How to Translate Dostoevsky from French into French? “L’homme de la nature et de la vérité” and “animaux domestiques” in Notes from Underground

The article deals with the use of French expressions in the text of F. Dostoevsky’s Notes from Underground . On the one hand, various semantic nuances of bilingualism and associations with some cultural contexts are revealed. On the other hand, translations and explanations of these expressions given by translators of the novella are analyzed. While “l’homme de lа nature et de la vérité” is a citation which shows that it is impossible to render “French character” into Russian culture, “aux animaux domestiques” carries this idea to the point of absurdity.