THE RITUAL PARADIGM OF SELF‑SACRIFICE IN F. M. DOSTOYEVSKY’S STORY “THE DREAM OF A RIDICULOUS MAN“

This paper deals with the story “The Dream of a Ridiculous Man“ by F. M. Dostoyevsky, with special emphasis on the analysis of the ritual paradigm of self‑sacrifice. The aim of the paper is to show the altered character of the rite of sacrifice in the story, which was achieved with a motif of the suicidal dream. After committing suicide in his dream, the main character dreams about a paradise planet; however, his attitude towards the afterlife can only be partially subsumed under the redemptive sacrifice of Jesus Christ in terms of a complete personal change and his understanding of life upon awakening. Achieving paradise on Earth, the task to which Dostoyevsky’s hero devotes himself, remains difficult and almost impossible to accomplish, which makes the Russian writer’s story ambiguous till the end.Publishe