A Magnum Opus’ Life

Goethe completed Faust a year before his death, as did Dante with his Divine Comedy and Dostoevsky with The Brothers Karamazov. This could signal many things, notable for me is that when you discover a potential universal story towards the end of one’s life where a writer has already developed their voice, their pursuit, and values, wise fruit can be brought forth. These works don’t so much as mark the end of lives but the celebration of life by their creators. If only Dostoevsky was given more time to write the sequel to Karamazov, where Alyosha was to have a great fall and redemption. Tragedy only happens to great men, and to reach the heights we much make contact with hell in order to find that we have a center. All three mark the tracking of a spiritual pilgrim, one on earth, the other in the after life, and the last inside the tripartite of the Russian soul. Alyosha reminds me of Ender in that both of these remarkable individuals seem to exude love like the sun gives off heat. Such a character is drafted upon true tragedy.

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