Dear madam,
I am taking this liberty of writing to you in the hope of presenting a nascent thesis. Being from India, where the worship of Mother Goddess is widespread, I am deeply interested in the concept of Theotokos as represented by the the icon of Madonna with Child Jesus. Mother Goddess or Maariamman is worshipped in India in numerous names and forms: from pale white to night black, from still-lake pacific to blood-river angry. The images range the whole spectrum of justice from good to evil, creator to destructor, and above all, of grace and mercy. It is also striking to me how the Mother Goddess has the same name at the two ends of the earth. The name, Maariamman, in Tamil, one of the most ancient languages of the world spoken in the deep southern India, literally translates into Mary Mother.
I wrote the above to sketch a little autobiographical context for my interest. My primary theological interest, however, lies in the Russian Mother of God figure of Matrushka, and more specifically, in the character of Matryosha in Dostoevsky's novel 'Demons.' A sickly child of poor parents, Matroysha, is raped by Prince Stavrogin in his evil insanity or demonic possession. (The words insanity and possession, we know, are used in a 'qualified' sense by Dostoevsky in 'Demons.') But for Stavrogin, the physical rape of the child is only the beginning of a more 'demonic' project. He probes the gaping wound in her little soul to see how much further he can go. And then he is able to stand it no longer. "On her face was such despair as was unendurable to see on a child's face."
The 'demon' Stavrogin, however, repossesses himself quickly enough to persist and prod and watch the despairing dance of the child's suicide. He is even able to create a panopticon-like situation by gazing through the chinks of the tiny box in which the child is hiding and waiting till she is hanged and dead before he departs. The full pathos of the situation cannot be rendered but in Dostoevsky's own words. However, I hope, this suffices for my present purposes.
Before I go any further, I would like to beg your pardon for this detailed retelling of a minor and excruciating episode from Dostoevsky's 'Demons.' Minor though it is, in my view, it is pivotal not just for an understanding of 'Demons,' but also of Dostoevsky as a whole, and is even critical as holding a key to a fuller understanding of the Christian theology. It is not my intention to martyrize Matryosha. I see her as a simple innocent child who is shattered by gazing into the face of absolute evil. However, certain vital Dostoevskian and Christian themes come into play around the desecrated-destructed figure of Matryosha.
It is not without significance that Matryosha in her delirium keeps raving, "I have killed God." Matrushka in Russian means "Little Mother." The womb of the Madonna is held sacred by the Russian people and Orthodox Christians everywhere. A valid symbolic reading of the event, to me, is that the 'Little Mother's' womb has been violated and the God-child within her killedby the rape . Not much later, Matryosha, the 'Little Mother,' kills herself by hanging. Dostoevsky foretells the Death of God and the coming of nihilism and unbelief much before Nietzsche through the figure of Matryosha.
The little story of Matrushka brings us to the concept of matripassianism, the passion of the genetrix, of and through which Child Jesus is born, crucified, and resurrected; of and through which all of us are born, crucified, and resurrected. Another intersecting theme about Matryosha is that she is not just 'Mother,' but she is also 'Little.' This aspect of Matryosha must be seen in the light of the ultimate moral question that Dostoevsky raises: Why must children suffer?
I am not sure if If I have articulated the problematic with full clarity. However, simply put, I would like to explore the divine hope, if any, of the living child Matryosha. I do not have any readymade answers. However, I would like to explore the two overlapping themes of matripassianism and the rape and death of the child Matryosha.
I am taking this liberty of writing to you in the hope of presenting a nascent thesis. Being from India, where the worship of Mother Goddess is widespread, I am deeply interested in the concept of Theotokos as represented by the the icon of Madonna with Child Jesus. Mother Goddess or Maariamman is worshipped in India in numerous names and forms: from pale white to night black, from still-lake pacific to blood-river angry. The images range the whole spectrum of justice from good to evil, creator to destructor, and above all, of grace and mercy. It is also striking to me how the Mother Goddess has the same name at the two ends of the earth. The name, Maariamman, in Tamil, one of the most ancient languages of the world spoken in the deep southern India, literally translates into Mary Mother.
I wrote the above to sketch a little autobiographical context for my interest. My primary theological interest, however, lies in the Russian Mother of God figure of Matrushka, and more specifically, in the character of Matryosha in Dostoevsky's novel 'Demons.' A sickly child of poor parents, Matroysha, is raped by Prince Stavrogin in his evil insanity or demonic possession. (The words insanity and possession, we know, are used in a 'qualified' sense by Dostoevsky in 'Demons.') But for Stavrogin, the physical rape of the child is only the beginning of a more 'demonic' project. He probes the gaping wound in her little soul to see how much further he can go. And then he is able to stand it no longer. "On her face was such despair as was unendurable to see on a child's face."
The 'demon' Stavrogin, however, repossesses himself quickly enough to persist and prod and watch the despairing dance of the child's suicide. He is even able to create a panopticon-like situation by gazing through the chinks of the tiny box in which the child is hiding and waiting till she is hanged and dead before he departs. The full pathos of the situation cannot be rendered but in Dostoevsky's own words. However, I hope, this suffices for my present purposes.
Before I go any further, I would like to beg your pardon for this detailed retelling of a minor and excruciating episode from Dostoevsky's 'Demons.' Minor though it is, in my view, it is pivotal not just for an understanding of 'Demons,' but also of Dostoevsky as a whole, and is even critical as holding a key to a fuller understanding of the Christian theology. It is not my intention to martyrize Matryosha. I see her as a simple innocent child who is shattered by gazing into the face of absolute evil. However, certain vital Dostoevskian and Christian themes come into play around the desecrated-destructed figure of Matryosha.
It is not without significance that Matryosha in her delirium keeps raving, "I have killed God." Matrushka in Russian means "Little Mother." The womb of the Madonna is held sacred by the Russian people and Orthodox Christians everywhere. A valid symbolic reading of the event, to me, is that the 'Little Mother's' womb has been violated and the God-child within her killedby the rape . Not much later, Matryosha, the 'Little Mother,' kills herself by hanging. Dostoevsky foretells the Death of God and the coming of nihilism and unbelief much before Nietzsche through the figure of Matryosha.
The little story of Matrushka brings us to the concept of matripassianism, the passion of the genetrix, of and through which Child Jesus is born, crucified, and resurrected; of and through which all of us are born, crucified, and resurrected. Another intersecting theme about Matryosha is that she is not just 'Mother,' but she is also 'Little.' This aspect of Matryosha must be seen in the light of the ultimate moral question that Dostoevsky raises: Why must children suffer?
And if the suffering of children goes to make up the sum of suffering needed to buy truth, then I assert beforehand that the whole of truth is not worth such a price.”
This in turn brings us to the very threshold of Christian Faith.
"But Jesus, calling them together, said: Suffer children to come to me, and forbid them not: for of such is the kingdom of God."
If anyone causes one of these little ones—those who believe in me—to stumble, it would be better for them to have a large millstone hung around their neck and to be drowned in the depths of the sea."
Stavrogin's heart, as Father Tikhon saw, is mortally wounded. But what of Matrushka? What of her innocence and hope? It is hard to reconcile Dostoevsky's accusation against God to anything even the New Testament promises.
In humility to Divine Mystery, I seek to restate the question as: What of the hope and innocence of the Little Mother? What of Matripassianism? I believe that in seeking to answer this question we would have said something about the cross and its Resurrection.
I am not sure if If I have articulated the problematic with full clarity. However, simply put, I would like to explore the divine hope, if any, of the living child Matryosha. I do not have any readymade answers. However, I would like to explore the two overlapping themes of matripassianism and the rape and death of the child Matryosha.
I would deeply appreciate it if you could let me know if you discern a seed for a potential dissertation in this.
I humbly thank you for your time and patience and would be grateful for any response.
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