The Brothers Karamazov

Favourite Quotes

“And above all, above everything else - do not lie.” p. 46

“if there is no immortality of the soul, then there is no virtue, and therefore everything is permitted.” p. 86

“every decent man ought to be under the heel of some woman at least.” p. 629

“How good life is when you do something good and rightful!” p. 823

Summary

Part 1

Book One: A Nice Little Family

Chapter 1: Fyodor Pavlovich Karamazov

• Fyodor was the father. He had 3 kids
  • Dmitri/Mitya (with his first wife, Adelaida)
  • Ivan and Alexei/Alyosha (with his second wife)
• Fyodor was a middle class man, not poor but not overly rich. He died with 100k rubles in hard cash, which is a lot, but his whole life he acted as if he was poor.
• Adelaida came from a wealthy family.
• Adelaida and Fyodor disliked each other and did not have a happy marriage. She only married him as an expression of her feminine independence and to go against social conventions.
• Adelaida was known to be hot headed and would beat Fyodor. Eventually she ran away with a poor seminary student and Fyodor turned to drinking.
• Fyodor enjoyed telling the story of how his wife left him, it made him look bad but he likes the attention.
• When he found out she died, one story says that he wept like a baby, another says he ran down the street celebrating his freedom. The narrator says both may be true

Chapter 2: The First Son Sent Packing

• Fyodor was an absentee father to Dmitri and basically forgot about his existence.
• The family’s servant Grigory first took care of Dmitri, then Adelaida’s cousin Pyotr Alexandrovich took care of him, then Pyotr’s mother’s cousin in Moscow, then one of her married daughters. So basically Dmitri was going from house-to-house.
• Dmitri would spend money without reason, dropped out of school, and eventually joined the military. Led a very tumultuous life.
• Dmitri went back to his father Fyodor for money, which he received. Dmitri was under the impression that he would have a large inheritance. He later found out this is not true, and he was angry, and “lost all reason”, which led to the catastrophe that the first part of the book is about.

Chapter 3: Second Marriage, Second Children

• Fyodor’s second marriage was to the 16 year old Sofia Ivanovna, an orphan who lived with her wealthy benefactress who was cruel and old. He eloped with her.
• Fyodor would have orgies in front of her, not caring about her feelings. Sofia later developed some sickness that would sometimes make her go through hysterical fits.
• Sofia gave him 2 children, Ivan and Alexei. She died when Alexie was 4. What happened to them was the same as Mitya, i.e. Fyodor neglected them and Grigory took care of them.
• Sofia’s old benefactress came back and took the children because they were being neglected.
• The old benefactress soon died and left 1000 rubles for each child. Her heir was the provincial Marshall Yefim Petrovich. He was an honest man and kept the children’s money safe and even helped raised them.
• Ivan was very smart as a child. When he was in university he published books that became well known.
• Ivan went to live with his father and go along with him, a fact that shocked the narrator and many others. Everyone knew that this father abandoned him as a child.
• It seems that Dmitri was the one who convinced Ivan to come to their fathers house, to act as a mediator between them. Dmitri has started formal proceedings against their father.
• The next chapter is an introduction to Alyosha, whom is described as the ‘hero’. He is a novice in the monastery.

Chapter 4: The Third Son, Alyosha

• Alyosha was at the monastery because it presented him “with an ideal way out for his soul struggling from the darkness of worldly wickedness towards the light of love.” p. 19, and also out of a generous and innate love of humankind.
• Alyosha lost his mom at age 4, but has already remembered her very clearly growing up.
• Alyosha was a quiet man, but not because of social awkwardness or anything like that, rather he chose to be quiet out of some inner preoccupation, strictly personal.
• everyone loved Alyosha. He had a lovable and pure character.
• Alyosha disliked ‘talk about women’… while all the other school boys would talk about women in an inappropriate way, he would cover his ears. The other boys would tease him about it.
• Alyosha returned to his father Fyodor because he wanted to ask where his mothers grave was. Fyodor didn’t even know, but his servant Grigory did.
• Fyodor donates alot of money to the monastery after Alyosha visits his moms grave.
• Fyodor becomes very sentimental when Alyosha tells him he intends on joining the monastery.

Chapter 5: Elders

• this chapter is about the elder Zosima, an elder in the monastery that Alyosha was drawn to.
• Alyosha did not know either of his brothers well as he wasn’t raised with them. Once he did meet them, he was closer to his half brother Dmitri.
• Ivan is an Athiest
• Dmitri and his father have issues with inheritance and property accounts, which is what Ivan is helping them with.
• They all agreed to settle their disagreements in the elder Zosima’s room, which Alyosha was upset about because he thinks Fyodor and Ivan have negative intentions.

Book Two: An Inappropriate Gathering

Chapter 1: They Arrive at the Monastery

• Fyodor and Pyotr Alexandrovich (Adelaida’s cousin) arrive at the monastery
• Fyodor does several silly things and Pyotr threatens to leave him cause Fyodor is being inappropriate.
• They arrive at the elder’s room

Chapter 2: The Old Buffoon

• Alyosha and Ivan are at the Elder’s room too
• Fyodor is embarrassing himself in front of the Elder, telling a strange story.
• Pyotr is mad that Fyodor is acting disrespectful and attempts to leave, but the Elder urges him to stay. Pyotr, albeit an Athiest, thinks Fyodor is acting disgraceful in front of the venerable Elder
• The elder talks about lying: ^42f67c

Chapter 3: Women of Faith

• Various women go to see the Elder and ask for prayers or other stuff like that

Chapter 4: A Lady of Little Faith

• the Elder speaks to Madame Khokhlakov, a wealthy landowner who has brought her daughter Lise to the Elder in the past. Elder has healed Lise of her illnesses.
• the Madame admits she has religious doubt, and the Elder tells her to practice ‘active love’: ^10581d
• Lise teases Alyosha, the latter is shy in front of her. Lise says that they were childhood friends, but since Alyosha has been going to the monastery, he never visits Lise anymore. The Elder promises that he’ll send Alyosha to Lise’s house.

Chapter 5: So Be It! So Be It!

• the Elder returned to the room.
• They were discussing Ivan’s article on the separation of Church and State
• Ivan does NOT believe in the separation of church and state. He says that the church should subsume the state.
  • Pyotr argues that this will mean the pop would have absolute power
  • Ivan counters that with this system, crime will decrease because people would know that they aren’t just acting against their government, rather they are going against God, and even criminals are believers.
  • The Elder says that the only power capable of punishing crime is conscience. He says the church knows that each individual’s moral sense is the real authority, therefore the church chooses not to become involved in the state’s administration of justice
• Dmitri finally arrives to the Elder’s room.

Chapter 6: Why is Such a Man Alive!

• Dmitri says he was late because his father (Fyodor)‘s messenger gave him the wrong time
• Ivan says that morality depends on the idea of the immortality of the soul, because if people did not believe in the afterlife, there would be no reason to behave in a moral way.
• The Elder Zosima notes that even Ivan is doubtful about his own opinions and only says these things to toy with his own despair.
• Dmitri and Fyodor are arguing. Dmitri says his father is jealous because he wants Dmitri’s girl, Grushenka.
• The Elder bows in front of Dmitri before leaving the room

Chapter 7: A Seminarist-Careerist

• The Elder tells Alyosha he must leave the monastery and live life, get married, etc
• Alyosha was speaking to Rakitin. Rakitin says the Karamazov dynasty is coming to an end, for they are all sensualists who only love women and money.
• Ivan is trying to be with Dmitri’s fiancée (who he abandoned, but is consenting to Ivan having her) while Dmitri is off with his mistress Grushenka. Fyodor also wants Grushenka. She is known as a loose woman.

Chapter 8: Scandal

• the dinner at Father Superior is beginning
• Fyodor Karamazov, as he’s about to leave the property in his carriage, changes his mind and goes back in and causes a huge scene.
• Fyodor and Ivan leave in the carriage.

Book Three: The Sensualists

Chapter 1: In the Servants’ Quarters

• the chapter covers some back story on Grigory, Fyodor’s servant.
• Grigory and his wife had a son who was born with 6 fingers, so he called him a ‘dragon’. His son died after 3 months.
• One night Grigory and his wife heard someone crying in the middle of the night in their garden. Grigory went out and it was a woman named Lizaveta with her newborn baby.

Chapter 2: Stinking Lizaveta

• This chapter covers back story on Lizaveta
• Lizaveta was a slow-witted girl. When she got pregnant, everyone was shocked and said the only person vile enough to seduce her would be Fyodor Pavlovich.
• she was pregnant when Grigory found her and gave birth. She died so Grigory and his wife adopted her son. They named him Smerdyakov.

Chapter 3: The Confession of an Ardent Heart. In Verse

• Madame Khokhlakov gave Alyosha a note from Katerina (Dmitri’s abandoned fiancée)
• In the note, Katerina requests Alyosha visit her
• On the way to her house, Alyosha is intercepted by Dmitri

Chapter 4: The Confession of an Ardent Heart. In Anecdotes

• Dmitri tells the story of how he met Katerina to Alyosha
• Dmitri wanted to sleep with Katerina, so he offered to pay off her father’s remaining debts. He felt self-disgust with this action, so he gave her the money without sleeping with her.
• She later inherited money from a relative, and offered to marry Dmitri.
• When they returned to Fyodor’s town, Dmitri fell in love with Grushenka. He stole 3k rubles from Katerina in order to finance his debauchery with Grushenka

Chapter 5: The Confession of an Ardent Heart. “Heels Up”

• Dmitri asks Alyosha to tell Katerina that the engagement is off.
• He also asks Alyosha to get 3k rubles from their father in order to pay Katerina back.
• Meanwhile, Fyodor is trying to use money to seduce Grushenka.

Chapter 6: Smerdyakov

• Smerdyakov is a depressed and gloomy man who hates everyone and everything. He works as a cook in Fyodor’s house.
• Smerdyakov is considered to be responsible and honest.

Chapter 7: Disputation

• Grigory and Smerdyakov are arguing over whether it is morally acceptable to renounce one’s faith in God if doing so would save one’s life
• Smerdyakov believes it is morally right to renounce your faith to save your own life.
• Although he’s arguing with Grigory, he’s directing his attention to Ivan with the hopes Ivan will approve of his reasoning

Chapter 8: Over the Cognac

• Fyodor kicks our Grigory and Smerdyakov because he’s annoyed with their debate.
• Ivan and Alyosha start to debate about their belief in God.
• Fyodor attacks Alyosha’s late mother’s faith and her seizures. Alyosha has a seizure.
• Ivan angrily reminds Fyodor that Alyosha and himself share the same mother. Fyodor seemed to have forgotten this fact.
• Dmitri comes barging into the house screaming at Fyodor that Grushenka is hiding somewhere in here.

Chapter 9: The Sensualists

• Fyodor accuses Dmitri of stealing money. Dmitri throws his father on the ground and kicks him hard.
• Alyosha and Ivan tend to Fyodor’s wounds.

Chapter 10: The Two Together

• Alyosha visits Katerina, and finds Grushenka at her place.
• It seems the two women are friends now. Grushenka promised her that she will leave Dmitri for a former lover, so Katerina can have him back.
• Katerina tells Alyosha all of this, but then Grushenka insults her and says that she might decide to stay with Dmitri after all.
• Alyosha leaves and a maid gives him a letter from Lise (the disabled girl who laughed at Alyosha at the monastery)

Chapter 11: One More Ruined Reputation

• Alyosha goes back to the monastery because the elder Zosima is near death.
• Alyosha reads Lise’s letter, which is a confession of her love for him. She hopes to marry him one day. Alyosha laughs about it and falls asleep.

Part 2

Book Four: Strains

Chapter 1: Father Ferapont

• the elder Zosima is dying. His friends and the other monks are with him and he tells them about faith, love, etc
• Father Ferapont is Zosima’s enemy, an advocate of a harsh and ascetic form of piety that is opposite to Zosima’s doctrine of love and forgiveness.
• Zosima tells Alyosha to leave and help out his family. Alyosha agrees

Chapter 2: At His Father’s

• Alyosha returns to his father’s house. Fyodor asks how the elder is doing, but doesn’t seem to care about the answer.
• Fyodor says he intends on being a sensualist until his death, and is saving his money for that.
• Fyodor mentions that Ivan is off trying to win Dmitri’s fiancée (Katerina)
• Fyodor is saying that Ivan’s plan is to marry Katerina so Dmitri can marry Grushenka, so Fyodor doesn’t get a new wife, that way inheritance will go to Ivan instead of Fyodor’s new wife.

Chapter 3: He Gets Involved with Schoolboys

• Alyosha encounters a group of 9-12 year old boys
• on one side are 6, the other is one boy. They are throwing stones at each other
• Alyosha goes to the one boy, and he attacks Alyosha and bites his finger. He seems to really hate Alyosha but Alyosha has no idea who he is.

Chapter 4: At the Khokhlakovs’

• Alyosha arrives at Madame Khokhlakov’s house (Lise’s mother)
• Lise is there. She asks Alyosha to give back the letter, but Alyosha doesn’t have it.
• She wants the letter back because it seems that she’s embarrassed, but Alyosha tells her he wants to get married to her.
• Alyosha leaves to see Katerina, who happens to be at the house too

Chapter 5: Strain in the Drawing Room

• Alyosha enters the drawing room with Madame Khokhlakov, and Ivan and Katerina are there.
• They are all talking.
• Alyosha exposes Katerina, saying that she loves Dmitri out of strain, not in truth. Rather, she loves Ivan.
• Ivan disagrees with Alyosha. He says that Katerina never loved him, but he loves her
• Ivan leaves to go to Moscow.
• Katerina gave Alyosha 200 rubles to give to a poor man, a disgraced captain, who was abused by Dmitri a while ago.

Chapter 6: Strain in the Cottage

• Alyosha visits the captain. The boy that bit Alyosha is his son.
• The boy attacked Alyosha earlier because Alyosha is Dmitri’s brother

Chapter 7: And in the Fresh Air

• Alyosha gives the 200 rubles to the captain. He becomes very happy, but then throws the money to the ground.
• He did this because if he accepted the money, his son would never be able to admire or respect him.
• Alyosha leaves to report back to Katerina

Book Five: Pro and Contra

Chapter 1: A Betrothal

• Alyosha arrived at Madame Khokhlakov’s house to tell Katerina about what happened with the captain.
• Katerina is very sick, so Alyosha went to speak to Lise instead.
• They talked about the captain and their love for each other. They decide they want to get married.
• As Alyosha was leaving, the Madame demanded to see Lise’s letter but Alyosha refused and left.

Chapter 2: Smerdyakov with a Guitar

• Alyosha sneaks into the gazebo of Dmitri’s landlord’s house, in hopes that Dmitri will come and Alyosha can speak to him.
• Instead Smerdyakov and the landlord’s daughter arrive playing guitar and singing.
• Smerdyakov tells Alyosha that Ivan and Dmitri are at a tavern together.
• Alyosha heads over there and once he arrives, Ivan, from a window, shouts at him to come inside

Chapter 3: The Brothers Get Acquainted

• Ivan and Alyosha talk a lot
• Ivan tells Alyosha his belief on God… very interesting conversation, page 249-250
• Ivan plans on leaving to Moscow.

Chapter 4: Rebellion

• Ivan and Alyosha are still talking
• their conversation is mainly Ivan talking about good and evil, sufferings of children, etc
• this whole chapter is quite interesting
• Ivan’s argument against religion in this chapter is the strongest argument against religion in the whole book. Basically he says that NOT believing in God is more reasonable & compassionate than believing in him, due to how much suffering happens in the world, especially suffering of children, which is ‘allowed’ by God

Chapter 5: The Grand Inquisitor

• Ivan tells his poem about the Inquisitor and Christ
• long chapter, but very interesting.
• Ivan is trying to make arguments against Christ and the Church
• Alyosha leaves to go back to the monastery

Chapter 6: A Rather Obscure One for the Moment

• Ivan goes back to his father’s home and sees Smerdyakov.
• Smerdyakov is worried Dmitri will hurt Fyodor beacuse Dmitri has learned the secret signs that Fyodor and Grushenka use

Chapter 7: It’s Always Interesting to Talk with an Intelligent Man

• Ivan thinks that Smerdyakov purposefully told Dmitri the secret signs in order to put Fyodor in danger.
• Fyodor doesn’t want Ivan to leave to Moscow. Instead he wants Ivan to go to a nearby village to sell a plot of wood on Fyodor’s behalf. Ivan reluctantly agrees.
• Smerdyakov falls down the stairs and has an epileptic seizure

Book Six: The Russian Monk

Chapter 1: The Elder Zosima and His Visitors

• Alyosha visits Zosima. Instead of finding him dying on his bed, Zosima is awake and sitting in a chair surrounded by visitors.
• Zosima tells Alyosha that the reason he bowed to Dmitri was because he foresees that Dmitri will undergo a trial of pain and suffering
• Alyosha burst into tears in front of Zosima

Chapter 2: From the Life of the Hieromonk and Elder Zosima, Departed in God, Composed from His Own Words by Alexei Fyodorovich Karamazov

• This chapter is about Zosima’s life, from childhood
• His older brother was anti-religion until he became sick at age 17, where he underwent a spiritual change
• Zosima himself wasn’t too religious growing up. It wasn’t until he was a man in the military where the woman he loved married another and he challenged the man to a duel. On the morning of the duel he had a spiritual awakening and beg for forgiveness.
• Zosima is visited by a philanthropist who confesses a great crime - he killed a woman he loved and another man was arrested
• the other man died before his trial so no one ever caught the philanthropist.
• the philanthropist tells Zosima that he never felt satisfied in life, so Zosima encourages him to confess to the people. During a birthday party he confesses but no one believes him.
• Later, the philanthropist falls ill. On his deathbed he confesses to Zosima that after he told him about his crime, he almost killed Zosima, but God stopped the devil inside him. He later dies.

Chapter 3: From Talks and Homilies of the Elder Zosima

• Zosima tells Alyosha that the faith of the common people is the hope of Russia.
• Zosima talks a lot about love in this chapter.
• Zosima passes away.

Part 3

Book Seven: Alyosha

Chapter 1: The Odor of Corruption

• It is Zosima’s funeral. Alyosha is crying a lot.
• There is a strong stench coming from the body. People are saying that this is God’s curse upon Zosima and that he might not have been a saint / pure man.
• father Ferapont, the enemy of Zosima, comes to the funeral and says the same thing, that Zosima was a glutton and arrogant.
• Alyosha is confused and sad as to why God would allow this to happen
• father Paissy rebuked Ferapont
• Alyosha left suddenly. Father Paissy was confused why Alyosha was leaving in such a hurry.

Chapter 2: An Opportune Moment

• Alyosha is approached by Rakitin
• Rakitin is trying to figure out why Alyosha is sad
• they agree to head over to Grushenka’s house

Chapter 3: An Onion

• they are at Grushenka’s house
• Grushenka adores and loves Alyosha
• Grushenka tells them that she is waiting for a message from her former lover that wants her back
• She sits on Alyosha’s lap because he is sad, but once she learns that the Elder died she gets off and becomes sad and says she’s a terrible sinner
• Alyosha cheers her up and encourages her not to feel ashamed
• She admits she paid Rakitin to bring Alyosha to her
• Finally the message from her lover arrives, so she leaves. She tells Alyosha to tell Dmitri that she did briefly love him.

Chapter 4: Cana of Galilee

• Alyosha went back to the monastery
• He sees the elders coffin and sits beside it. Father Paissy is reading the gospel there.
• Alyosha falls asleep and dreams about being at the wedding in Galilee with Jesus
• The elder is there and tells Alyosha that he helped redeem Grushenka and now she will find her salvation
• He wakes up from the dream, goes outside and kisses the earth.
• He feels he now has a deeper understanding of faith and life

Book Eight: Mitya

Chapter 1: Kuzma Samsonov

• Dmitri is thinking about his plan to marry Grushenka, but he must pay back Katerina her 3000 rubles
• He decides to go to Samsonov, a merchant who is like an adopted father of Grushenka, to ask for money in exchange for land that he might win during the lawsuit.
• Samsonov is unable to help in the way Mitya wanted, but he told him about Lyagavy, a tradesman who might buy the land from Dmitri. Little does Dmitri know, this same merchant is planning on buying this same land from Fyodor.
• So Samsonov did this to trick Dmitri / make a fool of him.
• Once Dmitri left, Samsonov instructed his son to never allow Dmitri back inside the home

Chapter 2: Lyagavy

• Mitya is heading to Lyagavy. To fund his trip, he sells his silver watch a borrows money from his landlord.
• Mitya meets up with the priest who says that Lyagavy is in another town, so they head over there. He also tells Mitya not to use the name Lyagavy for the trader as he takes offense to that, he should be called Gorstkin instead.
• They reach Lyagavy and find him passed out drunk so they have to wait till morning. Mitya is angry about this.
• Lyagavy wakes up next morning and Mitya introduces himself. Lyagavy calls him a liar and a cheat, Mitya is confused. Then, all of a sudden Mitya realizes this was all a trick by Samsonov.
• Mitya leaves and wanders into the forest, unsure of how to get home. He is very sad.
• He comes across a group of travelers who agree to let him ride with them.

Chapter 3: Gold Mines

• He goes to Grushenka, who asks him to take her to Samsonov’s house, and then pick her up later. Mitya suspects she is lying and will leave before hand.
• He goes to Madame Khokhlakov’s house to ask her for the 3k rubles. She agrees, but goes on a length tangent about gold mines and other topics and is beating around the bush.
• Eventually Mitya loses his patience and asks her if she truly will give him the money. She says no, she doesn’t have any money, and if she did, she wouldn’t even lend it to him. She was insinuating that he should work in the gold mines.
• Mitya leaves in anger. He bumps into an old woman on the road, a servant at Samsonov’s house. He asks her if Grushenka is still there. She says she left.

Chapter 4: In the Dark

• Mitya goes to his dad, Fyodor’s, house to find out if Grushenka is there, but she is not
• as he is leaving, Grigory sees him and runs after him in the garden.
• Mitya hits Grigory with a brass pestle and Grigory goes unconscious bleeding from his head
• Mitya tries to treat his wound but can’t, so he throws the pestle and runs away

Chapter 5: A Sudden Decision

• He goes to Grushenka’s servants house, Fenya
• He demands Fenya tell him about who Grushenka left with. She told him everything truthfully.
• He then goes to the pawn broker who he gave his pistols to to get his pistols back. He brought money to buy them back
• Pyotr (the pawn broker) is helping Mitya clean up his blood stains
• Pyotr and Mitya parts away. Mitya is heading to Mokroye.
• Pyotr goes to Fenya’s house for answers

Chapter 6: Here I Come!

• Mitya heads to Mokroye to find Grushenka and her lover, a Polish officer
• He arrives and sees Grushenka, she screams

Chapter 7: The Former and Indisputable One

• they are all playing gambling card games
• Mitya attempts to pay the Polish officer to leave Grushenka. He rejects it.
• He tries to expose Mitya for paying him, but it backfires. Grushenka gets mad at the officer. The officer storms out.

Chapter 8: Delirium

• Grushenka confesses her love to Mitya
• They plan their future together
• Suddenly, a group of police come in and arrest Mitya for the murder of his father, Fyodor.

Book Nine: The Preliminary Investigation

Chapter 1: The Start of the Official Perkhotin’s Career

• Pyotr Ilyich Perkhotin, a young official, is investigating Mitya (same guy who Mitya pawned his pistols to)
• He goes to Fenya’s house and then to Madame Khokhlakov’s house.
• He asks the Madame if she gave Mitya 3k rubles. She says she didn’t.
• She is very fond of the young official

Chapter 2: The Alarm

• The police chief and many officials hear the news of Fyodor’s death.
• They all found out after Grigory’s wife heard Smerdyakov screaming and having a fit. She couldn’t find Grigory in bed so she went out and saw him outside bleeding out.

Chapter 3: The Soul’s Journey through Torments. The First Torment

• Suspicion falls on Mitya so he is arrested
• Mitya claims he’s innocent but no one believes him

Chapter 4: The Second Torment

• the officials are interrogating Mitya
• Mitya is cooperating but gets frustrated at times

Chapter 5: The Third Torment

• Mitya is adamant on not telling them where he got the 3k rubles from
• They ask him to forfeit all his belongings and subject him to a body search.

Chapter 6: The Prosecutor Catches Mitya

• The officials reveal that Grigory has testified that the door of Fyodor’s room was already open when he went to the garden. This means the door must have been open when Mitya was at Fyodor’s window
  • or maybe right after Mitya left the window, the door was opened
• The officials show Mitya Fyodor’s envelope with 3k rubles. The money was gone. At that moment Mitya declared that Smerdyakov killed Fyodor cause only he knew the location of the envelope
• Mitya eventually agrees to tell them where he got the 3k from

Chapter 7: Mitya’s Great Secret. Met with Hisses

• Mitya reveals to them that he stole the 3k from his former fiancé Katerina
• Mitya says that he spent 1500 rubles on Grushenka and saved the other 1500
• the officials now want to interrogate the witnesses in Mitya’s presence

Chapter 8: The Evidence of the Witnesses: The Wee One

• they interrogated the polish colonel, Grushenka, and some others
• the problem is the earlier Mitya told everyone around him that he spent all 3k rubles on Grushenka, so now all the witnesses are saying that.
• Mitya takes a nap and has a good dream

Chapter 9: Mitya is Taken Away

• Mitya is officially found guilty and the officials take him into town

Part 4

Book Ten: Boys

Chapter 1: Kolya Krasotkin

• Kolya was the son of a 30 year old widow
• he was a prankster and got up to no good
• his teacher has a crush on his mom
• Kolya is a friend of Ilyusha (the boy who Alyosha came across that was being hit by stones by the group of other boys)

Chapter 2: Kids

• Kolya is babysitting 2 kids while their mother (who is a tenant of Kolya’s mom) is away
• Kolya wants to go visit Ilyusha because he’s sick.

Chapter 3: A Schoolboy

• Kolya is walking with his friend Smurov to Ilyusha’s house
• They know Alyosha is there and Kolya wants to meet him
• on the way there Kolya stops to prank some peasants
• once they arrive, Kolya tells Smurov to tell Alyosha to come outside so they can meet

Chapter 4: Zhuchka

• Kolya tells Alyosha about his friendship with Ilyusha
• Ilyusha would always get picked on by other kids, and Kolya protected him
• Their friendship ended after Ilyusha fed a dog (Zuchka) a bread with a pin hidden in it, and Kolya got very mad at him for it. Ilyusha then stabbed Kolya with a knife.
• Ilyusha believes that his illness is caused by God for his ill treatment of the dog

Chapter 5: At Ilyusha’s Bedside

• Kolya enters the house.
• He brings his dog, Perezvon, who is actually Zuchka and Ilyusha is very happy
• the doctor arrives

Chapter 6: Precocity

• Alyosha and Kolya have philosophical talks
• Kolya tells Alyosha about his world views and how he’s a socialist.
• Alyosha views Kolya as just repeating things he’s read from others, not having any original ideas

Chapter 7: Ilyusha

• The doctor said that Ilyusha will die soon, but as a last resort, he advised to take Ilyusha to Syracuse in Italy for the warmer climate
• Kolya insulted the doctor
• Kolya is crying for Ilyusha
• Kolya left to go to his mother’s house for dinner, but promised to return later

Book Eleven: Brother Ivan Fyodorovich

Chapter 1: At Grushenka’s

• 2 months after Mitya’s arrest, Alyosha goes to visit Grushenka
• She tells Alyosha that her and Mitya have arguments when she visits him in prison
• She fears that Mitya is in love with Katerina again
• She also believes that Ivan and Mitya are hiding something from her and asks Alyosha to find out what it is

Chapter 2: An Ailing Little Foot

• Alyosha visits Madame Khokhlakov
• she reveals that Ivan visited Liza recently
• after the visit, Liza was screaming and in hysterics, so Madame asks Alyosha to go to Liza and find out anything he can about Ivan’s visit

Chapter 3: A Little Demon

• Alyosha sees Liza.
• Liza hates everyone and everything. She’s not in a good state.
• Before Alyosha leaves she gives him a letter to give to Ivan

Chapter 4: A Hymn and a Secret

• Alyosha visits Mitya in prison
• Rakitin has been visiting Mitya because he wants to write an article about him, basically saying why Mitya had to kill his father
• Alyosha finds out that the secret Mitya and Ivan have is that Ivan has a plan to break Mitya out of jail, even though he’s convinced of Mitya’s guilt
• Alyosha says he doesn’t believe Mitya to be guilty, which makes Mitya happy and fills him with courage and hope
• Alyosha intends to visit Ivan

Chapter 5: Not You! Not You!

• Alyosha visits Ivan
• Ivan reveals that Katerina has a letter that proves Mitya is the murderer and this is the reason why Ivan has not broke things off with Katerina (she loves him but he doesn’t love her back), because if he were to, she would take the letter to the officials
• Alyosha tells Ivan he is not the murderer.

Chapter 6: The First Meeting with Smerdyakov

• The first visit occurred a few days after Ivan returned from Moscow, which in turn happened a few days after Fyodor was murdered
• Ivan went into this meeting thinking Smerdyakov killed Fyodor
• Smerdyakov is in the hospital and in a really bad state
• Ivan leaves this meeting now thinking that Mitya is the murderer
• 2 weeks later, Ivan starts getting suspicious again and visits Smerdyakov for a second time…

Chapter 7: The Second Visit with Smerdyakov

• Smerdyakov tells Ivan that he believes Ivan wanted Fyodor to die
• Ivan leaves confused and conflicted. He blames himself for Fyodor’s murder
• He goes to Katerina’s house who shows him the latter Mitya wrote while drunk, where he says he’ll go to the extent of killing Fyodor to pay back the 3k rubles to Katerina

Chapter 8: The Third and Last Meeting with Smerdyakov

• Smerdyakov admits to killing Fyodor, but says he was inspired by Ivan
• Ivan tells him he’s gonna tell the authorities all of this. Smerdyakov says no one will believe him

Chapter 9: The Devil. Ivan Fyodorovich’s Nightmare

• Ivan has a dream with the “devil”
• Ivan wakes up and Alyosha tells him that Smerdyakov hung himself

Chapter 10: “He Said That!”

• Ivan is losing his mind
• Alyosha is concerned for him and stays with him

Book Twelve: A Judicial Error

Chapter 1: The Fatal Day

• It’s the day of Dmitri’s trial
• Many people from all over Russia attended. Mitya’s case has become very famous
• Mitya declared himself as being innocent
• they announced that Smerdyakov has killed himself. He was supposed to be a witness. Mitya screamed out “the dog died like a dog!” which he was admonished for by his lawyer and the judge

Chapter 2: Dangerous Witnesses

• Mitya’s lawyer tries to discredit the witness testimony of Grigory by saying that he was on a medication containing alcohol, therefore wasn’t fully in his head
• The lawyer proceeds to morally discredit each and every witness

Chapter 3: Medical Expertise and One Pound of Nuts

• 3 doctors offer their theories on why Mitya committed the murder
• one of the doctors, a German and long time family friend of the Karamazov’s, tells a story when he bought Mitya a bag of nuts when he was a kid. Mitya cried hearing this
• seeing Mitya cry made the whole court room feel more favorable towards him

Chapter 4: Fortune Smiles on Mitya

• Alyosha says that Smerdyakov killed his father, but he has no proof of this
• Katerina and Grushenka both give testimonies in court

Chapter 5: A Sudden Catastrophe

• Ivan gives his testimony
• he says Smerdyakov killed their father. Ivan was acting very hysterical and strange
• Ivan also says that he is also to blame for the murder
• Katerina, who loves Ivan, finally reveals to the court the letter Mitya sent her. This letter is where Mitya reveals his intention to kill Fyodor.
• Katerina is taken away after she goes crazy
• Grushenka starts going crazy too

Chapter 6: The Prosecutor’s Speech. Characterizations

• Kirrillovich runs down the facts of the case as part of his closing speech. He is the prosecutor

Chapter 7: A Historical Survey

• Kirrillovich examines Mitya from a medical perspective and explains how he isn’t insane and did the crime with full reason

Chapter 8: A Treatise on Smerdyakov

• Kirrillovich explains how and why Smerdyakov could not have been the murderer

Chapter 9: Psychology at Full Steam. The Galloping Troika. The Finale of the Prosecutor’s Speech

• Kirrillovich tells the jury they should punish Mitya so that they don’t set a bad precedent if they choose not to punish him

Chapter 10: The Defense Attorney’s Speech. A Stick with Two Ends

• Fetyukovich, Mitya’s lawyer, says that the evidence against Mitya is flimsy
• Kirrillovich had psychological arguments against Mitya but Fetyukovich dismantled them

Chapter 11: There Was No Money. There Was No Robbery

• Fetyukovich makes the argument that the 3k rubles never existed, after all, where did this info come from? Smerdyakov. He’s the only one who has apparently ever seen the money

Chapter 12: And There Was No Murder Either

• Fetyukovich says that the arguments for Mitya being murderer are weak and not conclusive

Chapter 13: An Adulterer of Thought

• Fetyukovich makes the argument that Fyodor was never a good father

Chapter 14: Our Good Peasants Stood up for Themselves

• everyone in the audience loved Fetyukovich speech
• the jury made a decision: Mitya is guilty. Everyone was shocked because they thought he was innocent

Epilogue

Chapter 1: Plans to Save Mitya

• Katerina tells Alyosha that there is a plan in place to free Mitya

Chapter 2: For a Moment the Lie Became Truth

• Alyosha tells Mitya about the plan to escape
• Mitya says he will go to American with Grushenka, learn English, then come back to Russia much later
• Katya comes into the room and is very sad for Mitya. She says she’ll always love him. They reconcile.
• Grushenka walks in and Katya asks her for forgiveness, and Grushenka refuses

Chapter 3: Ilyushechka’s Funeral. The Speech at the Stone

• Ilyusha was the little boy that the other group of boys threw stones at. He was very sick few chapters ago
• He passed away and it’s his funeral now. His dad is very upset
• Alyosha gives a nice speech to Kolya and the other boys (p. 821-823)

Analysis

Notes and Quotes

Psychology

• “In most cases, people, even wicked people, are far more naïve and simple-hearted than one generally assumes. And so are we.” p. 10
• “Above all do not be so ashamed of yourself, for that is the cause of everything.” p. 45
• “And avoid contempt, both of others and of yourself: what seems bad to you in yourself is purified by the very fact that you have noticed it in yourself.” - p. somewhere between 61-71

Lying

• “And above all, above everything else - do not lie.” p. 46
• “Do not lie to yourself. A man who lies to himself and listens to his own lie comes to a point where he does not discern any truth either in himself or anywhere around him, and thus falls into disrespect towards himself and others. Not respecting anyone, he ceases to love, and having no love, he gives himself up to passions and coarse pleasures, in order to occupy and amuse himself, and in his vices reaches complete bestiality, and it all comes from lying continually to others and to himself. A man who lies to himself is often the first to take offense. It sometimes feels very good to take offense, doesn’t it? And surely he knows that no one has offended him, and that he himself has invented the offense and told lies just for the beauty of it… he likes feeling offended, it gives him great pleasure” p. 46-47 ^42f67c
  • he likes feeling offended! This is so applicable to people now a days.
• “Above all, avoid lies, all lies, especially the lie to yourself.” p. 61

Faith

• “In the realist, faith is not born from miracles, but miracles from faith.” p. 27
• “The more you succeed in loving, the more you’ll be convinced of the existence of God and the immortality of your soul. And if you reach complete selflessness in the love of your neighbor, then undoubtedly you will believe, and no doubt will even be able to enter your soul.” p. 59
  • Love as a means to faith and salvation.
• “What good is faith by force? Besides, proofs are no help to faith, especially material proofs.” 675

Love

• “If you are repentant, it means that you love. And if you love, you already belong to God… With love everything is bought, everything is saved.” p. 55
• “The more you succeed in loving, the more you’ll be convinced of the existence of God and the immortality of your soul. And if you reach complete selflessness in the love of your neighbor, then undoubtedly you will believe, and no doubt will even be able to enter your soul.” p. 59 ^10581d
  • Love as a means to faith and salvation.
• “My family… If I die, who will so love them, sir, and while I live, who will so love me, a little wretch, if not them?” p. 213
• “What is the good of a love that must constantly be spied on, and what is the worth of a love that needs to be guarded so intensely?” p. 404
  • in this context they were talking about how a man creates ‘rivals’ for himself in his relationship just so he can be jealous. The narrator is speaking against this.

Other Quotes

• “A socialist Christian is more dangerous than a socialist atheist.” p. 71
  • some people were discussing how the state should become the Church (church and state should be together) - these are the ‘socialist Christians’
• “if there is no immortality of the soul, then there is no virtue, and therefore everything is permitted.” p. 86
  • this is in reference to the ‘immortality of the soul’. If you posit that the soul is NOT immortal, then morality/virtue doesn’t exist. Because if there’s no afterlife, who is there to judge you?
• “What’s shame for the mind is beauty all over for the heart.” p. 115
• Ivan’s belief in God - pg 249 - 250
• “Everything is habit with people, everything, even state and political relations. Habit is the chief motive force.” p. 558
• “every decent man ought to be under the heel of some woman at least.” p. 629
• “How good life is when you do something good and rightful!” p. 823