Virginia Woolf was an essayist, novelist, publisher, critique, especially famous for her novels and feminist writings. She is considered to be one of the leading figures of modernist literature of the twentieth century.
“The Russian Point of View” is Virginia Woolf’s most outstanding essay devoted to Russian literature. Within the essay, Woolf shares her point of view on three Russian writers: Chekhov, Dostoevsky, and Tolstoy.
Woolf opens her essay by foregrounding the problem of understanding Russian literature. Language is the largest and most obvious obstacle. While reading translation, we read a text that is fundamentally different from the original. The translators have to face lots of difficulties. They must be skilled enough to translate cultural aspects, humour and other delicate elements. They must know something about the country, its traditions. Woolf points out that the reader cannot blindly depend upon the work of translators. According to the Woolf's point of view, difficulties in understanding Russian literature appear not only due to the barrier of language, but because of cultural difference.
Then the author speaks about Chekhov's works. Chekhov is recognized for his originality. On the one hand, he wrote about ordinary events and the relationship of people in small towns and villages. On the other hand, Chekhov’s unusual plots attract many readers. Chekhov’s plots generally lack resolution. He wanted his works to ask the reader questions, not to provide answers. The reader have to think a lot in order to understand the main idea of these stories. The foreigner is usually not accustomed to such sort of literature.
Further, the author focuses on Fyodor Dostoevsky's works. We do not speak of an English soul or American soul; however, we do speak of a Russian soul. It became more clearly defined through the writings of Fyodor Dostoevsky. The “Russian soul” concept spread to other countries and began to affect foreign perception of the Russian people.
Generation after generation, readers keep on reading Tolstoy's works. The only way to understand why Tolstoy is still considered the greatest novelist is to read his amazing novels. “War And Peace” is one of the longest novels ever written. The book itself is huge, wide and deep that it seems to contain the entire world in all its diversity.
In comparison to other literatures, the Russian one is not just a train journey where you watch outside the window. It makes you ask yourself questions, come face to face with the unknown, it expands your view of the world. Sometimes it is difficult to understand Russian literature even for Russian people. And for the foreigners who have never lived in Russia, it is almost impossible.