the masterpiece of the House of Murder in Dostoevsky, that sombre house, so long, and so high, and so huge, of Rogojin in which he kills Nastasia Philipovna. That novel and terrible beauty of a house. (Marcel Proust)
“As, in Vermeer, there is the creation of a certain soul, of a certain colour of fabrics and places, so there is in Dostoevsky creation not only of people but of their homes, and the house of the Murder in Crime and Punishment with its dvornik, is it not almost as marvellous as the masterpiece of the House of Murder in Dostoevsky, that sombre house, so long, and so high, and so huge, of Rogojin in which he kills Nastasia Philipovna (The Idiot). That novel and terrible beauty of a house, that novel beauty blended with a woman’s face, that is the unique thing which Dostoevsky has given to the world.”
Marcel Proust
'His house impressed me much; it is like a burial-ground, he seems to like it, which is, however, quite natural. Such a full life as he leads is so overflowing with absorbing interests that he has little need of assistance from his surroundings.' Hippolyte: Rogojin Dostoevsky: The Idiot, PART III, Chapter VII
Photo: At Rogozhin’s house - from “The Idiot” by Dostoevsky. Fritz Eichenberg
