love of comfort

“A Case of General Hypnotism” and More Problems with the Love of Comfort, via Chekhov

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A while ago I posted a reflection on “problems with the love of comfort,” as inspired by a scene in Crime in Punishment in which Razumikhin ridicules Zossimov for letting himself get slack in the desire for comforts. Chekhov’s “Gooseberries” seems to go in the same direction — though it doesn’t name the problem as love of … Read more…

“As snug as though you were dead, and yet you’re alive.”

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I’ve been reading Dostoevsky’s Crime and Punishment and — to say the least — really enjoying it. As with The Brothers Karamazov, I’m always resisting the urge to post certain brilliant passages to Facebook, to people who probably don’t share my enthusiasm and some of whom must wonder who Dostoevsky is. This is the latest in … Read more…