Suffering and Choice in "Dream of a Ridiculous Man" by

Fyodor Dostoevsky
When Albert Camus wrote The Myth of Sisyphus [1], he demonstrated the absurdity of human
existence in the indifferent universe with the ridiculous task of pushing a rock up a hill an infinite
number of times. Every time Sisyphus pushed the rock to the top of the hill, it only rolled back
down for him to do it again. This is the very fundamental idea underlying Existentialism. Much
like Sisyphus of the ancient myth, humans live a meaningless existence; nothing means
anything when all that is certain is death. It is therefore ridiculous to live without such a
realization, or otherwise with an illusion of meaning and purpose. Yet humans continue to live
and assign importance to their daily activities, even against the fact that death is inevitable.
Fyodor Dostoevsky’s short story The Dream of a Ridiculous Man accounts for the absurdity of
human existence portrayed by Albert Camus and demonstrates what it is to be really ridiculous,
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yet also suggests a solution. We humans must understand that we both have the ability to
choose the life we live, and that end results may not matter as much as we assume.
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Fyodor Dostoevsky wrote The Dream of a Ridiculous Man from a politically, socially, and
spiritually troubled 19th century Russia. Life under the Russian regime is key in Dostoevsky
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writings, and The Dream of the Ridiculous Man is no exception. The story reflects the suffering
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and alienation of the Russian society and explores the psychology of the character shaped by
the society. Dostoevsky however, provides consolation and hope at the end of the story as he
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believes there is purity and goodness at the end of suffering and despair (Bourgeois). The story
also includes elements of Dostoevsky’s philosophical school of thought, Existentialism.
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Meaning in life, absurdity, suicide, as well as confronting mortality and the anxiety of choice are
fundamental basis in The Dream of a Ridiculous Man. The story is also richly influenced with
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Orthodox Christianity. Dostoevsky references the bible, creating alternate interpretations of

Genesis, portrays the narrator as Adam, later as the Serpent, and then as Jesus, and explores
religious concepts such as the Problem of Evil and Fall of Man (Cassedy). These influences
play in to the story and at least in part explain or provide the context for the character’s
ridiculous existence, suicidal intentions, and eventually the revelation to live and do good by
choice.

The narrator of The Dream of a Ridiculous Man admits he is living an absurd existence and
finds no evidence of the contrary. He explains that “he has always been ridiculous, and he has
known it” (Dostoevsky, pg. 3), not only distinguishing himself from other humans, but also
distinguishing humanity from other species. Humans are the only living creatures aware of their
ultimate fate, and that knowledge is what makes their existence far more absurd than any other.
The narrator’s acknowledgment of this is essential in the Existentialist thought. The narrator
also reveals that earlier in his life when he was attending the university, “the more he learned,
the more he understood he was ridiculous...in the end, the sciences he studied existed only to
prove he was ridiculous” (pg. 3). The narrator does not know exactly when he became
ridiculous, but he comes to understand that he has always been ridiculous and it does not
matter when he realized it first. As the story continues, he grows ever more indifferent to life,
and finds only more evidence of the absurdity of human existence with his friends, neighbors,
and strangers.

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The conversation between the narrator’s friends that follows only reinforces the narrator’s
beliefs. They are arguing for the sake of argument, and are completely detached from the topic
they speak of. Their conversation is meaningless and their enthusiasm a pretense as they do
not understand the emotions and opinions they profess. When the narrator tells his friends that
they do not really care for their argument, they only find his remark amusing. This conversation
demonstrates the idea that nothing matters in life, and thus the only passion for doing anything
that exists is fake. The narrator realizes that, but he speaks with indifference when he attempts
to reproach his friends. The narrator also shows indifference in his apartment building. He says
there is shouting and fighting in one of his neighbor’s apartment just behind the wall, but he
shows no annoyance or concern. The narrator simply “does not care how much they shout on
the other side of the partition or how many of them there are in there: he sits up all night and
forgets them so completely that he does not hear the noise anymore” (pg. 6). An encounter with
a little girl reveals that the narrator maintains his beliefs. When the little girl asks the narrator for
his help, he reasons that the stranger he is asked to help will die nonetheless. Turning his back
on humanity, the narrator demonstrates his further indifference and ambivalence to life, his or
other. If everything in life is ridiculous then there is no reason he should help the stranger. The
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narrator essentially finds his existence ridiculous and there is no evidence of the contrary
anywhere in his life. There is only absurdity and indifference, and so the narrator decides to
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commit suicide, but he falls asleep.

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The narrator’s dream is a fundamental change in The Dream of a Ridiculous Man. It is a vision
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or a revelation that teaches the narrator of the true absurdity of human existence, and creates a
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dramatic change in the narrator’s life. He goes from committing suicide to preaching what he
believes is the truth. The dream itself not only puts the paradise that the narrator visits and his
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world in juxtaposition, but also parallels ultimate good with knowledge of good and evil. The
paradise, or the earth before the Fall of Man, is free from all that is evil and shameless; it is a
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utopia where every resident is innocent and happy. With the narrator’s presence however, the
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paradise is cursed with the same fate as Eden was on Earth. The narrator corrupts the paradise
with knowledge by introducing lies, sexual debauchery, jealousy, murder, factions, nationalism,
war, etc. (pg. 19). He brings an end to the perfect happiness and ultimate good of people of the
paradise, but at the same time he gives them humanity, knowledge, and choice. The people of
the paradise lack the ability to choose their life, and that is no life at all. What the narrator
essentially gives them is the most human thing of all, the ability to choose.

The narrator learns that knowledge and the ability to choose is far more meaningful then life
itself. The people of the paradise are merely instinctual creatures, doing good, but having no
ability to reason or choose to do good. There is no evidence that living a good life is any better
than living a bad life or an indifferent life, yet the people of the paradise are exclusive to only
that one option, one option among three. There is nothing that can be more ridiculous then to
live a good, moral life above any other when in the end the good and the bad will both meet the
same fate, and both will be exactly equal. Living a good, moral life is not a necessary element of
human existence. The knowledge that there is a choice, and the understanding that all choices
are equal is the key to any happiness. The narrator explains that the people of the paradise
“would not want to return to the paradise” (pg. 20), and then the narrator himself admits “he
loves the earth they have polluted more then the paradise” (pg. 21). Indeed, the knowledge and
the ability to choose are higher than any life in paradise. The narrator and the people of the
paradise learn that if men do good it should be because they can do good all by themselves,
because they can choose to do good by their own conscious understanding. The narrator
summarizes this truth when he wakes up; “the chief thing is to love others like yourself, that is
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 the chief thing” (pg. 22). The narrator is a changed man now, not only does he cherish life, but
he goes from attempting suicide to a life where he preaches the truth and atones his past
mistakes. He finds meaning and purpose, and there is no mention of a God or an afterlife. The
narrator learns that “he can be beautiful and happy without losing the power of living on earth”
(pg. 22), that is, he is motivated to do good purely by his own choosing, not by the promise of
eternal life or a paradise.

Dostoevsky’s The Dream of a Ridiculous Man is a short story that confirms the absurdity of
human existence and gives some thought to suicide as a viable response, but at the same time
demonstrates that happiness and meaning can be attained in this world if one understands that
one should do good by his own conscious choosing. Dostoevsky’s implications however go
beyond this. The story is also a comment on Christianity, and in particular Eden or the paradise.
The Dream of the Ridiculous Man seems to suggest that a “paradise or an afterlife will never
come to be” (pg. 22), because an eternity of unconsciously doing only good is inhuman.
Consciousness of life is higher than life, and the paradise is an automatic, robotic life deprived
of consciousness. The ability to choose indeed gives life consciousness and perhaps the short
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life on earth is worth more than an eternity in paradise, as Dostoevsky implies. In the story,
Dostoevsky also comments on the evolution of civilization. The paradise in the narrator’s vision
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seems to take on the same history as that of humanity on earth. First there is a paradise, next is
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corruption, and then mankind spends the next thousands of years learning how to be happy
again. The difference is that when mankind learns the truth, in that they will do good and be
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happy, they will have arrived at it consciously. This evolution of civilization perhaps only
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attempts to recapture the goodness and happiness of the paradise, but it also more importantly
gains consciousness in the process. Dostoevsky stresses that it is this consciousness, the
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knowledge, the ability to choose that gives any sense to life.

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In Dostoevsky's conception, humanity has not regressed from paradise, but progressed. God
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has given us the ability to do good, we have given ourselves the ability to choose to do good.
We have come from being unconscious, instinctive and mechanical automatons, to conscious
human begins with the capacity not only to be genuinely happy, but also the knowledge of the
laws of happiness. We should do good not because it may or may not be rewarded by God who
may or may not exist, but because we can do good regardless of God and an afterlife. We are
merely human beings on this earth who can only conquer the absurdity of our own existence
when we understand that our conscious mind transcends everything.

REFERENCES

Bourgeois, Patrick, Lyall. “Dostoevsky and Existentialism.“ Journal of Thought (1980): 29-38.
Philosopher's Index. EBSCO. Web. 5 May 2010.

Cassedy, Steven. “Dostoevsky's Religion.” Studies in East European Thought (2007): 163-165.
Philosopher's Index. EBSCO. Web.

Dostoevsky, Fyodor. The Dream of a Ridiculous Man. Feedbooks. Published: 1877. PDF File.

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