The Idiot by Fyodor Dostoyevsky

A great novel for readers new to Dostoyevsky

Check out my reviews on other Dostoyevsky novels.

I read this book in the beginning of 2021, and was surprised at how quickly I read it. I’m still not really sure what it is exactly that made me read this so fast, seeing as it took me quite a bit longer to get through The Brothers Karamazov, and to this day I haven’t managed to get past the first 50 pages of Crime and Punishment.

One of the big four Dostoyevsky novels (along with Crime & Punishment, Demons and The Brothers Karamazov), this is relatively plot-driven for a Dostoyevsky novel and hence is probably the perfect book if you are new to Dostoyevsky. With that being said, however, it still differs from traditional novels in that it doesn’t conform to the typical exposition, conflict, rising action, climax, falling action and resolution template. I couldn’t tell you exactly what the book’s “main conflict” is. Instead, the book centers around Prince Myshkin, a “fool” who has just returned to Russia from his four year stay in a Swiss hospital (where he was admitted due to epilepsy). The whole story is mainly comprised of his interactions with the new friends he makes in St. Petersburg, their impressions of him, how he responds to conflicts, friendship and romantic drama, and a whole lot of philosophizing (yes, it is still a Dostoyevsky novel after all).

Characters

Prince Myshkin: the hero of our story. A combination of his epilepsy and (kind, selfless) nature leads others to think he is an idiot. Throughout the novel he is called a fool by numerous characters but I am inclined to disagree. As the story unfolds, readers see that he is actually intelligent and highly perceptive. In many ways, he represents Christ but especially through his selfless nature and willingness to love others who have been shunned by society.

“Do you know I don’t know how one can walk by a tree and not be happy at the sight of it? How can one talk to a man and not be happy in loving him! Oh, it’s only that I’m not able to express it…And what beautiful things there are at every step, that even the most hopeless man must feel to be beautiful! Look at a child! Look at God’s sunrise! Look at the grass, how it grows! Look at the eyes that gaze at you and love you!…”

The Epanchins

The Prince is distantly related to General Epanchin’s wife Lizaveta Prokofyevna and seeks an acquaintance with the family upon his arrival at Petersburg. They are wealthy and respectable, and the whole family (the General, his wife and their three daughters Alexandra, Adelaida and Aglaya) all grow very fond of the Prince. The youngest daughter Aglaya is in love with the Prince but is sometimes ashamed to admit it, which forms one of the novels main “conflicts”.

Natasya Filipovna

Natasya was orphaned at a young age and had to rely on a family friend, her only benefactor Totsky as his mistress. She is shown to be self-destructive, cruel and reckless which result from her shame and regret at being subject to the world’s cruelty from such a young age. Through the character of Natasya the novel delivers a critique on society’s views of women and double standards which feels very contemporary.

Rogozhin

A mentally unstable young man who is dangerously obsessed with Natasya Filipovna. He is the son of a rich merchant and has recently come into his inheritance. This guy is the token self-destructive “crazy” character that’s pretty much a requirement in all Dostoyevsky novels.

Gavril “Ganya” Ardalyonovich Ivolgin

An ambitious young civil servant, he tries to climb social ladders and please those in higher stations. There are moments in the book where you feel sympathetic to him, but honestly I just could not like his character. The rest of his family are also major characters in the books, especially his father the general who is an alcoholic and compulsive liar and his younger brother Nikolai who is one of the books most likable characters.

Radomsky and Prince S.

Two handsome young men from aristocratic backgrounds with high societal standing, they court two of the Epanchin sisters – Radomsky courts Aglaya while Prince Schc. courts Adelaida. The two men act as a sort of foil to the Prince. They are elegant, wealthy, well-respected and say the right things – quite different from The Prince.

“Sometimes you dream strange dreams, impossible and unnatural; you wake up and remember them clearly, and are surprised at a strange fact: you remember first of all that reason did not abandon you during the whole course of your dream; you even remember that you acted extremely cleverly and logically for that whole long, long time when you were surrounded by murderers, when they were being clever with you, concealed their intentions, treated you in a friendly way, though they already had their weapons ready and were only waiting for some sort of sign; you remember how cleverly you finally deceived them, hid from them; then you realize that they know your whole deception by heart and merely do not show you that they know where you are hiding; but you are clever and deceive them again—all that you remember clearly. But why at the same time could your reason be reconciled with such obvious absurdities and impossibilities, with which, among other things, your dream was filled?

Plot

As mentioned, there isn’t too much in terms of plot here. However, it is still pretty plot-driven and actually quite a page turner and you’ll probably appreciate that there is a good story within all the philosophizing.

The book is pretty well-structured and is made up of four main parts. I will summarize each part so if you haven’t read the book and don’t wish to be spoiled, please don’t click show.

Part I

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The book opens on a train to St. Petersburg, with Prince Myshkin and Rogozhin inside. The two are seated near each other and start to get acquainted. Rogozhin has just come upon his inheritance and Prince Myshkin is going back to Russia for the first time after a four year stay in a Swiss hospital. This is a great opening scene as it introduces readers to several key characters while simultaneously introducing one of the novel’s main plot line and conflict. Afterwards, the Prince makes his way to General Epanchin’s house to meet his distant relative – the General’s wife Lizaveta. The Prince gets acquainted with the General and his family, Ganya, Natasya and many of the novel’s other key characters. The climax of this part is at Natasya’s birthday party, where some crazy things involving the burning of money happens (or does not).

Part II

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The second part of the novel begins with a gossip reel-like reveal that Prince Myshkin lived with Natasya for a while, but Natasya soon ran off to be with Rogozhin instead. We get the impression that there’s more to the story here, but that isn’t revealed until a bit later. We are introduced to two new characters, Prince Schc. and Yevgeny Pavlovich Radomsky, who court Adelaida and Aglaya respectively.

The Prince accepts an invitation from Lebedev to spend the summer at his dacha in Pavlovsk where most of St. Petersburg, including all of Prince Myskhin’s friends and acquaintences have gone for the summer (think of this as the Hamptons.. at least that’s how I thought of it).

Part III

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Part III begins with a dramatic showdown in a music show at the park between Natasya and an officer, where the Prince once again shows his selfless, Christ-like nature while standing up for Natasya.

This part shows the Prince and Aglaya’s budding relationship, and by the end of this part it is quite clear that Aglaya is in love with Myshkin. It is unclear whether Myshkin loves Aglaya in a romantic way or in his compassionate love in a similar way that he loves Natasya. A more serious reader could probably tell you the answer, but my interpretation is that Myshkin actually did have romantic feelings for Aglaya.

Part III is also contains the majority of the novel’s beautiful (though long-winded) philosophizing (present in all Dostoyevsky novels) led by Terentyev who is dying of consumption and tells the audience of his exact plans to commit suicide.

Part IV

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Aglaya and Myshkin continue their courtship (if it can even be called that). Aglaya is a little bit of a spoiled brat, though, and refuses to admit her love for Myshkin probably due to her embarrassment at being in love with a “simple” man such as himself. Instead, she often teases and makes fun of Myshkin who isn’t offended. The Epanchins introduce Myshkin to society by holding a house party filled with aristocrats in hopes of making a good impression. At first, Myshkin impresses the guests and they begin to like him. However by the end he ends up offending the guests by being a little too candid on his thoughts of the Catholic church and aristocracy.

Then, the novel culminates in a series of dramatic encounters, resulting in quite tragic endings for our characters.

The Prince sacrifices his relationship with Aglaya to take care of Natasya and marry her. However Natasya (I suspect from a deep-rooted sense of self-loathing runs off with Rogozhin who later kills Natasya.
Aglaya runs off with a (fake) Polish count who later is revealed to be a dupe. The Prince ends up back in the Swiss sanitorium, where he is never (mentally) the same again.

“To kill for murder is a punishment incomparably worse than the crime itself. Murder by legal sentence is immeasurably more terrible than murder by brigands. Anyone murdered by brigands, whose throat is cut at night in a wood, or something of that sort, must surely hope to escape till the very last minute. There have been instances when a man has still hoped for escape, running or begging for mercy after his throat was cut. But in the other case all that last hope, which makes dying ten times as easy, is taken away for certain. There is the sentence, and the whole awful torture lies in the fact that there is certainly no escape, and there is no torture in the world more terrible.”

Thoughts

It’s probably much easier to get the meaning of this book if you grew up in the Christian tradition, as it is quite clear that Myshkin is supposed to represent Christ and there are multiple parallels (his self-sacrificial nature, his love for all people, embracing those shunned by society). However, even if you don’t know much about Christianity this book is still worth a read for the thought provoking moral philosophizing (there are a few great ones here thanks to a dying man and a compulsive liar) and the witty social criticism. If anything, this is a good prep before reading The Brothers Karamazov which in my opinion is much more universally relatable and applicable to the human experience.

Pitilessly undermined, and it’s even a pity you’re so calm. But alas- you couldn’t be otherwise!”
“What a thing to be pitied for!” laughed the prince. “So in your opinion I’d be happier if I worried more?”
Terentyev and Prince Myshkin

You Should Read This If You…

are looking to read for bragging rights but are too lazy to read 800+ pages of The Brothers Karamazov (But seriously, read that anyway cause it’s a wonderful book. Here’s a link to a review I’ve done on TBK). Though The Idiot is only around 250 pages less, I found it to be significantly easier to read.
tried (and failed, multiple times) to read Crime and Punishment but are still interested in reading a Dostoyevsky novel. If you’re like me and can’t seem to get through Crime and Punishment I found this to be a much easier (and less boring) novel to get into. Gasp, sacrilege.. I know
are a Russian literature junkie (aren’t we all?). I think The Idiot is a quintessential Russian novel. And this one is quite plot-driven, surprise surprise!
or just looking for a great, high quality book

The copy I read was published by Vintage and translated by Richard Pevear and Larissa Volokhonsky. I don’t know what this particular series of Vintage paperbacks are called but they’re some of my favorite paperback books. I also have all my Jane Austen novels in this edition and they’re always reliable – comfortable to read and quite durable.