Im Banne des Poeten

This study concerns the theological interpretation of Dostoevsky’s works in the German-speaking countries, from their beginnings around 1900 to the present. Maike Schult sketches the reception of the Russian writer F. M. Dostoevsky (1821–1881) in German theological circles, from its beginnings around 1900 to the present day. She provides insight into the development of the theological interpretation over time and looks critically at the literary interpretations embedded in this criticism. At the center stands the emotional interaction between the text and its reader, which some have felt and described as prophetically “spellbinding”.