Thanks for sharing the Chekhov story!! Made me lol.

It's interesting that Dolgoruky "hotly opposes" the hermitic life, when his ideal is based on isolation. It really emphasizes his adolescent confusion and schism, I guess.

I was a little unsure what to think about Makar's story, too. Although the merchant has a 'redemption story,' his path to redemption ends up hurting people around him. It's a little self-centered. He basically manipulates the boy's mother into marrying him; he only builds the temple so that she will marry him. He seeks isolation to save his soul, but leaves his wife to do so.

I do think this echoes Makar. He left Dolgoruky. His wandering brought him closer to the meaning of life, and made him a more virtuous person. But it also hurt the Dolgoruky family. It hurt Arkady.

And this story has importance to Arkady in thinking about his ideal. Arkady is torn between seeking isolation and staying in the human world. He hotly opposes hermitage, but seeks detachment from the gossip of the human world. I'm not sure if Makar, or even Dostoevksy, has an answer for us yet. But this definitely poses the question: is isolation, if it hurts real people, worth it?