The drama of human existence in Fyodor Dostoevsky‘s autobiographical novel "Notes from the House of the Dead"

This thesis analyzes the drama of human existence experienced in prison. The main source was Fyodor Dostoevsky‘s novel Notes from the Dead House (1861–1862), which was written based on his personal experience as a political prisoner (1849–1854). The work discusses the existence of depersonalized prisoners, forcing him to deny himself as a personality, to experience resignation, mismatch and the cruelty of the guards. Eventually, all of these negative experiences break through the aggressive behavior of the prisoner. Prisoners try to improve their being by psychological and religious means, thus guided by the suffering they experience. As a psychological support, the convicts were served by the satisfaction of needs according to the hierarchy of human needs established by psychologist A. Maslow. Also the perception of time spent in prison as non-existent in human life and physical work as a way to be forgotten. Prayer, reading the Holy Bible, sharing alms, mercy of doctors, perceived dignity in the image and likeness of God, celebration of religious holidays, and cultivation of conscience in preparation for repeating the mistakes of the past became religious pillars. The thesis reveals the mindset of the main character of the novel, Alexander Petrovich Gorianchikov, who gradually moves from the horrors of the first impressions of prison to the inner worldview of the prisoner. The focus shifts from materially difficult conditions to the beauty of spirituality and its value. In the face of the convict, one begins to see a personality who also longs for humanity, despite having committed a crime and suffering for it by withdrawing the sentence imposed