The Brothers Karamazov by Fyodor Dostoevski
"The Brothers Karamazov" is a novel by Fyodor Dostoevski, first published in the 1880s, exploring profound philosophical and moral questions through the lives of the Karamazov family in 19th-century Russia. The story centers around Fyodor Karamazov and his three sons: Dmitri, a passionate and impulsive figure; Ivan, a skeptical intellectual; and Alexey (Alyosha), a compassionate spiritual seeker. The narrative unfolds in their hometown of Skotoprigonyevski, where family dynamics become strained by issues of inheritance, love, and moral dilemmas.
As the brothers navigate their personal struggles and relationships—particularly around themes of faith, free will, and the nature of good and evil—their father Fyodor serves as a catalyst for conflict, embodying debauchery and immorality. The novel intricately weaves these individual stories with larger existential questions, particularly through the characters’ interactions with the beloved monk Zossima, whose teachings challenge their views on faith and redemption.
The narrative reaches a climax with the murder of Fyodor, leading to a trial that becomes a public spectacle, reflecting societal attitudes towards guilt and innocence. "The Brothers Karamazov" is widely regarded as a foundational text in Western literature, offering deep insights into human psychology and moral philosophy, making it a compelling read for those interested in the complexities of life, faith, and family.
The Brothers Karamazov by Fyodor Dostoevski
First published:Bratya Karamazovy, 1879–1880 (English translation, 1912)
Type of work: Novel
Type of plot: Psychological realism
Time of plot: Nineteenth century
Locale: Russia
Principal Characters
Fyodor Karamazov , a profligate businessmanDmitri , his sensual oldest sonIvan , his atheistic, intellectual sonAlexey orAlyosha , his youngest sonGrushenka , a young woman loved by Fyodor and DmitriSmerdyakov , an epileptic servant of FyodorZossima , an aged priestKaterina , betrothed to Dmitri
The Story
In the middle of the nineteenth century in Skotoprigonyevski, a town in the Russian provinces, Fyodor Karamazov fathers three sons, the eldest, Dmitri, by his first wife, and the other two, Ivan and Alexey, by his second. Fyodor, a good businessman but a scoundrel by nature, abandons the children after their mothers die. A family servant, Grigory, sees that they are placed in the care of relatives.
Dmitri grows up believing he will receive a legacy from his mother’s estate. He serves in the army, where he develops wild ways. Becoming a wastrel, he goes to his father and asks for the money that he believes is due him. Ivan, morose but not timid, goes from a gymnasium (high school) to a college in Moscow. Poverty forces him to teach and to contribute articles to periodicals, and he achieves modest fame when he publishes an article on the position of the ecclesiastical courts. Alexey, or Alyosha, the youngest son, a boy of a dreamy, retiring nature, enters a local monastery, where he becomes the pupil of a famous Orthodox Church elder, Zossima. When Alyosha asks his father’s permission to become a monk, Fyodor, to whom nothing is sacred, scoffs but gives his sanction.
When the brothers all reach manhood, their paths cross in the town of their birth. Dmitri returns to collect his legacy. Ivan, a professed atheist, returns home for financial reasons.
At a meeting of the father and sons at the monastery, Fyodor shames his sons by behaving like a fool in the presence of the revered Zossima. Dmitri, who arrives late, is accused by Fyodor of wanting the legacy money in order to entertain a local adventuress to whom he himself is attracted. Dmitri, who is betrothed at this time to Katerina, a colonel’s daughter whom he rescued from shame, rages at his father, saying that the old man is a great sinner and in no position to judge others. Zossima falls down before Dmitri, hitting his head on the floor, and his fall is believed to be a portent of an evil that will befall the oldest son. Realizing that the Karamazovs are sensualists, Zossima advises Alyosha to leave the monastery and go into the world at Zossima’s death. There is further dissension among the Karamazovs because of Ivan’s love for Katerina, the betrothed of Dmitri.
Marfa, the wife of Grigory, Fyodor’s faithful servant, gives birth to a deformed child. The night that Marfa’s deformed baby dies, Lizaveta, a girl of the town, also dies after giving birth to a son. The child, called Smerdyakov, is taken in by Grigory and Marfa and is accepted as a servant in the household of Fyodor, whom everyone in the district believes is the child’s true father.
Dmitri confesses his wild ways to Alyosha. He opens his heart to his brother and tells how he spent three thousand rubles of Katerina’s money in an orgy with Grushenka, a local woman of questionable character with whom he fell passionately in love. Desperate for the money to repay Katerina, Dmitri asks Alyosha to secure it for him from Fyodor.
Alyosha finds Fyodor and Ivan at the table, attended by the servant, Smerdyakov, who is an epileptic. Entering suddenly in search of Grushenka, Dmitri attacks his father. Alyosha goes to Katerina’s house, where he finds Katerina trying to bribe Grushenka into abandoning her interest in Dmitri. Grushenka, however, cannot be compromised. Upon his return to the monastery, Alyosha finds Zossima dying. He returns to Fyodor, to discover his father afraid of both Dmitri and Ivan. Ivan wants Dmitri to marry Grushenka so that he himself can marry Katerina. Fyodor wants to marry Grushenka. The father refuses to give Alyosha any money for Dmitri.
Spurned by Dmitri, Katerina dedicates her life to watching over him, although she feels a true love for Ivan. Ivan, seeing that Katerina is pledged to torture herself for life, nobly approves of her decision.
Later, in an inn, Ivan discloses to Alyosha that he believes in God but that he cannot accept God’s world. The young men discuss the dual nature of humankind. Ivan discloses that he hates Smerdyakov, who is caught between the wild passions of Dmitri and Fyodor and who, out of fear, works for the interests of each against the other.
The dying Zossima revives long enough to converse once more with his devoted disciples. When he dies, a miracle is expected. In the place of a miracle, however, his body rapidly decomposes, delighting certain of the monks who are anxious that the institution of the elders in the Orthodox Church be discredited. They argue that the decomposition of his body proves his teachings were false.
In his disappointment at the turn of events at the monastery, Alyosha is persuaded to visit Grushenka, who wishes to seduce him. He finds Grushenka prepared to escape the madness of the Karamazovs by running off with a former lover. The saintly Alyosha sees good in Grushenka; she, for her part, finds him an understanding soul.
Dmitri, eager to pay his debt to Katerina, makes various fruitless attempts to borrow the money. Mad with jealousy when he learns that Grushenka is not at her home, he goes to Fyodor’s house to see if she is there. He finds no Grushenka, but he seriously injures old Grigory with a pestle with which he intended to kill his father. Discovering that Grushenka fled to another man, he arms himself and goes in pursuit. He finds Grushenka with two Poles in an inn at another village. The young woman welcomes Dmitri and professes undying love for him alone. During a drunken orgy of the lovers, the police appear and charge Dmitri with the murder of his father, who was found robbed and dead in his house. Blood on Dmitri’s clothing, his possession of a large sum of money, and passionate statements he made against Fyodor are all evidence against him. Dmitri repeatedly protests his innocence, claiming that the money he spent on his latest orgy is half of Katerina’s rubles. He saved the money to ensure his future in the event that Grushenka accepts him, but the testimony of witnesses makes his case seem hopeless. He is taken into custody and placed in the town jail to await trial.
Grushenka falls sick after the arrest of Dmitri, and she and Dmitri are plagued with jealousy of each other. As the result of a strange dream, Dmitri begins to look upon himself as an innocent man destined to suffer for the crimes of humanity. Ivan and Katerina, in the meantime, work on a scheme whereby Dmitri might escape to America.
Before the trial, Ivan interviews Smerdyakov three times. The servant once told Ivan that he is able to feign an epileptic fit; such a fit is Smerdyakov’s alibi in the search for the murderer of Fyodor. The third interview ends when Smerdyakov confesses to the murder, insisting, however, that he has been the instrument of Ivan, who by certain words and actions led the servant to believe that the death of Fyodor would be a blessing for everyone in his household. Smerdyakov, depending on a guilt complex in the soul of Ivan, murders his master at a time when all the evidence will point directly to Dmitri. He believes that Ivan will protect him and provide him with a comfortable living. At the end of the third interview, he gives the stolen money to Ivan, who returns to his rooms and falls ill with fever and delirium, during which he is haunted by a realistic specter of the devil that resides in his soul. That same night, Smerdyakov hangs himself.
The Karamazov case attracts widespread attention throughout Russia, and many notables attend the trial. The prosecution builds up what seems to be a strong case against Dmitri, but the defense counsel, a city lawyer, refutes the evidence piece by piece. Doctors declare Dmitri to be abnormal; in the end, however, they cannot agree. Katerina has her revenge by revealing to the court a letter Dmitri wrote to her, in which he declares his intention of killing his father to get the money he owes her. Ivan, still in a fever, testifies that Smerdyakov confessed to the murder. Ivan gives the money to the court, but he negates his testimony when he loses control of himself and tells the court of the visits of his private devil.
Despite the defense counsel’s eloquent plea in Dmitri’s behalf, the jury returns a verdict of guilty amid a tremendous hubbub in the courtroom. Katerina is haunted by guilt because she revealed Dmitri’s letter; furthermore, she believes that she is responsible for the jealousy of the two brothers. She leaves Ivan’s bedside and goes to the hospital where Dmitri, also ill of a fever, is taken. Alyosha and Grushenka are present at their interview, when Katerina begs Dmitri for his forgiveness.
Later, Alyosha leaves Dmitri in the care of Grushenka and goes to the funeral of a schoolboy friend. Filled with pity and compassion for the sorrow of death and the misery of life, Alyosha gently admonishes the mourners, most of them schoolmates of the dead boy, to live for goodness and to love the world. He himself is preparing to go with Dmitri to Siberia, for he is ready to sacrifice his own life for innocence and truth.
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