The Insulted and Injured

Saint Petersburg in the 1840s.
 
Young orphan writer Ivan Petrovich tries to find his place in life and, in search of housing, encounters many human tragedies and sufferings. The first serious artistic exploration of poverty, injustice, and betrayal from Dostoevsky, who... has just returned from exile.
 
In «The Insulted and Injured», the author shows us heroes who find themselves in a lamentable position and tries to find the deep reasons for such a condition. The exploration of human psychology led the classic to the thought that egoism can be not just «predatory» and cynical (as in the case of the schemer with a dark past, Prince Valkonsky), but also «sacrificial» (in the case of Natasha Ikhmenova, blinded by love) and even «suffering» (like her proud father, Nikolai Ikhmenov).