37.
An Onion
In his famous story
The Brothers Karamazov,
Fyodor Dostoevsky wrote an 'onion parable'. It is in Part III, Book VII, Chapter III.
"An onion? Hang it all, you really are crazy."
The parable:
'She once pulled up an onion
in her garden,' said he, 'and gave it to a beggar woman.' And
God answered: 'You take that onion then, hold it out to her in
the lake, and let her take hold and be pulled out. And if you
can pull her out of the lake, let her come to Paradise, but if the
onion breaks, then the woman must stay where she is.' The angel
ran to the woman and held out the onion to her. 'Come,' said
he, 'catch hold and I'll pull you out.' And he began cautiously
pulling her out. He had just pulled her right out, when the other
sinners in the lake, seeing how she was being drawn out, began
catching hold of her so as to be pulled out with her. But she was a very wicked woman and she began kicking them. 'I'm to
be pulled out, not you. It's my onion, not yours.' As soon as
she said that, the onion broke. And the woman fell into the lake
and she is burning there to this day. So the angel wept and went
away.
Article on the parable
Complete chapter
Complete book
The parable in Russian
Informative video on the story