Impossible ‘qui pro quo’: Fedor Dostoevsky and Zinaida Gippius (the short story “Ivan Ivanovich and the Devil”)
This paper analyses the operation of the ‘qui pro quo’ principle in Zinaida Gippius's story “Ivan Ivanovich and the Devil.” Rooted in a comedic literary device based on misunderstanding and confusion, the ‘qui pro quo principle’ was identified by Rita Kleyman as a key element in the poetics of Fedor Dostoevsky's works, particularly in his novel “The Brothers Karamazov”. Scholars have frequently noted the connection between Gippius's story and Dostoevsky’s novel....
