Originally Posted by Karen 6th October 2006


What happened in Samarin's mind to make him want to Balashov to castrate him?

Karen


Did he feel as though he let his cause down? I am not sure what happened here with him.

Nurseanne8


Samarin feels defeated because of his failure to complete his acts of revolution-he blames his sexual desire for women and the "feelings" he experienced during his nite with Anna. Samarin is covinced if he is castrated he can continue to complete his missions for the revolution. Personal opinion-no real proof in the book-but I think Samarin is slightly mentally ill when he makes the request of castration-when he expressed such comtempt earlier it does not compute-with the condition of sanity.

Herestoyou


Yes, women in the book had been Samarin's downfall. By castrating himself, he would lose that "desire" and therefore be able to carry out his revolutionary acts. He's been confronted with the man he has become, trying to justify his actions and I think having his conscience come to the forefront. Seeing the injured Alyosha, I believe it all hits him. He's conflicted about what he's become and figures castration may help him to keep his sanity. Is he mentally ill? Good question, I think that people that commit the kind of acts he did in the book are mental to begin with; now he's just going further down that road............

Nurseanne8


good points and in the era in the book-mental illness was not talked about -you were slammed in an institution-and during a revolution such as occurred in Russia-everyone probably was slightly "mental" as a defense mechanism to survive the horrific acts-men did to each other in the quest for a "better world". Anne r