The Quarterly Journal of St. Philaret’s Institute

In this essay we investigate the link between Nastasya Filippovna in F. M. Dostoevsky’s novel “The Idiot”, on the one hand, and Our Lady in St Luke’s Gospel, on the other hand. In doing so we focus particularly on the “Magnificat” (Lk 1: 46–55). Both the novel and the gospel we interpret with the help of the feministic exegesis. Nastasya Filippovna perishes because, in her youth, she has suffered sexual abuse by a powerful and rich man, Totsky. She cannot be saved neither by her own goodness, nor by a potential savior like Prince Myshkin. It is also doubtful whether her first name “Nastasya” (anastasis – resurrection) and her family name “Barashkova” (baranek – lamb) indicate that she is the “Risen Lamb”. Yet her birthday party on the feast day of “Our Lady of the Sign” (27th November, according to the Julian Calendar) might hint at the turnover of structures of power and violence, which Our Lady praises in the “Magnificat”.