Brothers Karamazov (Volume 1 and 2) (Illustrated Edition)

Author: Dostoevsky
Publisher:
Publish Date: 2004-04-01
Features: Fyodor Karamazov is a nouveau riche from a provincial town in Russia. He has accumulated over 100,000 rubles in wealth. However, without religious faith (in the author's view, also without a spiritual life), he indulges in sensory pleasures, is petty, greedy, and lustful. He has three sons. The eldest, Mitya, is an officer and becomes infatuated with a woman named Grushenka, who is from outside the town. Meanwhile, he also keeps a cook named Smelka. Due to jealousy, Mitya threatens to kill his father but does not carry it out. The actual killer is the cook. Smelka is the illegitimate son of Fyodor and a foolish woman. The reason Smelka kills him is influenced by Fyodor's second son, Ivan. Although Ivan behaves nobly, he has no faith in thought, just like Fyodor, and thus no moral sense. He advocates "anything is permissible," which leads Smelka to kill Fyodor and take away 3,000 rubles. After the incident, it accidentally falls on Mitya. During the trial, although Smelka admits to killing Fyodor to Ivan, he commits suicide immediately. Without a witness, and due to the interference of Mitya's two lovers in their jealousy, the testimonies become confused. The court sentenced Mitya to twenty years of hard labor. Later, Mitya also realizes that he should actively endure hardship and suffering, forgive everyone, and atone for humanity. The ideal character in the novel is Alyosha, Fyodor's son, who embraces religion and dedicates himself to the love of God and humanity. Even though he advocates and participates in planning Mitya's escape, whether the escape will succeed is left to the reader to imagine.