The content of Dostoevsky's novel is an idiot. Images of the main characters

“The novel was written in the sixties and occupies a very important place in Dostoevsky's work. The main and most difficult task that the author faced, by his own admission, was the desire to portray a wonderful person in a modern Russian society torn apart by passions and contradictions.

"Idiot" brief description and analysis

The protagonist of the novel, Prince Myshkin, returns home from Switzerland after being treated for epilepsy. On the way, he meets the merchant Semyon Rogozhin, with whom he shares the story of his life, and he tells him about his love. conveyed the atmosphere of the novel through the story of the seemingly “random family” of the Yepanchins, who are his only and distant relatives in Moscow, to which the prince comes.

From the first pages of the work, Prince Myshkin makes it clear to the Yepanchins what a happy person he is, how joyfully he accepts the world. Lev Nikolaevich Myshkin was supposed to be embodied in the novel in the image of the only positive person in the whole world, and at all times, in the image of Jesus Christ. In manuscripts, Dostoevsky often calls Prince Myshkin - Prince Christ. The treatment of souls affected by egoism is the main purpose of the prince.

Myshkin is an incredibly naive and extremely kind person, he is as spontaneous as a child. Prince Myshkin is the bearer of light, kindness, most importantly, his conviction is that compassion is the only law that a person should be guided by. Love for everyone around without exception and the desire for harmony is the true purpose of Myshkin.

Equally important in the novel are the characters of Aglaya Yepanchina and Nastasya Filippovna. Nastasya Filippovna in her letter combines both images of Aglaya and Myshkin. For her, they are both innocent and bright in spirit, “in innocence is all your perfection,” says Nastasya Filippovna. For her, they are both angels who do not know how to hate.

The idyll is eventually destroyed, after Aglaya speaks badly and with hatred to the prince about Nastasya Filippovna, Myshkin suddenly realizes that Aglaya is not such an innocent sheep: “you can’t feel that way, it’s not true,” but Aglaya refutes this statement. After this incident, the prince is increasingly moving away from people, from reality, more and more immersed in his dreams.

When describing the portraits and actions of other heroes of the novel, Dostoevsky makes it clear what prevents these people from loving. Nastasya Filippovna, Rogozhin, Aglaya, Lizaveta Prokopievna Yepanchina, Ippolit, Ivolgin Ganya and General Ivolgin himself are all very proud people. An unusual sense of pride prevents them from revealing their feelings. The thirst for self-affirmation and the desire to be above others makes them lose their own face. The desire to love is suppressed and they can only suffer.

The prince is the complete opposite of the rest of the characters in the novel, he is completely devoid of pride, and only he has the power to see what is hidden under the mask, he is able to recognize the character that is carefully hidden. Myshkin, in fact, is a “big child”, and according to Dostoevsky, if a person has childishness, then his soul has not yet been lost, and the “living sources of the heart” are still alive.

During the narration of the novel, Myshkin has a seizure twice. Epilepsy has always been considered a "sacred" disease, not only Dostoevsky attached an enlightening, special significance to this disease. Just before the seizure, the prince felt an extraordinary enlightenment, the ability to solve all problems at once. Anxiety seemed to disappear by itself. But the consequences of all the attacks were terrible, suffering, pain, mental anguish tormented Myshkin.

Each attack of epilepsy certainly portends trouble, a coming catastrophe. After another seizure, the meeting of the two main characters of the novel takes place, the author sees Nastasya Filippovna and Aglaya Yepanchina - the Beauty of the humiliated and the Beauty of the innocent. Women compete with each other, turning the feeling of love into hatred.

Aglaya sees that the prince cannot look with indifference at the suffering of Nastasya Filippovna and begins to hate him. Nastasya Filippovna realizes that the prince simply pities her, and pity cannot be love, so she leaves the prince and goes to Rogozhin, who loves her madly, realizing that only death can await her ahead.

At the end of the work, Rogozhin and Myshkin meet over the body of the murdered Nastasya Filippovna. Here comes the realization that they are both responsible for her death, they both killed her with their love. Everything enlightened and human in the prince disappears, he turns into a real crazy idiot.

Dostoevsky explains his pessimistic vision of the world, showing that in the novel the triumph of egoism takes place, the demonic principle wins, expelling the light that bears the image of Prince Myshkin. The beauty of the world and the good lose and perish. Despite the gloomy ending of the work, the ending does not give the impression of a gloomy, hopeless one. Prince Myshkin was able to leave in the hearts of people good, pure, with his spiritual death he awakened people to life, gave faith in the good and moved them to strive for the ideal. Otherwise, the world may perish.

At the end of 1867, the young gentleman Myshkin Lev Nikolayevich moved from Switzerland to St. Petersburg. A young man of twenty-six is ​​the last of the rich nobility. Due to a complex nervous illness suffered in childhood, the prince lived for several years in a Swiss sanatorium. On the trip, Lev meets Rogozhin, a rich merchant's son. Parfyon tells the prince about his beloved, Nastasya Filippovna Barashkova, who is being kept by Totsky.

Lev Nikolaevich arrives to visit his distant relatives, the Yepanchins. There are three daughters in the Yepanchin family - Aglaya, Adelaide and Alexandra. Myshkin surprises everyone with his openness, naivete and childish spontaneity. At the same time, the young man communicates with the general's assistant Ganya Ivolgin. At the secretary, the prince first notices a portrait of young Nastasya Filippovna, an unusually beautiful and proud woman.

Some details become known to Prince Myshkin: Totsky intends to get rid of Barashkova and marry her to Ivolgin, and he himself is going to marry the young daughter of General Yepanchin. For Nastasya, Totsky is ready to give seventy-five thousand as a dowry. Secretary Ivolgin passionately dreams of getting rich at any cost, although he would like to marry another wealthy lady - the general's youngest daughter Aglaya. Lev Nikolaevich becomes a close friend of Aglaya and acts as an intermediary between her and Ganya.

The young prince moves to live in the estate with the Ivolgins. Myshkin does not have time to get acquainted with all the household members and settle down in the premises provided to him - two interesting events occur. Nastasya Filippovna visits the Ivolgins' apartment and invites Ganya and his beloved relatives to visit her. The woman jokes and laughs, listens to Ivolgin's funny stories. Then Rogozhin and his noisy big company visit. Parfyon throws eighteen thousand in front of Barashkova. Then the heroes begin to "bargain", as a result, the price for Nastasya rises to one hundred thousand.

For Ganya's relatives, the current event is extremely insulting. Barashkova is a dissolute lady who has no place at all in such a decent society. The scandal does not keep itself waiting: sister Varvara spits in Ganya's eyes, he swings, but does not have time to hit. Lev Nikolaevich stands up for the woman, receiving a blow on the cheek from the enraged Ivolgin. Then the prince says to Nastasya: “Are you the way you now seemed to be.” This phrase will be remembered for a long time by Barashkova, who suffered greatly and was worried about her difficult position in society.

On the same warm evening, Myshkin visits the estate of Nastasya Filippovna. Full of guests, from Totsky, General Yepanchin to the ever-laughing Ferdyshchenko. Unexpectedly, the heroine consults with a new guest and asks if she should marry Ivolgin. Lev Nikolaevich replies that no. At twelve o'clock in the morning, Parfyon appears with his fellow friends and takes out a hundred thousand in front of Nastasya, packed in a newspaper.

The prince is very worried about what is happening and confesses his feelings to Barashkova, offering her to get married. Suddenly it becomes known that Myshkin has a rich inheritance, inherited from a relative. But the heroine decides to leave with Rogozhin. She grabs the money and throws it into the fireplace, offering Ghana to take it. Ivolgin falls unconscious, and Nastasya herself pulls out the flaming money and gives it to Ghana as a token of some kind of compensation for his "suffering".

Six months have passed. After traveling around the country, Myshkin returns to St. Petersburg. Strange rumors circulate in secular circles that Barashkova more than once hastily ran away from Rogozhin to Lev Nikolaevich, lived with him, but subsequently left the young prince.

At the station square, it seems to Myshkin that someone is closely following him. Lev comes to visit Rogozhin. During this conversation, the prince plays with a garden knife until the owner of the house angrily takes it from the hands of the guest. The speech of acquaintances comes about faith and a hanging copy of the picture, which depicts the Savior. The interlocutors exchange crosses, Rogozhin takes Leo to his mother to ask for blessings, for now they are like brothers.

Going to the guest house, Myshkin sees a familiar large figure and follows him. Rogozhin's sparkling gaze, like at a railway station, a raised knife ... The prince falls in a fit of epilepsy. The parfion is hidden in the darkness.

A few days later, Lev Nikolaevich arrives at Lebedev's dacha, where the Yepanchins and, as they say, Nastasya are resting. A sick prince gathers a lot of people to visit. Myshkin listens attentively to everyone, regrets for some reason and feels guilty before all those gathered.

Soon the prince visits the Yepanchins, goes for a walk with the suitors of the general's daughters. On the way they meet Nastasya Filippovna in the company of friends. The girl tactlessly tells Prince Radomsky about his deceased relative, who spent state money.

Those present are indignant at this trick. A friend of Radomsky insults Barashkova, in response to this she cuts his head into blood, snatching a cane from those standing nearby. The enraged young man wants to hit Nastasya with a whip, but the prince does not allow this to be done.

Three days later, in the park, Myshkin meets Aglaya. She asks to become her close friend, the young man realizes that he is in love. Further in the same square, the prince sees Barashkova. Kneeling, the girl wonders how happy he is with the general's daughter. Later, Nastasya Filippovna writes long letters to the prince's chosen one, persuading her to marry him.

The Yepanchins announce Myshkin as the fiancé of their youngest daughter. The general gathers rich and distinguished guests to get acquainted with the future family member. The prince tries to please everyone so as not to upset the bride, leads an interesting conversation, but eventually falls in a fit of epilepsy.

Aglaya, along with her fiancé, meets with Barashkova and Rogozhin. An unpleasant conversation arises between the ladies, during which Epanchina asks not to get into her life and the life of her future spouse anymore, to stop writing letters of incomprehensible content. Annoyed by this attitude, Nastasya calls out to Myshkin and offers to be with her, while Rogozhina drives away. The hero does not know what to do, because he sincerely loves both women. Nastasya Filippovna cannot refuse, the state of mind of the young man is getting worse ..

Soon the wedding of the young master and Nastasya Filippovna should take place. This news spreads throughout the neighborhood, acquiring various gossip and conjectures. On the day of the wedding, Barashkova unexpectedly runs out to Parfyon, who is standing among other people. Rogozhin takes the girl in his arms, jumps into a nearby carriage and quickly leaves.

The next day, Lev visits Rogozhin, but does not find him at home. At the end of the day, on the street, Parfen calls Myshkin and leads him home. In the room, he points to the bed where Nastasya's dead body lies, lined with jars of Zhdanov's mixture so that the smell of decomposition cannot be smelled.

Lev Nikolaevich, together with Rogozhin, spend the whole night over the dead. When the police open the door the next day, Parfyon and Myshkin, running around in delirium, appear before her, trying to calm him down. The prince already ceases to recognize people and loses his mind, as what happened greatly injures his psyche.

Retelling plan

1. Prince Myshkin, on the way to St. Petersburg, meets the son of a merchant, Parfyon Rogozhin. Portrait of Nastasya Filippovna.
2. Acquaintance of Myshkin with the Epanchin family. History of Nastasya Filippovna.
3. The prince settles with the Ivolgins and gets acquainted with the whole family.
4. The arrival of a noisy company with Nastasya Filippovna at the Ivolgins' house.
5. Evening at Totsky's house: Nastasya Filippovna refuses to marry Ganya, learns about the prince's love, but leaves with Rogozhin.
6. Meeting of the prince with Rogozhin. Rogozhin makes an attempt on his life.
7. Myshkin in Pavlovsk. Talk about the "poor knight". The arrival of Burdovsky. Hippolytus speeches.
8. The defiant act of Nastasya Filippovna in relation to Radomsky, the groom of Adelaide Yepanchina.
9. Hippolyte's suicide attempt.
10. Meeting of the prince with Aglaya, and then with Nastasya Filippovna.
11. Prince Myshkin appears before Epanchina's relatives and guests, Aglaya refuses to marry him.

12. The prince is faced with a choice, he remains with Nastasya Filippovna.
13. On the day of the wedding, she leaves with Rogozhin.
14. Myshkin learns that Rogozhin killed Nastasya Filippovna.
15. Rogozhin is sent to hard labor, Prince Myshkin is placed in a hospital with a confused mind.

retelling
Part I

Chapter 1
At the end of November, a train from Switzerland arrives in St. Petersburg. Three passengers meet. One of them is Prince Lev Nikolaevich Myshkin, “a young man of about twenty-six years of age, slightly taller than average, very blond, thick-haired, with sunken cheeks and a light, pointed ... beard”, the last of a noble noble family. As a child, he fell ill with a severe nervous illness, was orphaned early and was placed by his benefactor Pavlishchev in a Swiss sanatorium. After living there for four years, he returns to his homeland with unclear, but big plans to serve her. The second is Parfen Rogozhin, the son of a wealthy merchant, who inherited a huge fortune after his father's death. He tells about himself: his father died, neither his mother nor his brother was notified, and they did not even send money for the trip; he himself annoyed his parent with revelry, beguiled sin, from Pskov, almost without boots, he goes home to St. Petersburg; brother scoundrel, from the cover of the brocade on the coffin of the parent, at night he cut off cast gold brushes. It's good that Parfyon's lawyers wrote off his share, more than a million. From him, the prince for the first time hears the name of Nastasya Filippovna Barashkova, the mistress of a certain wealthy nobleman Trotsky, whom Rogozhin is passionately infatuated with. “The face is cheerful, but she suffered terribly,” says the prince, examining her portrait. The third is Lebedev, a rogue official who always knows everything.

Chapter 2
The prince with his modest bundle goes to the house of distant relatives, to General Yepanchin. There are three daughters in the general's family: the eldest Alexandra, the middle Adelaide and the youngest, a common favorite and beauty, Aglaya. In the anteroom, the prince talks on an equal footing with the footman, which leads the general to think: “the prince is just a fool and has no ambitions, because a smart prince with ambition would not sit in the front room and talk about his affairs with a footman.” Nevertheless, "for some reason he liked the prince."

Chapter 3
In the office of the prince receives the general. General Epanchin immediately fences himself off from the prince: he says that he is very busy, that there can be no family ties between them. The prince speaks frankly about himself: he was seriously ill, "frequent attacks of illness made him almost an idiot (the prince said so idiot)." The general introduces the prince to his extremely proud secretary Ganya Ivolgin, in whom Myshkin sees a portrait of Nastasya Filippovna. “This extraordinary beauty ... the face is even more striking now. It was as if there was boundless pride and contempt, almost hatred in this face, and at the same time something trusting, something surprisingly simple-hearted: these two contrasts even aroused, as it were, some kind of compassion ... This blinding beauty of a pale face, almost sunken cheeks and burning eyes; strange beauty!

Chapter 4
The prince is told some details of the fate of Nastasya Filippovna. As a girl, an orphan, she ended up in the house of the rich Mr. Totsky. He took her in for upbringing, gave her an education, and then seduced her, turned her into a concubine, and then abandoned her. Totsky, trying to get rid of her and hatching plans to marry one of the daughters of the Epanchins, woo her for Ganya Ivolgin, giving seventy-five thousand as a dowry, which beckon Ganya. With their help, he dreams of breaking out into the people and in the future significantly increasing his capital, but at the same time he is haunted by the humiliation of the situation. He prefers marriage to Aglaya Yepanchina, with whom he is even a little in love (although here, too, he will be enriched). He expects a decisive word from her, making his further actions dependent on this.

Chapters 5, 6
The prince strikes the Yepanchin family with spontaneity, gullibility, frankness and naivety, so extraordinary that at first they accept him very warily. For example, when asked if Aglaya was beautiful, he replied: “Almost as good as Nastasya Filippovna.” His insight, spiritual sensitivity surprises: “Nothing should be hidden from children under the pretext that they are small and that it is too early for them to know. What a sad and unfortunate thought! ... Big ones do not know that a child, even in the most difficult task, can give extremely important advice. Children are sincere, so Prince Mouse is well with them: “I ... don’t like to be with adults - I don’t like it, because I don’t know how. ... For some reason, it’s always hard for me with them, and I’m terribly glad when I can leave as soon as possible to my comrades, and my comrades have always been children ... ”Every day they begin to treat him with more and more sympathy. It turns out that the prince, who seemed to be a simpleton, and to some people a cunning one, is very intelligent, and in some things he is really deep, for example, when he talks about the death penalty he saw abroad.

Chapter 7
The prince becomes an involuntary mediator between Aglaya, who unexpectedly makes him her confidant, and Ganya, causing irritation and anger in him. Meanwhile, the prince is offered to settle not just anywhere, but in the Ivolgins' apartment.

Chapter 8
At the Ivolgins, the prince, not having time to take the room provided to him, gets acquainted with all the inhabitants of the apartment, starting with Ganya’s relatives and ending with his sister’s fiancé, the young usurer Ptitsyn and the master of incomprehensible occupations Ferdyshchenko. He becomes close to Ganya's thirteen-year-old brother Kolya Ivolgin.

Suddenly Nastasya Filippovna appears. The prince opened the door for her, and she mistook him at first for a lackey. She came to invite Ganya and his relatives to her for the evening.

Chapters 9, 10
Nastasya Filippovna amuses herself by listening to the fantasies of General Ivolgin, which only inflame the atmosphere. Soon a noisy company appears with Rogozhin at the head, who lays out eighteen thousand in front of Nastasya Filippovna. She scoffs: is it her, Nastasya Filippovna, for eighteen thousand? There is something like bargaining, with her contemptuously-mocking participation. Rogozhin is not going to retreat, he promises to bring a hundred thousand by the evening. For sister and mother Ganya, what is happening is unbearably insulting. Ganya's sister Varvara Ardalionovna can't stand it and calls Nastasya Filippovna "shameless". A scandal breaks out: an indignant sister spits in Ghana's face. “Ganya’s eyes dimmed, and, completely forgetting, he swung at his sister with all his might. The blow would surely hit her in the face. But suddenly another hand stopped Ganinuruka on the fly. Between him and his sister stood the prince. The enraged Ganya "slapped the prince with all his might." The prince acts, it would seem, strange: he sympathizes with the offender. "Oh, how you will be ashamed of your act!" - in this phrase all the meekness of the prince. Then he turns to Nastasya Filippovna: “And you are not ashamed! Are you the way you present yourself!” In response to the reproach, Nastasya Filippovna kisses mother Ganya’s hand and “quickly, hotly, all of a sudden flushing and blushing,” whispers: “I’m really not like that, he guessed it.” She leaves with confusion in her soul: from that moment she fell in love with the prince.

Chapters 11-13
Ganya comes to obey the prince. In the evening, the prince goes to Nastasya Filippovna. A "motley" society has gathered here - from General Yepanchin, also carried away by the heroine, to the "jester" Ferdyshchenko.

Chapters 14, 15
Nastasya Filippovna asks a sudden question to the prince, a person she barely knows, about the proposed wedding with Ganya Ivolgin: “Tell me, what do you think: to get married or not? As you say, I'll do it." Everyone is amazed. The prince whispers: "... no ... don't come out," and Nastasya Filippovna declares the matter resolved. She replies to the protesting remarks: “The prince for me is that I was the first in him, in my whole life, as I believed in a truly devoted person. He believed in me at first sight, and I believe him.” The plans of Totsky, who is present here, are thereby destroyed. By midnight, a company led by Rogozhin appears, who lays out a hundred thousand wrapped in a newspaper in front of Nastasya Filippovna. Nastasya Filippovna reprimands Ganya: “Did you really want to introduce me into your family? Rogozhin’s me! .. It was he who traded me: he started with eighteen thousand, then these hundred ... "

The prince is hurt by what is happening, he confesses his love to Nastasya Filippovna and expresses his readiness to take her, “as it is without anything!”, as a wife. She is shocked: “What will you live for, if you are already so in love that you take Rogozhin for yourself, for the prince?” He replies: “I take you honestly, not Rogozhin’s ... I don’t know anything ... and I didn’t see anything, but I ... I will consider that you are me, and not I will do honor. I am nothing, but you suffered and came out of such a hell clean, and this is a lot ... I love you, Nastasya Filippovna. I will die for you...” He finally tells what he wanted to say all day, but he was interrupted: he received a letter while still in Switzerland, with the news that he was supposed to receive a million-dollar inheritance from a deceased aunt.

Chapter 16
“The denouement is unexpected ... I ... didn’t expect it that way,” says Nastasya Filippovna. - One and a half million, and even a prince, and even, they say, an idiot to boot, what better? Rogozhin is late! Put away your pack, I'm marrying a prince and I'm richer than you myself! Nastasya Filippovna is seized by a flash of pride, a hysterical attack. She throws a bundle of banknotes into the fireplace and tells Hana to get it out of the fire with her hands, otherwise they will burn: after all, he wanted to marry her because of Totsky's money. Ganya restrains himself with the last of his strength so as not to rush after the outbreak of money, he wants to leave, but falls unconscious. Nastasya Filippovna herself snatches out a bundle with fireplace tongs and leaves the money to Ghana "as a reward for his torment" (later they will be proudly returned to them). She herself does not want to ruin the prince and decides to go with Rogozhin.

Part II

Chapter 1
Six months pass. There are rumors in St. Petersburg that Nastasya Filippovna fled several times from Rogozhin to the prince, stayed with him for some time, but then also fled from the prince. The life of the rest went back to normal.

The prince travels around Russia, in particular on inheritance cases, and simply out of interest in traveling around the country.

Chapter 2
In June, the prince comes from Moscow to St. Petersburg. At the station, the prince feels someone's hot gaze on him, which awakens vague forebodings in him. He meets with Lebedev.

Chapters 3, 4
The prince pays a visit to Rogozhin in his gloomy, like a prison, house on Gorokhovaya Street. During their conversation, the prince notices a garden knife lying on the table, he now and then takes it in his hands, until Rogozhin, finally, in annoyance, takes it away. The prince sees on the wall a copy of the painting by Hans Holbein, which depicts the savior, only taken down from the cross. Rogozhin says that he loves to look at her, the prince exclaims in amazement: "... from this picture, another may still lose faith," and Rogozhin unexpectedly confirms this. Rogozhin offers to exchange crosses, leads the prince to his mother for a blessing, since they are now like brothers.

Chapter 5
After wandering around the city, in the evening the prince returns to his hotel. At the gate, he suddenly notices a familiar figure and rushes after her to a dark narrow staircase. Here he sees the same as at the station, the sparkling eyes of Rogozhin, the knife raised. At the same moment, an epileptic seizure occurs with the prince. Rogozhin runs away. Kolya Ivolgin transports the prince to Lebedev's dacha in Pavlovsk.

Chapter 6
The Ivolgin family moves to Lebedev. The Yepanchin family and, according to rumors, Nastasya Filippovna are also in Pavlovsk. The prince gathers a society of acquaintances, including the Yepanchins, who decided to visit the sick prince. Kolya Ivolgin teases Aglaya as a "poor knight", alluding to her sympathy for the prince and arousing the interest of Aglaya's mother, Elizaveta Prokofievna, so that her daughter is forced to explain that the poems depict a person who is capable of having an ideal and give his life for this ideal.

Chapter 7
Aglaya reads Pushkin's poem with inspiration. A little later, a group of young people appears. One of them, a certain Burdovsky, claims that he is "the son of Pavlishchev." They seem to be nihilists, but only, in the words of Lebedev, "they went further, sir, because they are primarily businesslike, sir."

Chapters 8, 9
A libel is read from a newspaper about the prince. Everyone is embarrassed, and then they demand from him that he, as a noble and honest man, reward the son of his benefactor. However, Ganya Ivolgin, who was instructed by the prince to deal with this matter, proves that Burdovsky is not Pavlishchev's son at all. The company at first retreats in embarrassment, but then again attacks the prince. Unable to bear it, Lizaveta Prokofievna tries to convince everyone, but she is reassured.

Chapter 10

The consumptive Ippolit Terentyev now turns all attention to himself, who begins to “orate” in order to assert himself. He wants to be pitied and praised. At the same time, he is ashamed of his openness, his enthusiasm is replaced by rage, especially against the prince. Then he leaves with his friends, while Myshkin listens attentively to everyone, feels sorry for everyone and feels guilty before everyone. When everyone disperses, a carriage with Nastasya Filippovna appears. She is talking familiarly with Prince Yevgeny Pavlovich Radomsky, who is courting Aglaya. He pretends not to know her.

Chapters 11, 12
Three days later, Lizaveta Prokofievna herself comes to the prince and interrogates him about the letter to Aglaya. She then takes him to her.

Part III

Chapters 1, 2
The whole family gathered in the Yepanchins' house, as well as Radomsky and Prince Shch., Adelaide's fiancé. They all go for a walk. At the station, they see another company, in which Nastasya Filippovna. She again treats Radomsky familiarly, informing him of the suicide of his uncle, who squandered a large treasury sum. Everyone is indignant at the provocation. The officer, a friend of Radomsky, remarks: "Here you just need a whip, otherwise you won’t take anything with this creature!" The officer wants to hit Nastasya Filippovna, but Prince Myshkin holds him back. Rogozhin appears and takes her away.

Chapters 3, 4
In the evening, the prince receives a note from Aglaya, and later meets with Rogozhin, who informs him that Nastasya Filippovna is writing letters to Aglaya. Returning to his place, the prince finds a merry company there, celebrating his birthday.

Chapters 5-7
Ippolit Terentyev reads aloud My Necessary Explanation, written by him, a confession of amazing depth by a young man who had hardly lived, but had changed his mind a lot, and who was doomed by illness to an untimely death. After reading, he tries to commit suicide, but there is no bullet in the gun. They begin to laugh at him, but the prince defends Ippolit, who was painfully afraid of seeming ridiculous, from attacks and ridicule.

It is already dawn, and the prince goes on a date with Aglaya.

Chapter 8
Aglaya invites the prince to become her friend and run away with her. The prince feels that he truly loves her. Here they meet Lizaveta Prokofievna, and she calls the prince to her.

Chapters 9, 10
Returning to his room, the prince is talking to Lebedev. Myshkin reads the letters that Nastasya Filippovna wrote to Aglaya. A little later, he goes to wander around the park and ends up at the Epanchins' house, and then in the same park the prince and Nastasya Filippovna meet. She kneels before him and asks him if he is happy with Aglaya, and then disappears with Rogozhin.

Part IV

Chapters 1-4
A week later, arriving from the Yepanchins' house, Varvara Ardalionovna informs Ghana that the prince has formally been declared Aglaya's fiancé. Ganya shows her sister a note from Aglaya, where she asks to meet her. General Ivolgin has a blow.

Chapters 5-7
For some time, the prince is blissful from the realization that Aglaya loves him. One evening, a kind of “bride-in-law” of the prince was to take place at the Yepanchins, high-ranking guests were invited. Aglaya believes that the prince is incomparably superior to all of them, but she is afraid that he will say or do something wrong. From this, the prince is even more nervous and afraid to make a wrong gesture, is silent, but then painfully inspired, talks a lot about Catholicism as anti-Christianity, declares his love to everyone, breaks a precious Chinese vase and falls in another fit. The audience becomes uncomfortable. Aglaya says that she never considered him her fiancé.

Chapter 8
The next day, the prince comes to visit the Yepanchin family. Then Hippolyte comes to him. Aglaya makes an appointment with Nastasya Filippovna in Pavlovsk, to which she comes with the prince. Rogozhin is also present. Aglaya sternly and hostilely asks what right Nastasya Filippovna has to write letters to her and generally interfere in her and the prince's personal lives. Offended by the tone and attitude of her rival, Nastasya Filippovna, in an angry outburst, orders the prince to stay with her and drives Rogozhin away. The prince is torn between two women. Rogozhin leaves. The prince realizes that he loves Nastasya Filippovna with love-pity and is unable to leave her.

Chapter 9
Two weeks passed, rumors about the latest events circulated around Pavlovsk. The prince's condition was getting worse, he was more and more immersed in mental confusion.

Chapter 10
The day of the wedding of the prince and Nastasya Filippovna is appointed. General Ivolgin soon dies. On the eve of the wedding, Nastasya Filippovna, inspired, joyfully prepares for the wedding. On the wedding day, near the church, she sees Rogozhin and suddenly rushes to him, asking him to take her away from here. Parfyon picks her up in his arms, gets into the carriage and takes her away. The prince follows her.

Chapter 11
In Petersburg, the prince immediately goes to Rogozhin. The old woman who opened the door says that he is not at home, but it seems to the prince that Rogozhin seems to be looking at him from behind the curtain. The prince goes to the apartment of Nastasya Filippovna, goes to her friends, trying to find out something about her. He returns to Rogozhin's house several times, but to no avail: he is not there, no one knows anything. All day the prince wanders around the sultry city, believing that Parfyon will certainly appear. Unexpectedly, he meets him: Rogozhin asks him in a whisper to follow him. In the house, he leads the prince into a room. There, in an alcove on a bed under a white sheet, furnished with "bottles with Zhdanov's liquid" so that the smell of decay is not felt, lies the dead Nastasya Filippovna. Rogozhin admits that he killed her. Rogozhin leaves the prince to spend the night with him over the corpse, and when the door was opened the next day in the presence of the police, “they found the murderer in complete unconsciousness and fever. The prince sat motionless and quiet beside him, each time at the outburst of a cry or delirium of the patient, he hastened to run his trembling hand over his hair and cheeks, as if caressing and calming him. But he no longer understood what they were asking him about, and did not recognize the people who entered.

Chapter 12
At the trial, Rogozhin averted all suspicions of complicity from the prince, taking all the blame from himself. Rogozhin is sentenced to fifteen years hard labor. Prince Myshkin is again placed in a hospital in Switzerland. His mind was completely shattered. Aglaya married some scoundrel, allegedly a Polish count, and quarreled with her family. Aglaya plunges her soul into Catholicism, hated by Prince Myshkin.

The novel takes place in Pavlovsk in St. Petersburg in late 1867 - early 1868.
Prince Myshkin Lev Nikolaevich came from Switzerland to Petersburg. He is twenty-six years old, a nobleman, the last of his kind, he became an orphan early, in childhood he was very ill with a serious nervous illness and his guardian Pavlishchev placed him in a Swiss sanatorium. He lived there for four years and has now returned to Russia to serve her. On the train, Myshkin met Parfen Rogozhin, who was the son of a wealthy merchant, who, after his father's death, inherited a very large fortune. It is from him that he learns about Nastasya Filippovna Barashkova, who was the mistress of the wealthy aristocrat Totsky. Rogozhin also loves her.
The prince goes to the house of General Epanchin Myshkin is a distant relative of his wife Elizaveta Prokofievna. Yepanchin has three daughters: Alexandra, Adelaide and Aglaya. The prince is received with curiosity and sympathy. The prince was a trusting, direct, rather naive and intelligent person. Here the prince is also introduced to the proud secretary of the general, Ivolgin Ganya.
Totsky wants to get rid of Nastasya Filippovna and marry one of the daughters of the Yepanchins. And give it to Ganya Ivolgin, and give money as a dowry. Ganya loves money very much, with the help of it he wants to break into people. He would like to marry Aglaya Yepanchina. He is waiting for a decision from her, since his further actions will depend on this. The prince becomes an intermediary between Aglaya and Ganya.
The prince is offered to live in the Ivolgins' apartment. The prince does not have time to settle down and get acquainted with all the inhabitants of the apartment, as unexpected events occur. Nastasya Filippovna arrives to invite Ganya and his family to her place for the evening. She has fun listening to the speeches of General Ivolgin, which greatly inflame the stop. A noisy company arrives with Rogozhin, who places money in front of Nastasya Filippovna. There is something like bargaining going on for Nastasya Filippovna.
For Ghani's mother and his sister, everything that happens is very humiliating. Nastasya Filippovna is a corrupt woman, but for Ganya she is the hope for his enrichment. There is a scandal. Ganya's sister Varvara Ardalionovna spits in her brother's face, he wants to hit her, but the prince stands up for her and receives a slap from Ganya.
The prince is subdued by the beauty of Nastasya Filippovna, and he comes to her in the evening. A lot of people gathered in her house, from General Yepanchin to the jester Ferdyshchenko. Nastasya Filippovna, asks if she should marry Ganya, and the prince replies that this should not be done. Rogozhin arrives again, who places a hundred thousand in front of Nastasya Filippovna.
At this time, the prince confesses his love for Nastasya Filippovna and says that he is ready to marry her. It also turns out that Myshkin received a rich inheritance from his deceased aunt. Nastasya Filippovna leaves with Rogozhin, and throws a bundle of money into the fireplace and offers Ghana to get it out of there. Ganya wants to leave, but faints. Nastasya Filippovna takes out a bundle of money with fireplace tongs and leaves it to Ganya as a reward for his torment.
Six months have passed. The prince, having traveled around Russia, travels from Moscow to St. Petersburg. Rumor has it that Nastasya Filippovna ran away from the crown several times, from Rogozhin to the prince.
At the station, the prince feels someone's fiery gaze on him. The prince goes to Rogozhin, he lived in a house on Gorokhovaya Street. They talk, and the prince constantly takes a knife in his hands, Rogozhin removes it. In Rogozhin's house, the prince sees on the wall a copy of Hans Holbein's painting, which depicts the Savior, who has just been taken down from the cross. They exchange crosses, then Parfyon leads the prince to his mother for a blessing, since they are now like brothers.
Upon returning to the hotel, the prince notices a familiar figure at the gate and follows her. Here he sees the same sparkling eyes as at the station, it was Rogozhin, who brought the knife. The prince has an epileptic fit and Pafen runs away.
Myshkin moves to Pavlovsk to Lebedev's dacha, where the Yepanchin family and Nastasya Filippovna are present. He has a lot of people in the evening.
Later, a company arrives, led by a young man Burdovsky, who is the son of Pavlishchev. They are like nihilists, according to Lebedev, but more businesslike. A slander about the prince is read from the newspaper, and then they demand from him to reward his benefactor Pavlishchev. Ganya Ivolgin, proves that Burdovsky is not the son of Pavlishchev. The company leaves, only Ippolit Terentyev remains, who speaks against the prince. Myshkin listens to everyone, and feels guilty before everyone.
Then the prince visits the Yepanchins, and all those present go for a walk. Nearby, another company appears at the station, where Nastasya Filippovna is present. For a provocation, she unceremoniously turns to Radomsky, telling him that his uncle committed suicide because of the spent government money. Everyone is outraged. Radomsky's friend, an officer, angrily says that this creature needs a whip. In response to this, Nastasya Filippovna snatches a cane from someone's hands and cuts his face to the point of blood. The officer wants to retaliate with a blow to Nastasya Filippovna, but Prince Myshkin stands up for her.
At the prince's birthday, Ippolit Terentyev reads out a confession he wrote ("My necessary explanation"), after which he attempts suicide, but there is no piston in the pistol. The prince protects Hippolyte from attacks and ridicule.
In the park in the morning, Aglaya invites the prince to be her friend. The prince understands that he loves her. A little later, in the same place, Myshkin meets Nastasya Filippovna, who asks if he is happy with Aglaya, and then leaves with Rogozhin. She writes letters to Aglaya asking her to marry the prince.
A week later, the prince is announced as Aglaya's fiancé. Guests are invited to the Yepanchins to see the prince. Aglaya believes that the prince is still above all of them. At first the prince is silent, but then he makes speeches very eloquently. At the evening, Myshkin again has a seizure.
Aglaya made an appointment in Pavlovsk to meet Nastasya Filippovna, to which she goes with the prince. Rogozhin is present at the meeting. Aglaya asks Nastasya Filippovna what right she has to write letters to her and interfere in her personal life with the prince. Insulted, Nastasya Filippovna angrily asks the prince to stay with her and drives Rogozhin away. The prince rushes between two women. He loves Aglaya very much, but he also loves Nastasya Filippovna with love-pity. He can't leave her. The prince's condition is getting worse, he is more and more immersed in mental confusion.
The prince wants to marry Nastasya Filippovna. On the day of the wedding, on the way to the church, she runs to Rogozhin, who is standing in the crowd, who takes her away.
In the morning, the prince arrives in St. Petersburg and goes to Rogozhin. He is not at home, it seems to the prince that he is looking at him from behind the curtains. The prince begins to walk around Nastasya Filippovna's acquaintances, trying to find out at least something about her. He comes to Rogozhin's house several times, but he is not there. All day the prince hopes that Parfyon will still appear. On the street, he meets Rogozhin and he asks in a whisper to follow him. Rogozhin leads the prince to a room in the house, where Nastasya Filippovna lies dead on the bed.
Rogozhin and the Prince spend a sleepless night together over the corpse, and the next day the police arrive and find Rogozhin rushing about in delirium and Myshkin reassuring him, who no longer recognizes anyone and understands nothing. These events destroy Myshkin's psyche and finally turn him into an idiot.

Please note that this is only a summary of the literary work "The Idiot". This summary omits many important points and quotations.

Fyodor Mikhailovich Dostoevsky (1821 - 1881) is one of the most popular and recognized Russian writers in Western countries. The famous Russian prose writer, like no one else, managed to look into the depths of the human soul and reveal its vices. That is why he became so interesting to the public, and his works have not lost their relevance to this day.

This article opens a separate cycle dedicated to F.M. Dostoevsky. the site will try to understand and analyze the work of the author together with you.

So, our topic for today: F.M. Dostoevsky "The Idiot" - a summary, history and analysis of the novel. Let's not ignore domestic film adaptations that came out at different times.

Before talking about the plot, it is necessary to mention the life circumstances of the author, thus briefly touching on Dostoevsky's biography.

Biography of Dostoevsky - briefly and most importantly

The future brilliant writer was born in Moscow and was the second child, out of eight, in the family. Father Mikhail Andreevich Dostoevsky made a living by medicine, and his mother Maria Fedorovna Nechaeva belonged to the merchant class. Despite the fact that the Dostoevsky family lived modestly, Fyodor Mikhailovich received an excellent upbringing and education, and from an early age instilled a love of reading books. The family idolized the work of Pushkin. At a fairly early age, Dostoevsky became acquainted with the classics of world literature: Homer, Cervantes, Hugo, and others.

But at the age of 16, the first tragedy happens in the life of the writer - consumption (pulmonary tuberculosis) takes the life of his mother.

After that, the father of the family sends Fedor and his older brother Mikhail to study at the Main Engineering School. No matter how much the sons protested, the father insisted on special education, which in the future could ensure material well-being.

In 1843, Dostoevsky graduated from college and was enrolled as a field engineer-second lieutenant in the St. Petersburg engineering team, but after a year of service he resigned in order to devote himself entirely to literature.

In 1845, the first serious novel, Poor People, was published, after which the literary community recognized the talent of the writer. They began to talk about the "new Gogol".

Soon, another tragedy is approaching the place of the sharply fallen glory on the writer. In 1850, Dostoevsky was sentenced to death. At the very last moment, she was replaced by hard labor and subsequent exile to Siberia for four years.

What illegal did the genius writer do? The fact is that since 1846 the writer began to make friends with Patrashevsky Mikhail Vasilyevich, a staunch socialist. He attended the so-called "Petrashevsky Fridays", where music, literature, and partly politics were discussed. The circle advocated the abolition of serfdom and called for the fight against corruption.

As a result, the entire group of dissidents, on the personal order of Emperor Nicholas I *, was taken under close scrutiny, then arrested and imprisoned in the Peter and Paul Fortress.

For reference

*Nicholas I- Emperor of All Russia, who ruled the country for 30 years (1825 - 1855). The throne was inherited from the elder brother of Alexander I. The reign of Nicholas I was marked by an increased number of officials. A critical look at the work of officials of that time was vividly conveyed by N.V. Gogol in The Inspector

The arrested were accused of free-thinking and sentenced to death.

But then the sentence was commuted. Nicholas I added personally: “Announce pardon only at the moment when everything is ready for execution” .

image of the death penalty - execution

The initiation of the sentence took place on December 22, 1849. After such an improvisation, one of the condemned (Grigoriev) went crazy after a while. Dostoevsky just outlined his spiritual shock in one of the chapters of the novel The Idiot. Therefore, I propose to switch to the plot of the book, but we will certainly return to the biography of the writer a little lower.

Dostoevsky "The Idiot" summary

Prince Myshkin

The protagonist of the novel is a young man, Prince Lev Nikolaevich Myshkin, who is returning from Switzerland after a long treatment (for epilepsy). In his pocket, despite his princely title, he has nothing, and from the luggage - a small bundle.

His goal is to find his distant relative in St. Petersburg, General Lizaveta Prokofievna Yepanchina.

On the way to St. Petersburg, the prince meets the merchant's son Parfyon Rogozhin, who, in turn, goes to receive a colossal inheritance from his late father. Mutual sympathy develops between the two characters.

Rogozhin tells a new friend about his acquaintance with the extraordinary St. Petersburg beauty Nastasya Filippovna, who has a reputation as a fallen woman. This is where the new friends part ways.

Prince Myshkin arrives at the Yepanchins' house. General Ivan Fedorovich, the father of the family, at first reluctantly accepts an uninvited strange guest, but then decides to introduce him to his family - his wife and three daughters Alexandra, Adelaide and Aglaya.

But, before meeting the women of this house, Myshkin has the opportunity to see the portrait of Nastasya Filippovna. He is literally captivated by the beauty of this woman.

From this moment begins an amazing and intriguing chain of events around the protagonist of the novel. To give a summary of the novel "The Idiot", as well as any other work, is more detailed - inappropriate and unfair to the author. Therefore, we once again adhere to our tradition and introduced you only to the plot of this plot.

The greatest interest in this work, of course, are the characters.

Characters in The Idiot

Prince Lev Nikolaevich Myshkin- the key character of the novel, embodying humility and virtue. Dostoevsky himself writes to Maikov A.N. (poet, privy councilor) about his protagonist the following:

“For a long time already one thought had tormented me, but I was afraid to make a novel out of it, because thought is too hard and I'm not prepared for it, although the idea is quite smart and I love it. This idea is to portray a completely beautiful person.»

And setting such a task, Dostoevsky turns to the famous character of Cervantes - Don Quixote and Dickens - Samuel Pickwick. The author endows Prince Myshkin with the same virtue, but at the same time gives him a shade of seriousness.

The main features of the hero; "noble innocence and boundless credulity."

Autobiographical elements can also be found in the main character. The writer endowed Myshkin with epilepsy, which he himself suffered all his life. And from the lips of the prince sound ideas close to Dostoevsky himself. This is also a question of the Orthodox faith, the attitude towards atheism.

This theme is clearly shown in the episode where Myshkin examines painting by Hans Holbein the Younger "Dead Christ in the tomb". Dostoevsky saw her personally in Basel. According to the writer's wife, the picture shocked Fyodor Mikhailovich.

Hans Holbein the Younger "Dead Christ in the Tomb"

- Yes, this ... this is a copy of Hans Holbein, - said the prince, having managed to make out the picture, - and although I am not a connoisseur, it seems to be an excellent copy. I saw this picture abroad and I can't forget it...
“But I like to look at this picture,” Rogozhin muttered after a pause ...
- To this picture! the prince suddenly exclaimed, under the influence of a sudden thought, “at this picture! Yes, from this picture, another may still have faith!

The attitude towards the death penalty is also reflected in one of the prince's monologues:

“Murder by sentence is disproportionately worse than murder by robbers.<…>Bring and place a soldier against the cannon itself in the battle and shoot at him, he will still hope, but read the sentence to this very soldier for sure, and he will go crazy or cry.

“My friend was eighth in line, so he had to go to the poles in the third place. The priest walked around with a cross. It turned out that there were five minutes to live, no more. He said that these five minutes seemed to him an endless period, an enormous wealth; it seemed to him that in those five minutes he would live so many lives that even now there was nothing to think about the last moment, so he also made different orders: he calculated the time to say goodbye to his comrades, he set aside two minutes for this, then he set another two minutes to think for the last time about myself, and then, to look around for the last time "

Parfen Rogozhin- a gloomy, uncouth dork who lives only in impulses of passion. After reading the novel, it is difficult to understand whether his love for Nastasya Filippovna is sincere or whether it is an obsession that develops into a mental disorder. Rogozhin is the exact opposite of Myshkin.

The second author of the Hobbibook blog, Vladislav Dikarev, calls Parfyon Rogozhin his favorite character in Russian literary classics. Why? He does not quite agree that this is an uncouth dork. Rather, a soul lives in Rogozhin's chest, torn apart by contradictions. The soul is sick, feverish. And in many ways, his motives are dictated by a manic desire to possess Nastasya Filippovna. However, the constant resistance on her part, the feeling that the woman does not reciprocate him in any way, inflames Parfion's passion even more. And with it, rage. Rogozhin is literally going crazy before our eyes, his personality is crumbling under the weight of such a spiritual way of life.

If these two characters are combined into one whole, then in principle we will get all the advantages and disadvantages of Dostoevsky.

Nastasya Filippovna- a woman of complex fate. Smart, proud and beautiful, but it is difficult for her to find her place in society.

- Amazing face! - answered the prince, - and I am sure that her fate is not out of the ordinary. “Happy face, but she suffered terribly, didn’t she?” The eyes speak about this, these two bones, two dots under the eyes at the beginning of the cheeks. This proud face, terribly proud, and now I don’t know if she is kind? Ah, for good! Everything would be saved!

In addition to the main characters, there are a number of other characters.

Epanchin family which includes General Ivan Fedorovich, his wife and daughters.

Ivolgin family, who once occupied a significant position in society, but because of the promiscuity and impulsiveness of the father of the family, retired General Ivolgin, he is forced to make ends meet by renting out apartments in his house.

"Idiot", you are unlikely to succeed in reading the rally. Throughout the work, every now and then one has to come across roughness and little things that the author has not perfected. Elements that Dostoevsky did not have time to “lick out”. There were reasons for that.

Unlike the same Nekrasov or Turgenev, Dostoevsky did not have a high noble origin and was forced to earn his living by writing. He had deadlines that he could not violate in front of the publishers of the Russky Vestnik magazine. In addition, after the death of his older brother Mikhail, Fedor Mikhailovich took on the debt obligations of the deceased. As a result, his financial situation worsened even more. Creditors began to bother the author, threatening him with a "debt hole".

In such an environment, the writer could not work, and Dostoevsky was forced to leave Russia. It was abroad that the novel The Idiot was written. But the writing process dragged on for almost a year and a half and ended in 1869.

The novel "The Idiot" was published in parts in the journal "Russian Messenger". That is why when reading the book, you can notice some repetitions and reminders of the author about the development of the plot. And the abruptness at the sharp turns of the plot was supposed to lure readers of the magazine to read subsequent chapters. Approximately, as in modern television series.

If we open the veil of the plot a little more, then the novel presents a complex love vicissitudes.

• Prince - Nastasya Filippovna and Prince - Aglaya
• Gavrila Ivolgin - Nastasya Filippovna and Gavrila Ivolgin - Aglaya
• Parfen Rogozhin: Nastasya Filippovna

Thus, the author provides the reader with judgments about several types of love. This is the passionate and direct love of Rogozhin, the mercantile love on the part of Gavrila Ivolgin, and the Christian (out of compassion) love of Prince Myshkin.

The novel "The Idiot" is part of the so-called "Pentateuch", which absorbed all the best works of Fyodor Mikhailovich Dostoevsky. It includes:

1. "Crime and Punishment" (published in 1866)
2. "The Idiot" (published in 1868)
3. "Demons" (published in 1871)
4. "Teenager" (year of publication 1875)
5. The Brothers Karamazov (published in 1879)

Of course, all of them one way or another will be considered on our blog. So subscribe to the latest newsletters and stay tuned site

F.M. Dostoevsky "The Idiot" - films

It is also worth mentioning the domestic film adaptations of the novel.

The first film based on the novel was made in 1910 and is, of course, a silent adaptation. Directed by Pyotr Ivanovich Cherdynin.

In 1958, the second Russian film adaptation was released. The creator of the picture is Ivan Aleksandrovich Pyryev (who also directed the excellent screen version of The Brothers Karamazov). The picture already has color and sound.

film Idiot (1958)

The role of Prince Myshkin was played by a very young Yuri Yakovlev. But only one series of the film was released, based on the first part of the novel. Yuri Yakovlev refused further filming due to a nervous breakdown received after filming the first series. Pyryev refused to take another actor for the role.

After 45 years, another film, The Idiot, appeared on Russian screens. The film was directed by Vladimir Bortko, who brought together an impressive cast: Evgeny Mironov, Vladimir Mashkov, Olga Budina, Inna Churikova, Oleg Basilashvili and many others.

But in my opinion, the 2003 film was not very successful. Too much remains unsaid and unshown, which spoils the whole integrity of the story. To a viewer familiar with the original source, the film will seem rather boring. Thus, there is a risk that he will not watch the series to the end.

In conclusion, I would like to quote an excerpt from a letter from Dostoevsky to the same A.N. Maikov about how this novel ends:

“If there are readers of The Idiot, they may be somewhat surprised by the unexpectedness of the ending; but, on reflection, of course, they will agree that it should have ended like that. In general, this ending is one of the successful ones, that is, actually like an ending; I'm not talking about the dignity of the novel itself; but when I'm done, I'll write something to you as a friend, what I think about him myself...<...>The ending of The Idiot will be spectacular (I don't know if it's good?) ... I have no idea about the success or failure of the novel. However, the end of the novel will decide everything ... ”(To A. N. Maikov, December 1868, from Florence)

I hope we have intrigued you with Dostoevsky's novel "The Idiot" by briefly retelling the content of the work and revealing significant events from the life of the author. We will be glad to see your opinion in the comments. Read books - it's interesting!