The Idiot – Dostoievski

1. Summary
Having left Switzerland, Prince Lev Nikolayevich Myshkin returns to St. Petersburg.
The man is twenty-six years old, the last member of a noble family, for he was orphaned early
in childhood. Suffering from severe nervous disease, he was sent by his guardian, Pavlishchev,
to the Swiss resort. After four years, he returns home. He encounters Parphen Rogozhin on his
way. The acquaintance mentions Nastasya Filipovna’s name, mistress of a wealthy aristocrat
Totskii, and the woman is in love with.
Upon arrival he pays a visit to General Yepanchin, whose wife is his distant relative.
The family has three daughters: the elder Alexander, Adelaide and younger, the overall favorite
and pretty, Aglaia. Prince affects everyone with his spontaneity, credulity, frankness and
naiveté, so extraordinary that at first he is taken very cautiously, but with great curiosity and
sympathy. Here he meets an extremely proud Secretary of the General, and sees the portrait of
Nastasya Filipovna. Her proud beauty and hidden suffering affect him deeply.
Soon some details are clarified: Totskiy, trying to get rid of Nastasya and hatching plans
to marry one of the Yepanchin’s daughters, wants Gan Ivolgin to marry her and promises him
seventy-five thousand as dowry. Gan wants this money. With its help, he can become a part of
high society. But he would prefer to marry Aglaia. He is waiting for her final word. The prince
becomes the unwitting intermediary between Aglaia and Gan.
Meanwhile Lev is offered to live in the Yepanchins’ apartment. Hardly he has granted
his room and got acquainted with all the inhabitants of the apartment as two unexpected events
occur. Nastasya visits the house to invite Gan and others to her evening. She amuses herself by
devouring general Ivolgina’s fantasies that only heat up the atmosphere. Soon there appears a
noisy company headed by Rogozhin, who puts before Nastasya Filippovna eighteen thousand.
For Gan’s sister and mother thing happening is intolerably insulting: Nastasia is a venal woman
and should not be allowed in a decent house. She is the hope for enrichment for Gan. Scandal
erupts: Gan’s perturbed sister Varvara Ardalionovna spits in his face, he's going to hit her, but
Lev suddenly stands up for her. "Oh, how you will be ashamed of this deed!" this phrase tells
everything of Myshkin’s incomparable gentleness. Nastasiay becomes enamored with him.
Conquered the beauty of Nastasiay, the prince visits her in the evening. Here bitty
society is gathered. On the sudden question of Nastasiay, whether she should marry Gan, he
responds negatively, and thus destroys Totskii’s plan. At half past eleven there appears the
former company led by Rogozhin, who puts in front of Nastasiay one hundred thousand.
Again, in the center is Lev, he confesses his love to Nastasiay, and expresses his
readiness to marry her. However, the decision was made Nastasiay rides away with Rogozhin
and throws money into a burning fireplace, offering Gan to get them out of there. Gan, from
last forces, makes himself not to rush after the outbreak of the money; he wants to leave but
falls unconscious. Nastasiay herself grabs a pack and leaves the money for Gan, a reward for
his sorrow.
Six months pass. During this time, according to rumors, Nastasiay almost ran from
under the crown, preferring Lev to Rogozhin. Then she left him as well. At the train station,
the prince feels someone's fiery glance. Prince visits Parphen in his dirty-green gloomy as a
prison house on Gorokhovaya Street. Lev is haunted with visions of a garden knife lying on
the table, he now and then takes it in his hands. Being exasperated, Rogozhin takes it away
(Nastasiay will be killed with this knife). In Rogozhin’s house, Lev sees a copy of the painting
by Hans Holbein on the wall, which depicts the Savior just taken down from the cross.
Rogozhin says he likes looking at this picture. Lev cried out in amazement that "from this
picture more faith may be lost," and Rogozhin suddenly confirmed it. The men exchanged
crosses and they are now like brothers.
Approaching his hotel, Lev notices a familiar figure at the gate and rushes after her to
the dark narrow staircase. Here he sees the same as on the station, sparkling Rogozhin’s eyes,
he holds a knife. An attack of epilepsy happens to Lev.
Three days later after the attack, Lev moves to Lebedev's dacha, where there is also a
family of Epanchins and, according to rumors, Nastasiay.The same evening he has a great
society of acquaintances, who came to visit a sick prince. Later a group of young people led by
a certain young man Burdovsky comes, allegedly Pavlishchev’s son. They are nihilists.
Lampoon has read from a newspaper about the prince, and then they demanded that he as a
noble and honest man should reward his benefactor's son. However, Gan Ivolgin, whom Lev
ordered to do this business, proved that Burdovsky is not Pavlishchev’s son. The company
retreats in embarrassment.
After another few days, Epanchins visit Lev and the grope goes for a walk. At the
station, not far from them, there appears another company and Nastasiay. She familiarly refers
to Radomski, reporting of the suicide of his uncle, who has squandered a large amount of the
breechloader. Everyone is outraged by this provocation.
At the celebration of the birth of Prince Ippolit Terentyev reads what he has written
"My necessary explanation", an amazing confession. After reading he makes a suicide attempt,
but the gun has no cap. Lev defends Ippolit, who painfully afraid of appearing ridiculous.
In the morning on a date in the park Aglaia offers Lev to become her friend. He feels
that he really loves her. Later in the same park, Lev meets Nastasiay, who stands in front of
him on her knees and asks him if he is happy with Aglaia and then disappears with Rogozhin.
It is known that she wrote letters to Aglaia to persuade her to marry Lev. Soon he is formally
announced Aglaia’s fiancé. Aglaia appoints Nastasiay a meeting and comes along with Lev.
Besides them, there is only Parphen. She strictly and unfriendly asks how Nastasiay dares to
write her a letter and even to interfere in her personal life. Offended by the tone, Nastasiay
urges Lev to stay with her and drives Parphen away. Lev immerses in the emotional turmoil.
The wedding of Lev and Nastasiay is planned. On the wedding day, on the way to the
church, she suddenly rushes to Rogozhin in a crowd, who picks her up, sits down in the crew
and goes with him away.
The next morning after her escape, Prince arrives at St. Petersburg and immediately
rushes to his rival. He is not at home, but Lev fancied that he looks at him from behind the
curtains. Lev goes to Nastasiay’s acquaintances, trying to find out something about her, several
times returns to the Rogozhin’s house. Wandering continues all day. Finally, he meets
Rogozhin, who asks to follow him. In the house, he leads the prince to the room where, in an
alcove, on the bed under the white sheet, furnished with jars of fluid, so not to let the smell of
putrefaction, lies dead Nastasiay.
 The men spend a sleepless night over the body, and when the police open the door the
next day, they find Parphen in delirium and Lev, who does not understand anything. The psyche
of Myshkin is completely destroyed.

2. Analysis
The novel "The Idiot" became the realization of old creative ideas of Dostoevsky, his
protagonist - Prince Leo Nikolayevich Myshkin, according to the author's judgment is "a truly
beautiful person", the embodiment of good and Christian morality. And it is for his
unselfishness, kindness and honesty, extraordinary philanthropy in the world of money and
hypocrisy, that Myshkin is called for an "idiot". Prince Myshkin spent most of his life in
seclusion, coming out into the light he did not know with what horrors of inhumanity and
cruelty he would have to face. Leo Nikolayevich symbolically fulfills the mission of Jesus
Christ and like him perishes loving and forgiving humanity. Just as Christ he tries to help all
the people who surround him, he tries to cure their souls with his kindness and incredible
insight.
The image of Prince Myshkin is the center of the composition of the novel, all the plot
lines and heroes are connected with it: the family of General Epanchin, the merchant Rogozhin,
Nastasya Filippovna, Gania Ivolgin. And also the center of the novel is a striking contrast
between the virtue of Leo Nikolayevich Myshkin and the habitual way of life of secular society.
Dostoevsky was able to show that even for the heroes, this contrast looks terrible, they did not
understand this boundless kindness and consequently feared it.
The novel is filled with symbols, here Prince Myshkin symbolizes Christian love,
Nastasya Filippovna - beauty. The symbolic character is possessed by the painting "The Dead
Christ", from contemplation of which, according to Prince Myshkin, one can lose faith.
As depicted in the narrative, lapses of faith and spirituality are the causes of the tragedy
that happened in the end of the novel, the significance of which is regarded in different ways.
The author focuses attention on the fact that physical and spiritual beauty will perish in a world
that puts only profit in perspective.
The writer shrewdly noticed the growth of individualism and the ideology of
"Napoleonic". Adhering to the ideas of individual freedom, he at the same time believed that
unlimited willfulness leads to inhumane deeds. Dostoevsky regarded crime as the most typical
manifestation of individualistic self-affirmation. He saw in the revolutionary movement of his
time an anarchist revolt. In his novel he created not only an image of impeccable goodness
equal to the biblical, but showed the development of the characters of all the heroes of the novel
who interacted with Myshkin for the better.