

When old age shall this generation waste,
Thou shalt remain, in midst of other woe
Than ours, a friend to man, to whom thou say'st,
'Beauty is truth, truth beauty,—that is all
Ye know on earth, and all ye need to know.'

I think many some others have touched on this in this thread already, but I think that to say "Beauty will save the world" assigns to the quality of beauty a similar eternal and sublime quality as the English romantics. For Keats, beauty is immortal, so to set your mind and efforts on it would somehow supersede all other concerns. So its has a vaguely religious tone, but wholly void of deities or personalities. Humans become insignificant against it, but only by accepting this can we reach a sort of Romantic enlightenment. This, according to Keats I guess, is what keeps "beautiful" objects, people, sounds, etc. relevant and ageless.
So to say "Beauty will save the world," perhaps suggests that beauty will supersede all things that can potential condemn the world.
Interestingly, to me this quote has a bit of a pessimistic (or perhaps naïve) tone to it, in that it hints that the world indeed needs saving, which can only be done some sort of extraordinary and abstract means that many people would not pause to consider. I've no doubt that the original writer was aware of this, too, but I haven't truly seen the line in context.

[cafolini]

i think it's a mistake to think one thing/subject/field is more beautiful than another.

Of course there is beauty in general and it is an actuality. That it will save the world is a stupid romantic speculation with no basis. Neither is beauty in the eye of the beholder. I think it is far more in the eye of the ugly. I think in the eye of the ugly it is like acid.

[SentimentalSlop]

When Prince Myshkin says this, the reader has to keep in mind who he represents--he takes on the role of a Christ-like character. In theory, to a Christian, the source of all goodness and beauty is God. Behind all the suffering and pain Nastassya Filipovna endures, Prince Myshkin sees the face of Christ. Recognizing the presence of Christ in her, he realizes that this "beauty" will save her and others undergoing spiritual torment. That's what draws the Prince to her. Not in a romantic way, but there is something much deeper there.

[cacian]

I think happiness is the true essence of beauty, though. Would you agree?

hi hypatia. yes I think happiness is the essence of beauty. however happiness does not see whilst we claim to see beauty.
both must see each other if they are to complete each other but they do not.
can you see happiness when you see one?
and if so can you describe it?

about this quote there is this idea the world needs to be saved and that beauty does it.
this brings me to think sleeping beauty. that was the only time beauty was saved because of prince charming. but did beauty reciprocated the fact that she was saved. did she return the favour in the story? and the answer is no she has not.
we know the saying ''I scratch your back you scratch mine'' so in fact sleeping beauty as a story is imperfect because she owes her life to prince charming but what did she do in return for him remains unfinished.

so one has to ask this: what is the world needs to be saved from? and how would beauty even contemplate saving it?
she has been 'saved' once but she does not know the meaning of 'save' because she was asleep. one who is in distress would appreciate someone helping them and so would understand the meaning of save and so would return the favour when they can.
Beauty would not know what it means and therefore she could/would be able to fully grasp what it is to save and she remains unhelpful because of it.
and so the world can be saved from the fact that it could be saved by beauty is my thought on it. :)

[cacian]

i think it's a mistake to think one thing/subject/field is more beautiful than another.

I agree. one is not more beautiful then another because beauty knows no boundaries.

[liza]

I think Love will save the world..
The meaning of the quote by me is that: If all the people could understand the beauty of something .. the concept of beauty .. the world would be better .. It happens that people who understand beauty .. live their life in a more beautiful way .. and they are more "beautiful" people .. they will look for the beautiful of something .. So we will have less violence and wars in the world.. but I forget money .. so maybe I'm saying bull****s :) I don't know

[cafolini]

When Prince Myshkin says this, the reader has to keep in mind who he represents--he takes on the role of a Christ-like character. In theory, to a Christian, the source of all goodness and beauty is God. Behind all the suffering and pain Nastassya Filipovna endures, Prince Myshkin sees the face of Christ. Recognizing the presence of Christ in her, he realizes that this "beauty" will save her and others undergoing spiritual torment. That's what draws the Prince to her. Not in a romantic way, but there is something much deeper there.

There is definitely something much more important there. Yet, the ugly are also an actuality, and beauty does have boundaries in that sense. The sight of beauty is like acid in the eyes of the ugly.

[SentimentalSlop]

That's true, but for a Christian (which Prince Myshkin is), there are absolutes, and beauty is an absolute. No matter what one conceives to be beautiful or ugly, that doesn't mean beauty changes.

[Gladys]

I think Love will save the world..
The meaning of the quote by me is that: If all the people could understand the beauty of something .. the concept of beauty .. the world would be better .. It happens that people who understand beauty .. live their life in a more beautiful way .. and they are more "beautiful" people .. they will look for the beautiful of something ..


When Prince Myshkin says this, the reader has to keep in mind who he represents--he takes on the role of a Christ-like character. In theory, to a Christian, the source of all goodness and beauty is God. Behind all the suffering and pain Nastassya Filipovna endures, Prince Myshkin sees the face of Christ.



"So you counted the minutes while I slept, did you, Evgenie Pavlovitch?" he said, ironically. "You have not taken your eyes off me all the evening--I have noticed that much, you see! Ah, Rogojin! I've just been dreaming about him, prince," he added, frowning. "Yes, by the by," starting up, "where's the orator? Where's Lebedeff? Has he finished? What did he talk about? Is it true, prince, that you once declared that 'beauty would save the world'? Great Heaven! The prince says that beauty saves the world! And I declare that he only has such playful ideas because he's in love! Gentlemen, the prince is in love. I guessed it the moment he came in. Don't blush, prince; you make me sorry for you. What beauty saves the world? Colia told me that you are a zealous Christian; is it so? Colia says you call yourself a Christian."

The prince regarded him attentively, but said nothing.

Hippolyte addresses Evgenie Pavlovitch, the major character in the ending, and Prince Myskhin. As regards beauty saving the world, Hippolyte provides the the best interpretation in the passage above when he rightly observes, "Gentlemen, the prince is in love," and haphazardly couples this with his being a Christian, in the same paragraph.

Love for his neighbour alone drives the prince as he loves the unlovable: Nastasya Filippovna, Roghozin, Hipppolyte, Keller, Burdovsky, Lebedev, and Aglaya (who comes to a sticky end in Poland). Myshkin's love passeth all understanding , a love that cannot but see beauty in the downtrodden.