“Suffering Here is Obvious...” (“Gentle” by F. M. Dostoevsky in the Context of “Diary of a Writer” of 1876)

“Gentle” has repeatedly been the subject of a thorough analysis of many literary critics. “Fantastic story” was the center of all content of the November 1876 “Diary”. Its theme associated with other works of Dostoyevsky. The motives of the work of Dostoevsky studied from different perspectives, but it is obvious that social issues are not exhaust its content and is not dominant. The originality of the work related to the characteristics of the characters. It is their “inner world” produces motivic structure. The relevance of the article due to the need to identify the features of character as tragic heroes. The purpose of research - the study of how the dominant motif of despair tragic characters of Dostoevsky’s content and function of this motif in the general context of “Diary of a Writer” of 1876. “Diary of a Writer” of 1876 and Dostoevsky’s notes in preparatory materials for the work were involved as the main material of the study. Methods of literary history, comparative and typological analysis were used. The study shows that the motive of despair is one of the most important in the “Gentle” and the rest of the article “The Diary of a Writer” of 1876. It is involved in the formation of the plot of the story, acts as the date of its scene of action, its meanings forms the content of the story. In the “fantastic story” that motive, in addition to producing, performs structural, dynamic and semantic functions.