Author : Fyodor Mikhailovich Dostoyevsky
Publisher : Unknown
Page : 694 pages
File Size : 53,6 Mb
Release : 2021-04-03
Category : Electronic
ISBN : 9798732592061
The Idiot: (Translated by Eva M. Martin) Illustrated by Fyodor Mikhailovich Dostoyevsky Pdf
Nineteenth-century Russian writer and philosopher Fyodor Dostoyevsky's novel The Idiot (1868) concerns a Russian prince, Myshkin, who returns to Russia after a stint in a sanitarium and becomes entangled in a love triangle with two women, Nastasya and Aglaia. While Myshkin is good-natured to a fault, the competitive and insensitive impulses of those around him triumph over his aspirations. He loses both of his lovers to Rogozhin, a corrupt and wealthy man. The novel is known for its depth of characterization and ambivalent outlook on the moral systems and categories that operate in modern life.The novel begins on a morning in November in St. Petersburg, Russia, when Prince Myshkin returns from a Swiss sanatorium, ostensibly for treatment for epilepsy and "idiocy." Myshkin, now in his late twenties, descends from one of the first Russian lines of nobility. The only person he knows in the city is Lizaveta Prokofyevna Yepanchin, a distant relation and the wife of a wealthy and esteemed general. The prince visits them and meets their three daughters, Aglaya, Adelaida, and Alexandra. Aglaya is noted to be the youngest and prettiest.Soon, Myshkin meets General Yepanchin's assistant, Gavril Ardalyonovich Ivolgin ("Ganya"). Ganya is in love with Aglaya but is trying to wed another beautiful woman, Anastassya Barashkov. At the same time, her past husband, Totsky, has offered him 75,000 rubles to marry a different woman, Nastassya Filippovna. Knowing that Ganya is extremely naive and pacifistic, Myshkin openly talks about the proposed marriage in front of him. Not long after, the prince rents out a room in Ganya's apartment, which is also lived in by Ganya's sister Varya, his mother Nina, brother Kolya, father, General Ivolgin, and another man, Ferdyshchenko.Nastassya appears at the apartment and insults Ganya's family because they have declined to accept her as a candidate for Ganya's wife. Myshkin stops her. Soon they are interrupted by a crowd of drunks led by Parfyon Semyonovich, who is in love with Nastassya. Rogozhin offers to bring 100,000 rubles to the birthday party of Nastassya that evening where she will announce whether or not she is marrying Ganya. At the party, Nastassya listens to Ganya's advice and declines the proposal. Despite Rogozhin's offer, Myshkin offers his hand in marriage to Nastassya, revealing that he has recently learned of a large inheritance. Nastassya deems herself unworthy, leaving with Rogozhin instead.Myshkin follows Nastassya as she goes back and forth between Rogozhin and himself. Myshkin's wealth is not very large after all, and quickly dwindles. Myshkin visits Rogozhin's house and witnesses how dark and sad it is; they talk about their religious beliefs and give each other crosses. That same day, Rogozhin tries to kill Myshkin in the hallway of his hotel, but Myshkin suddenly has a bout of epilepsy. A few days later, Myshkin goes to a nearby summer town called Pavlovsk, renting a room from Lebedev. Most of the other characters join in the city.A young man comes to the prince and says he is Burdovsky, the son of Myshkin's former benefactor. He demands cash in exchange for the benefactor's previous support. Though he is clearly an impostor, Myshkin still helps him out. He continues to spend time at the Yepanchins', where people gradually realize that he is in love with Aglaya, a sentiment that she reciprocates. She refuses to admit her love, however, and openly makes fun of him. Aglaya's family still treats him like her future husband. At a dinner party with some of the Russian elite, Myshkin accidentally breaks a Chinese vase. He also has an epileptic fit. These events cause the guests to believe that he is not a good fit for Aglaya. Still, Aglaya persists, and meets with Nastassya, who has been encouraging her to marry him. Myshkin attends, but hesitates in choosing Aglaya over Nastassya......
