Epilepsy in Dostoievsky's life and literature

Fyodor Mihailovich Dostoievsky is considered one of the most important Russ ian authors of the nineteenth century. He suffered from epilepsy since chil dhood, which disease often was a theme in his novels. This paper describes Dostoievsky's life and examines the various epileptic protagonists appearin g in his works. Finally, the author's own epilepsy and particularly its eti ology are discussed.