The Brothers Karamazov

Question 1

FYODOR

Pavlovich Karamazov

Answer 1

The wealthy patriarch of the Karamazov dynasty, the father of Alyosha, Dmitri, and Ivan, and almost certainly the father of Smerdyakov. Coarse, vulgar, greedy, and lustful, Fyodor Pavlovich lives a life devoted exclusively to the satisfaction of his senses, with no thought for those whom he betrays or hurts. Completely lacking in dignity despite his wealth, Fyodor Pavlovich is loathed by almost everyone who knows him. He has no affection for his children, and even forgets which of them belongs to which mother. His only goal in life is to have money and seduce young women such as Grushenka, whom he lusts after for much of the novel. Fyodor Pavlovich is eventually murdered by Smerdyakov.

Question 2

Dimitri (Mitya) 1

Dmitri Fyodorovich Karamazov

Answer 2

(Mitka, Mitya, Mitenka, Mitri Fyodorovich) The oldest son of Fyodor Pavlovich Karamazov. Dmitri is passionate and intemperate, easily swept away by emotions and enthusiasms, as he demonstrates when he loses interest in his fiancée Katerina and falls madly in love with Grushenka. Cursed with a violent temper, Dmitri is plagued with the burden of sin and struggles throughout the novel to overcome his own flawed nature and to attain spiritual redemption.

Question 3

Ivan (2)

Ivan Fyodorovich Karamazov

Answer 3

(Vanya, Vanka, Vanechka) The second son of Fyodor Pavlovich Karamazov, and the middle brother between Dmitri and Alyosha. A brilliant student, Ivan has an acutely logical mind and demands a rational explanation for everything that happens in the universe. As a result of his inability to reconcile the idea of unjust suffering with the idea of a loving God, Ivan is plagued by religious doubt, and he oscillates between outright atheism and belief in a malevolent God. His forceful arguments about God’s cruelty toward mankind are compelling, but after they lead to the murder of his father, they drive him into madness.

Question 4

Alyosha (3)

Alexei Fyodorovich Karamazov

Answer 4

(Alyosha, Alyoshka, Alyoshenka, Alyoshechka, Alxeichick, Lyosha, Lyoshenka) The protagonist, the third son of Fyodor Pavlovich Karamazov, and the younger brother of Dmitri and Ivan. Kind, gentle, loving, and wise, Alyosha is the opposite of his coarse and vulgar father. He possesses a natural, simple faith in God that translates into a genuine love for mankind. Around twenty years old at the start of the novel, Alyosha is affiliated with the monastery, where he is a student of the elder Zosima.

Question 5

MIUSOV

Pyotr Alexandrovich Miusov

Answer 5

A wealthy landowner, the cousin of Fyodor Pavlovich Karamazov’s first wife, and briefly the guardian of the young Dmitri. Considering himself a political intellectual, Miusov utterly despises Fyodor Pavlovich

Question 6

Zosima

Answer 6

The wise elder at the monastery who acts as Alyosha’s mentor and teacher before his death in Book VI. Extremely intelligent and filled with an ardent and sincere religious faith, Zosima preaches a message of actively loving mankind, forgiving the sins of others, and cherishing God’s creation. The clarity of Zosima’s faith gives him extraordinary insight into the minds of the people he meets.

Question 7

Ratkitin

Mikhail Osipovich Rakitin

Answer 7

A young seminary student whom Alyosha considers a friend, but who secretly despises him. Cynical and sarcastic, Rakitin is too sophisticated to have real religious faith, so he satisfies himself with adopting various fashionable philosophical theories. He quotes Nietzsche and claims to be a socialist. Deeply threatened by Alyosha’s apparently genuine moral purity, Rakitin secretly longs to see Alyosha become corrupted. As a result, he tries very hard to introduce Alyosha to Grushenka, whom he believes will shake Alyosha’s faith.

Question 8

Grushenka

Answer 8

Agrafena Alexandrovna Svetlov
(Grushenka, Grusha, Grushka) A beautiful young woman who is brought to the town by Samsonov after a lover betrays her. Proud, fiery, and headstrong, Grushenka is an almost universal object of desire among the men in the town and is the source of much of the antagonism between Fyodor Pavlovich and Dmitri. She is reputed to be sexually promiscuous, but in reality, she is much too proud to give herself to lovers. She devotes herself instead to increasing her wealth by making shrewd investments, but after she meets Alyosha, a hidden vein of gentleness and love begins to emerge in her character.

Question 9

Katerina

Katerina Ivanovna Verkhovtsev

Answer 9

(Katya, Katka, Katenka) Dmitri’s fiancée, whom he abandons after falling in love with Grushenka. The proud and sensitive daughter of a military captain, Katerina anguishes over her ill treatment by Dmitri, which leads her to adopt an attitude of martyrdom toward those around her. She insists on humiliating herself with an unfailing loyalty to the people who hurt her, and though she loves Ivan, she is unable to act on her love until the end of the novel.

Question 10

Maximov

Answer 10

Maximov is a “sponger”: a former landowner, now impoverished, who relies on the kindness of others to get by. He’s a silly old man who loves to drink, party, and tell stories, usually about his own humiliations. He’s the guy people keep around so they don’t have to party alone. After being passed off from one character to another, Grushenka takes pity on him and keeps him around as a kind of pet. Ivan’s encounter with the devil is made all the more ridiculous because the devil is also described as a sponger, like Maximov.

Question 11

Widow Morozov

Answer 11

Widow Morozov is the woman who owns the cottage that Grushenka lives in. Father Paissy is a priest who is devoted to Zosima. Nazar Ivanovich is the porter at Widow Morozov’s house.

Question 12

Smerdyakov

Answer 12

Smerdyakov (Pavel Fyodorovitch Smerdyakov) Old Karamazov’s illegitimate son, whose last name was assigned to him by Fyodor and whose first names were merely adopted. He grows up in the Karamazov house as a servant.

Question 13

Adelaida

Answer 13

Fyodor Karamazov’s first wife and the mother of Dmitri.

Question 14

Sofya

Answer 14

Fyodor Karamazov’s second wife and the mother of Ivan and Alyosha.

Question 15

Madame Hohlakov

Answer 15

The wealthy widow at whose house many of the novel’s scenes take place.

Question 16

Character List

Answer 16

Dmitri (Mitya) His oldest son, who develops an intense hatred for his father and who is convicted of murdering him.

Ivan The second son, who develops into the extreme intellectual and who questions all values of life.

Alyosha (Alexey) The youngest son, who is deeply religious and who functions as the central figure in the novel.

Smerdyakov (Pavel Fyodorovitch Smerdyakov) Old Karamazov’s illegitimate son, whose last name was assigned to him by Fyodor and whose first names were merely adopted. He grows up in the Karamazov house as a servant.

Adelaida Karamazov’s first wife and the mother of Dmitri.

Sofya Karamazov’s second wife and the mother of Ivan and Alyosha.

Other Characters….

Andrey The driver who takes Dmitri to his meeting with Grushenka in Mokroe.

Trifon Borissovitch The innkeeper at Mokroe who testifies that Dmitri spent all of the 3,000 rubles during his orgy.

Fenya Grushenka’s maid, who lies to Dmitri about Grushenka’s whereabouts.

Father Ferapont The acetic and deranged monk who is a bitter opponent to Father Zossima.

Fetyukovitch The brilliant defense attorney brought in from Moscow to defend Dmitri.

Gorstkin (Also Known As Lyagavy) The merchant who is interested in buying some property belonging to Karamazov.

Grigory Vassilyevitch The old Karamazov servant who takes care of the children and who adopts Smerdyakov.

Grushenka (Agrafena Alexandrovna) The lady of so-called loose morals who attracts the attentions and consequent jealousies of Dmitri and Fyodor.

Herzenstube The old town doctor who gives favorable testimony in Dmitri’s behalf

Madame Hohlakov The wealthy widow at whose house many of the novel’s scenes take place.

Lise Madame Hohlakov’s young daughter, who becomes engaged to Alyosha and then capriciously breaks the engagement.

Ilusha The young boy whose illness brings all of his friends together with Alyosha.

Father Losif (Joseph) The librarian at the monastery.

Kalganov (Pyotr Fomitch Kalganov) A casual friend who is present at Dmitri’s party in Mokroe.

Katerina (Katya) Ivanovna Dmitri’s fiancee, whom he deserts upon falling in love with Grushenka.

Ippolit Kirillovitch The public prosecutor who conducts the trial against Dmitri.

Kolya (Nikolay Ivanovitch Krassotkin) The young boy who influences the other boys and becomes Alyosha’s disciple.

Madame Krassotkin (Anna Fyodorovna) Kolya’s doting and widowed mother.

Lizaveta Smerdyastchaya The town’s deformed idiot, who is seduced by Karamazov and then gives birth to Smerdyakov.

Lyagavy See Gorstkin.

Makarov (Mihail Makarovitch Makarov) The district police inspector who questions Dmitri about the murder.

Marfa Ignatyevna Grigory’s wife and another of the Karamazov servants.

Marya Kondratyevna The daughter of Dmitri’s landlady who is in love with Smerdyakov.

Maximov An old, destitute landowner who lives off the generosity of others, especially Grushenka, in the closing chapters of the novel.

Miusov (Pyotr Alexandrovitch Miusov) A cousin of Karamazov’s first wife, who was instrumental in having Dmitri taken away from Fyodor.

Mussyalovitch Grushenka’s ex-lover, whose return precipitated Dmitri’s strange behavior on the night of the murder.

Father Paissy The learned theologian and devoted friend of Father Zossima who tries to console Alyosha.

Pyotr Ilyitch Perhotin The young civil servant from whom Dmitri borrows money on the night of the murder.

Mihail Ospovitch Rakitin A young seminarian who professes to have very liberal and advanced ideas and who betrays his friendship with Alyosha.

Sanmonov (Kuzma Samsonov) A wealthy landowner who befriends Grushenka.

Captain Snegiryov Ilusha’s father, who is destitute and broken by misfortunes. He is attacked by Dmitri one night because he earned money from Fyodor.

Varvinsky A district doctor who testifies as to Dmitri’s mental condition.

Vrublevsky Mussyalovitch’s companion on the night of the orgy in Mokroe.

Father Zossima The revered elder at the monastery and the spiritual guardian for Alyosha, whose teachings become central to all the ideas in the novel.

Question 17

Grigory

Answer 17

Grigory Vassilyevitch. The old Karamazov servant who takes care of the children and who adopts Smerdyakov.

Question 18

Stinking Lizaveta

Answer 18

A young retarded girl who lives as the village idiot. She dies giving birth to Smerdyakov, leading most people to suspect that Fyodor Pavlovich Karamazov either seduced or raped her.

Question 19

Smerdyakov

Pavel Fyodorovich Smerdyakov

Answer 19

The son of Lizaveta and Fyodor Pavlovich Karamazov, Smerdyakov is raised by Grigory and his wife Marfa and is made to work in Fyodor Pavlovich’s house as a servant. Cursed with epilepsy, Smerdyakov also has a mean temperament, sometimes exhibiting outright malice and sometimes hiding behind a mask of groveling servitude. He is particularly interested in discussing philosophy with Ivan, whose advocacy of an antireligious amorality paves the way for Smerdyakov to murder Fyodor Pavlovich.

Question 20

The three sons of Fyodor Pavlovich in order of birth

Answer 20

Dimitri (Mitya)
Ivan
Alyosha (Alexi)

Question 21

Lise

Answer 21

Madame Hohlakov’s young daughter, who becomes engaged to Alyosha and then capriciously breaks the engagement.

Question 22

Samsonov
Kuzma Samsonov

Answer 22

Grushenka’s patron. He is an old shopkeeper and “a profligate peasant.” He is also the mayor of Skotoprigonyevsk—the town in which the Karamazovs live. As the result of an illness, he lost the use of his leg, which had already become swollen. He is a widower and “a tyrant over his two grown sons.” He is a very wealthy man and a great business man, “tight-fisted above all and hard as flint.” He develops admiration, however, for Grushenka and becomes close to her. He even gives her eight thousand roubles, despite his reputation for being “stingy and implacable.” He dies a week after Dmitri Fyodorovich’s trial. On his deathbed, he refuses to see Grushenka.

Question 23

Lyagavy

Answer 23

Often called “Gorstkin,” because he takes “bitter offense” at the nickname Lyagavy, which means “bird dog.” The peasant trader in the blue coat buys timber land. Both Fyodor Pavlovich and Dmitri Fyodorovich seek him out in order to sell him a woodlot in Chermashnya. Fyodor has been doing business with him for a long time but regards him as “a complete scoundrel.” When Fyodor asks Ivan Fyodorovich to go to Chermashnya, he warns his son that Lyagavy is a swindler and “a rogue” with a penchant for lies. Fyodor tells Ivan to watch Lyagavy’s beard when he speaks and not his eyes, which are “murky water.” If he looks angry and his “red, ugly, thin little beard” shakes, he’s telling the truth. If he strokes his beard with his left hand, it means that he’s going to cheat someone. When Dmitri first encounters him in Sukhoy Possyolok, Lyagavy is passed out drunk after having consumed nearly a quart of vodka.

Question 24

Kolya Krasotkin

Answer 24

Kolya Krasotkin is a thirteen-year-old boy who was once a friend of Ilyusha. Kolya loves dogs and likes to train his dog, Perezvon, to do tricks. Kolya is two years older than Ilyusha, and has a somewhat blustery and impertinent nature.