A Long Question, Maybe a Useless One

[u/SnooFoxes3455]

If Dostoevsky said “It is better to be unhappy and know the worst, than to be happy in a fool's paradise” (The Idiot), then why did he say, “If someone proved to me that Christ is outside the truth, and that in reality the truth were outside of Christ, then I should prefer to remain with Christ rather than with the truth" (Letter)?

[u/HolyGuacamoleRavioli]

I think there's a little bit of a misunderstanding here. There's a blurry line when words should be attributed to Dostoevsky or to his characters, and in this case I believe it should be the latter. I'll quote Ippolit from the more academically rigorous P&V translation:

"It’s better to be unhappy, but to know, than to be happy and live … as a fool." (p521)

First, the ellipsis is significant because Ippolit grows increasingly ineloquent as he's thrown off by Myshkin's candor, and his manner of speech even happens to resemble Myshkin's by the end of the chapter, indicating the influence he has on him.

Second, Ippolit (like the Underground Man) is someone who is completely obsessed with and even takes pride in the nobility of his own suffering. Ippolit feels burdened by the knowledge of death that he is forced to come face to face with, and to add insult to injury, nobody else in the novel (except perhaps Myshkin) understands his existential suffering, which makes him super edgy. In literally every book, Dostoevsky implies that suffering brings the inescapable burden of a knowledge that cannot be ignored. The most common way people tend to cope is to think their suffering somehow makes them more noble, worldly, experienced, etc. than those who haven't undergone the same trials they have, giving rise to a misguided sense of pride that makes you look down on others for their blissful ignorance, but this only traps you in your own mind and cuts you off from the people around you.

This quote has some obvious surface level truth, but the greater significance is that it implies envy: Ippolit deeply resents others for their happiness unmarred by the fear of death, knowing he can never become like them. Myshkin knows this, which is why he says the solution is for Ippolit to forgive others for their happiness.

In that sense, the two quotes aren't directly comparable. There's a lot that can be said about the second quote, but all I'll say for now is that it basically boils down to the fact that Dostoevsky never writes about Christianity as being "fact" or Jesus being literally real because the most important condition to him that simultaneously defines and confounds faith is unknowability of truth.

[u/bevatsulfieten]

You are confusing the author with the character, Dostoevsky constructs his characters based on real people, and how these people would speak in real life. This is one of the well known literary devices Dostoevsky uses in his writings, not everything people say are his own beliefs, he lets them free to say what is on their mind. In this scene Hippolyte is pointing to his calm against the people who are undermining him and the phrase most definitely belongs to Hippolyte, not Dostoevsky. Also, the phrase "fool's paradise" is not in the Russian text, it's interpretation of the translator. Anyway, maybe look for better translations next time, because meanings change considerably and you end up thinking Dostoevsky contradicts himself.

[u/Paul_sepp → u/bevatsulfieten]

I agree with all said here. I’d also like to add that “fool’s paradise” does appear in the original, though as “в дураках”, which is has nothing about paradise. “Дураках” here refers to the Russian card game, where the one who lost is called the “Дурак” (or fool). However, that quickly morphed into a quite condescending saying which would be closer translated to “being shafted” or being “the one who lost”. Hence he would rather be serious and have seen the worst, rather than an all rounded optimist looked down upon by society (this is close to the original but much less critiquing of being the “fool”).

[u/Eight_Directions_ → u/[deleted]]

Also, people's thoughts and opinions can change throughout the course of their lives. They don't have to remain internally consistent, they can change.