Chapter 17 of The possessed is here in full — 731 sentences across 147 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
A keeper or guardian of historical records and memories.
Chapter XVII
Chapter 17 of The possessed is here in full — 731 sentences across 147 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
I HE WOULD NOT SEE ME. He had shut himself up and was writing. At my repeated knocks and appeals he answered through the door: "My friend, I have finished everything. Who can ask anything more of me?"
Chapter 17 of The possessed is here in full — 731 sentences across 147 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Reading 1/146 · 5 reading units · Lines 1–5
These definitions explain words found in the current reading and keep every example grounded in its original sentence.
Oxford-style entry order: headword, part of speech, US IPA, concise definition, contextual example, and audio.
plural of “appeal” — earnest or urgent request
From this reading “At my repeated knocks and appeals he answered through the door:”
make a request or demand for something to somebody
From this reading “Who can ask anything more of me?"”
all things; all of a situation
From this reading “"My friend, I have finished everything.”
(of materials or goods) brought to the desired final state
From this reading “"My friend, I have finished everything.”
plural of “knock” — the sound of knocking (as on a door or in an engine or bearing)
From this reading “At my repeated knocks and appeals he answered through the door:”
recurring again and again
From this reading “At my repeated knocks and appeals he answered through the door:”
move so that an opening or passage is obstructed; make shut
From this reading “He had shut himself up and was writing.”
the act of creating written works
From this reading “He had shut himself up and was writing.”
Every word in these five lines is listed here, and every one of them can be played on its own.
Dictionary details are shown only when verified; these are not licensed Oxford entries.
used to join words or parts of a sentence that go together
From this reading He had shut himself up and was writing.
past form of “answer” — react verbally
From this reading At my repeated knocks and appeals he answered through the door:
any thing at all
From this reading Who can ask anything more of me?"
plural of “appeal” — earnest or urgent request
From this reading At my repeated knocks and appeals he answered through the door:
make a request or demand for something to somebody
From this reading Who can ask anything more of me?"
in or near a particular place or position
From this reading At my repeated knocks and appeals he answered through the door:
to be able to, or to be allowed to
From this reading Who can ask anything more of me?"
a swinging or sliding barrier that will close the entrance to a room or building or vehicle
From this reading At my repeated knocks and appeals he answered through the door:
all things; all of a situation
From this reading "My friend, I have finished everything.
(of materials or goods) brought to the desired final state
From this reading "My friend, I have finished everything.
a person you know well and regard with affection and trust
From this reading "My friend, I have finished everything.
the past form of “have”, used to form the past perfect
From this reading He had shut himself up and was writing.
used with a past participle to form the perfect tenses
From this reading "My friend, I have finished everything.
a man, boy, or male animal already mentioned, as the subject
From this reading I HE WOULD NOT SEE ME.
used when the man or boy doing the action is also its object
From this reading He had shut himself up and was writing.
the person speaking or writing, as the subject of the verb
From this reading I HE WOULD NOT SEE ME.
plural of “knock” — the sound of knocking (as on a door or in an engine or bearing)
From this reading At my repeated knocks and appeals he answered through the door:
the person speaking, as the object of a verb or preposition
From this reading I HE WOULD NOT SEE ME.
(comparative of “much” used with mass nouns) a quantifier meaning greater in size or amount or extent or degree
From this reading Who can ask anything more of me?"
belonging to the person speaking
From this reading At my repeated knocks and appeals he answered through the door:
used to make a word, phrase, or sentence negative
From this reading I HE WOULD NOT SEE ME.
belonging to, or connected with, somebody or something
From this reading Who can ask anything more of me?"
recurring again and again
From this reading At my repeated knocks and appeals he answered through the door:
perceive by sight or have the power to perceive by sight
From this reading I HE WOULD NOT SEE ME.
move so that an opening or passage is obstructed; make shut
From this reading He had shut himself up and was writing.
used before a noun that is already known, already mentioned, or the only one of its kind
From this reading At my repeated knocks and appeals he answered through the door:
from one end or side of something to the other
From this reading At my repeated knocks and appeals he answered through the door:
being or moving higher in position or greater in some value; being above a former position or level
From this reading He had shut himself up and was writing.
the past form of “be” used with I, he, she, it, or a singular noun
From this reading He had shut himself up and was writing.
which person or people
From this reading Who can ask anything more of me?"
used for something imagined, polite, or habitual in the past
From this reading I HE WOULD NOT SEE ME.
the act of creating written works
From this reading He had shut himself up and was writing.
Chapter 17 of The possessed by Fyodor Dostoyevsky holds 731 sentences, grouped into 147 reading sections of at most 5 sentences. The text is the source edition, unabridged, and the chapter records which sentences cover which part of the work so that nothing is dropped. Every word can be tapped for its pronunciation and dictionary entry.
Chapter 17 holds 731 sentences of The possessed, unabridged, divided into 147 reading sections.
This page carries chapter 17 of The possessed by Fyodor Dostoyevsky exactly as it stands in the source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 731 sentences, grouped into 147 sections of at most 5 sentences so that a reader can take the chapter in steady, finishable pieces. The chapter also stores a coverage record mapping every one of its sentences to a part of the work, which is how the edition demonstrates that no line was dropped.
Work through the 147 sections in order, replaying any sentence and tapping unfamiliar words for their entries.
Each of the 147 sections in this chapter is short enough to read once, hear once, and then re-read with the vocabulary in view. Tapping a word plays it alone and opens its dictionary entry with IPA, part of speech and meaning, so the reader is never forced to guess a pronunciation from spelling. Working section by section keeps a long chapter from becoming an undifferentiated wall of text, which is the usual reason a reader abandons a work of this period.
Yes — every sentence and every individual word in chapter 17 can be played aloud in United States English.
Audio covers the whole chapter: any sentence can be played, and any single word within it can be played on its own. The voice uses United States English. For a work of this period that matters, because spelling is an unreliable guide to pronunciation for vocabulary that has fallen out of daily use, and a learner who guesses wrong tends to keep the error. Hearing the word in its own sentence, and then alone, settles it.
Common questions about reading The possessed by Fyodor Dostoyevsky on this page, its source edition and its audio.
Yes. All 16611 sentences of Project Gutenberg eBook #8117 are kept, with a record of which sentences cover which part.
Project Gutenberg eBook #8117, unabridged. The Project Gutenberg header, footer and licence are removed.
About 600 minutes of reading across 3323 sections of 5 sentences each, at an unhurried pace.
How to work through The possessed section by section, using the audio and the tap-to-define vocabulary.
Choose one of the 23 chapters of The possessed to begin.
Each section holds 5 sentences; read it once through.
Play the section aloud, then tap any unfamiliar word for its entry.
Words and structures a reader meets early in The possessed, each tappable for pronunciation and meaning.
