#now i can read in peace

fyodor is either going to receive some character development or be contrasted with dazai by the end of bungou stray dog’s story line. arguably, this has been done so already. in order to understand exactly how, the best source is none other than the brothers karamazov wherein dostoyevsky’s namesake writes “brothers, have no fear of men’s sin. love a man even in his sin, for that is the semblance of divine love and is the highest love on earth.” and “at some thoughts one stands perplexed, especially at the sight of men’s sin, and wonders whether one should use force or humble love. always decide to use humble love. if you resolve on that once for all, you may subdue the whole world.”

for fyodor, ability users are the very embodiment of the sin he seeks to purge. what he is doing by meeting them with force rather than love or a radical form of acceptance is far from what the author he was based off of suggests he should do. either this means fyodor will come to realise he is at fault and redeem himself which is in line with bsd’s overarching themes about overcoming one’s dark past and atoning for one’s mistakes, or his failure will serve a lesson for the reader.

fyodor worldview can also be contrasted against dazai’s who has come to terms with the bad that he, and by extension the people like him, are capable of committing. this couldn’t be better expressed than with dazai’s own words. after taking a bullet to his chest he says “certainly people are sinfully stupid but what is so wrong about that?” which is a line that cuts to the core of fyodor’s conflict with the world at large. his answer to this question, should he choose to grapple with it at all, is what will ultimately determine his fate.