Thread: What does this mean (a Dostoevsky quote, I think?)

Hello everybody,

I picked up a copy of The Brothers Karamazov at a secondhand bookstore (an English translation) and there were a bunch of notes written in it in Russian. From the looks of it, it seems to be notes on the translation. Can anyone please tell me what this one means (it was highlighted and seems to be the original Russian of one of the sentences. I've only just started learning Russian so I'm at a bit of a loss): Я землю вот этими руками скрести хочу.

Thank you!

Originally Posted by Miss_Todd

Я землю вот этими руками скрести хочу.

This is expressive phrase. Literally it means "I want to scratch the ground (soil) with this my hands". The character wants to work on the field like a ploughman/plowman. He very needs it.