‘Bobok’ by F. M. Dostoevsky and the Theme of Hell on Earth

Abstract

The article examines the image of Hell on Earth in the story “Bobok” by F. M. Dostoevsky in comparison with Dante’s “Inferno” (“Hell”), the Revelation to John, “Dead Souls” by N. V. Gogol, “The House of the Dead”, “Crime and Punishment” and other key works of world literature, in which, to some extent the problem of posthumous existence, eternity and immortality are solved to some extent. А comparative analysis highlights several motifs, symbols and themes that help to characterize Hell on Earth: sleep, noise, stench, disorder and chaos, which ultimately combine into a mad dead house, reflected in real life in specific instances — a house for the mentally ill, penal servitude, St. Petersburg and Russia in general.