Riassunto
Riassunto di Con gli occhi dell’Occidente
A chi è rivolto
For readers who love intense novels about guilt and conscience, and anyone curious about Russian politics before 1917. Fans of spy fiction will find spies, exiles and political intrigue woven into a psychological drama.
Che cos’è questo libro
Under Western Eyes is a novel by Joseph Conrad, published in 1911. It is set in St Petersburg and in Geneva, and it asks what happens to a man who chooses his own safety over a stranger's trust. Conrad was born in a Poland ruled by the Russian empire, and his own family had suffered for resisting it. He knew the tsarist state and the revolutionaries who fought it, and he distrusted both.
The story follows Kirylo Razumov, a quiet student who wants nothing more than a medal for his essay and a decent career. One night a fellow student he hardly knows comes to his room with a terrible secret and a request for help. What Razumov does next shapes everything that follows. The tale is told by an elderly English teacher of languages in Geneva, who uses a written record that Razumov left behind. He is a careful, limited man, and he often misses what lies under the surface of the people he describes.
In this summary you get the shape of a political thriller with spies, exiles and a hunted man, but the real drama happens inside one conscience. You also get a sharp portrait of Russian autocracy and of the revolutionary world that grew in its shadow. Let us begin with Razumov himself, a young man with no family and no friends, who has built his whole future on staying out of trouble.
In questo riassunto
- 1A student with no family but ambitionFree
- 2A stranger comes to the door
- 3Razumov makes his terrible choice
- 4The police draw him into their game
- 5Geneva and the old teacher's eyes
- 6The exiles and their strange leaders
- 7A lie that grows harder to live
- 8East and West, autocracy and revolution
- 9How the story is told
Punto chiave 1 di 9
A student with no family but ambition
The novel opens in St Petersburg, in the last years of the autocracy of the tsars. Kirylo Razumov is a student of philosophy at the university. He is the son of a man he has never been able to claim, and he has no relatives, no home town and no one to turn to. Because he is alone, he has learned to rely only on his own effort. His teachers and fellow students see him as clever, serious and rather silent.
Razumov has one great hope. He is working on an essay that he believes will win a silver medal from the university. The prize would lead to a government post, and a government post would give him a quiet, respectable life. He does not want to be a rebel, and he does not want to be a hero. He wants to be left alone to build something solid out of his own work.
The world around him is far from quiet. Students fill the cafes and lodgings, arguing about freedom, the peasants and the need to strike at the state. Razumov listens but rarely joins in. Other students think of him as a good listener and a safe confidant, even though he shares little of himself. That reputation will matter more than he can guess.
The novel makes clear that Razumov is not a villain. He is a man who has been taught by his life that sentiment is a luxury. He holds a vague faith in order and in Russia as a great, patient nation that must grow slowly. He distrusts violent change because he believes it destroys the people who suffer most. Readers should keep this early picture in mind, because the novel is the story of how that quiet faith meets a test it cannot pass cleanly.
Conrad also draws the city carefully. St Petersburg is cold, snowy and watched, a place where every conversation might be reported. Razumov's room is small and orderly, and it is the one place where he feels safe. This sets up the shock of what is about to come through his door.
That’s 1 of 9 key points.
The rest of the summary, written and spoken, and the whole book: free to start.
- Nothing to pay today · Renews every year
- We email you before you pay
- Cancel online in two clicks
Who’s who
- Kirylo Razumov
- A solitary, ambitious student in St Petersburg, he finds his quiet plans threatened by Victor Haldin's trust.
- Victor Haldin
- A revolutionary student and Natalia's brother, he turns to Razumov for help after a political assassination.
- Natalia Haldin
- Victor's idealistic sister lives in Geneva, where she knows the English teacher and becomes close to Razumov.
- The English teacher
- An elderly language teacher in Geneva, he narrates Razumov's experiences and is a friend of Natalia Haldin.
- Peter Ivanovitch
- A celebrated revolutionary writer in exile, he dominates a Geneva circle that Razumov enters.
- Councillor Mikulin
- A courteous, calculating police official, he questions Razumov and draws him into the authorities' schemes.
- Sophia Antonovna
- An experienced revolutionary in the Geneva circle, she scrutinizes Razumov and other newcomers with practical suspicion.
- Tekla
- A compassionate woman associated with the Geneva exiles, she serves others and supports their revolutionary cause.
About this edition
Every format is free to start, and print and large print are at cost.
- LengthAbout 114,000 words
- Reading timeAbout 7 h 35 min
- Listening time12 h 40 min
- FormatseBook, large-print eBook, audiobook, 15-minute summary
- LanguagesEnglish and 11 other languages
Questions about Con gli occhi dell’Occidente
What is Under Western Eyes about?
It follows Razumov, a Russian student who betrays a revolutionary that trusted him, then is sent to Geneva to spy on exiles. The book studies guilt, loyalty and the pressure of lies in a world torn between autocracy and revolution.
When was Under Western Eyes written and is it a true story?
Conrad published it in 1911. It is fiction, but it draws on real Russian politics of the time, including assassinations, police informers and the exile communities in Switzerland, which Conrad studied with care.
Who is the narrator of Under Western Eyes?
The narrator is an elderly English teacher of languages living in Geneva. He did not see most events himself, so he relies on Razumov's diary and his talks with Natalia Haldin, and he often admits he cannot understand Russians fully.
What does the title Under Western Eyes mean?
It refers to the Western viewpoint of the English narrator, who judges Russian events through ideas of law and moderation. The title hints at how hard it is for outsiders to understand a country shaped by autocracy and revolution.
Is Under Western Eyes hard to read?
The plot is clear, and the tension builds steadily. Readers who enjoy psychological novels often find it worthwhile.