The Idiot

After the conversation turns heated, Myshkin backs down. He apologizes for his inability to express his more abstract thoughts and his "inappropriate" (262) gestures. Aglaya is annoyed by Myshkin's reticence. She believes that he is a better person than the rest of them and that they should not argue with him. Koyla teases her about her apparent affection for the "poor knight" (263) Myshkin, forcing her to hurriedly say that she would never marry such a man. Myshkin calmly assures her that he had no plans to ask her to marry him. The response makes the other guests laugh, including Aglaya. The group decides to visit the park. At the park, the group spots three women. These women are surrounded by a loud group of male admirers. Myshkin, to his horror, realizes that one of the women is Nastasya, who breaks away from the group to speak to Evgeny. She wishes to inform him that his uncle has recently been struck by scandal: he was caught stealing government money and, as a result, "shot himself" (268). Evgeny is too shocked to respond. His friend interjects and insults Nastasya. He tells her that she should be whipped for saying such a thing in public. In response, Nastasya snatches a "thin, braided riding crop" (269) from a nearby person and whips the man. Before the man can strike her back, Myshkin steps between them.

Back at the Epanchin home, Aglaya speaks to Myshkin. She is concerned that, after the incident at the park, Evgeny's friend may challenge Myshkin to a duel. She believes that the man will blame Myshkin and demand that they fight, so she tries to give Myshkin advice. She insists that he must "shoot several times a day and learn to hit the mark without fail" (272). She becomes frustrated when he laughs in response. As she leaves, she slips Myshkin a note. General Epanchin approaches Myshkin to discuss the incident, though Myshkin is too distracted to really follow the conversation and he is accused of "not listening at all" (272). The General is surprised that Evgeny's uncle could but caught up in such a scandal but mentions that Aglaya has already refused Evgeny's offer of marriage. According to the General, Aglaya believes that Nastasya wants Aglaya to marry Myshkin, which explains her attempts to undermine Aglaya's rival suitors. Myshkin and the General part ways. Myshkin reads Aglaya's note. She asks him to meet her in the park the next morning. Feeling great affection toward Aglaya, Myshkin kisses the note. Keller finds him and offers his help in any potential duel, saying that he is "ready to sacrifice [himself] and even to die, if necessary" (275). His words make Myshkin laugh; he does not believe there will be a duel. Myshkin goes to the park and wanders around in the dark, thinking about Aglaya. Rogozhin approaches him with a message from Nastasya. She wants to meet Myshkin. Rogozhin refuses to apologize for trying to stab Myshkin, even though Myshkin has already tried to forgive him. Rogozhin knows that Myshkin loves Aglaya, but he knows that Nastasya is in love with Myshkin. Rogozhin does not "like" (278) Myshkin but he loves Nastasya, who has told him that she will only marry him once Myshkin has married Aglaya. Myshkin is unenthused. He believes that Nastasya is "not in her right mind" (280). However, his mood changes when he remembers that, with midnight imminent, his birthday has nearly arrived. He invites Rogozhin to celebrate with him.

Myshkin and Rogozhin return to the dacha. They are surprised to find a "noise and numerous" (280) crowd of people already present, all drinking champagne in honor of Myshkin's birthday. Keller organized the party based on an off-hand comment from Myshkin that he had forgotten about. Myshkin relaxes and talks to the guests. Among them, Evgeny approaches and asks to talk after the party. Soon, they begin discussing philosophy again. Lebedev shares his opinion that mankind is as interested in self-destruction as it is interested in "self-preservation" (286). To prove his point, he tells a story about a murderous cannibal in the 12th century who was driven to his crimes by a terrible famine but later confessed to a priest, even though he knew he would be severely punished. Lebedev examines the "psychological and juridical condition of the criminal" (289) and says that the story shows how strongly people in this era believed in their religion. They were capable of remorse, he says, unlike the atheistic criminals of the present day.

Ippolit has been sleeping on a sofa. He "suddenly" (291) stirs from his sleep and calls out to the guests, drunkenly telling them all that Myshkin is now in love. Ippolit launches into an intoxicated rambling speech, in which he reiterates that he will die soon and that Myshkin has been kind enough to invite him to the summer dacha. Before he dies, Ippolit wants to read a manifesto to the guests. He flips a coin to decide whether he should read the manifesto, titled "My Necessary Explanation" (295). In the manifesto, Ippolit describes how his opinion of Myshkin has changed. He once hated Myshkin, but now, after a series of bad dreams, he has become more interested in people. Through Koyla, he has been trying to learn more about humanity with a "greedy interest" (299). He studied his neighbor, whose child died due to a lack of money and heat. Ippolit now wants to live a full and happy life.

Ippolit continues to read. He describes how he has recently met a disgraced doctor who is in Saint Petersburg to undo the scandal which now plagues his name. Ippolit offered to use his political connections to help the doctor and he is pleased that the man's name is now clear. He is happy that he "inadvertently contributed" (305) to clearing the man's reputation. Now, Ippolit is no longer a nihilist. He can see how a person's actions can bring about meaningful change in the world. Ippolit reveals that he and Rogozhin have been meeting. In Rogozhin's house, Ippolit was shocked by the painting of Jesus Christ in the tomb, especially the painting's portrayal of "infinite suffering" (309). The painting made Ippolit reflect on the way in which even the best men can be broken by pain and death.

Ippolit finishes his speech by announcing his plan to commit suicide. He wants to shoot himself as sunrise in the park in Pavlovsk, "so as no to trouble anyone in the dacha" (312). This suicide will allow Ippolit to end his life on his own terms. He admits that he believes in an afterlife, but he cannot respect any "higher power" (313) that would demand that he humble or humiliate himself in life. He would rather kill himself now than wait two weeks for his illness to end his life. The only power he really has left is the power to die. The guests are shocked, horrified, and scandalized by Ippolit's speech, especially when he announces that he already has the small pistol with which he plans to kill himself. Lebedev tries to take the pistol from him. Ippolit gives Lebedev the gun case, but the pistol is already in his pocket. Ippolit runs from the room and tries to shoot himself in the head; the gun is not loaded properly, so it does not fire. Ippolit collapses into a hysterical mess. The other guests gather him up and take him to bed, then "hurriedly" (319) leave. After the party, Myshkin walks through the park where he is set to meet Aglaya. He feels tired so sits on a bench and falls asleep. His "anxiousness" (321) affects his dreams about Nastasya; he imagines that she has committed a heinous crime. Aglaya wakes Myshkin from his sleep.

After being woken up by Aglaya, Myshkin tells her the "whole story" (322) about Ippolit's dramatic suicide attempt. He believes that Ippolit was desperate to be told that he was loved. Aglaya is moved by Myshkin's empathy toward Ippolit, believing that he has some kind of divine gift for kindness toward people. No one except her mother is able to act in this way, she believes. Aglaya confesses to Myshkin that she wants to "run away from home" (325), as she feels trapped. She criticizes Myshkin for his pursuit of Nastasya, who has been suggesting to Aglaya that she should marry Myshkin even though Nastasya is in love with him. Aglaya asks for Myshkin's help in running away, but he initially dismisses her plan as absurd. She is surprised. She does not understand how he could write her such an affectionate letter then not want to help her. Myshkin believes that Aglaya has mistaken his letter for "a love letter" (326). He admits that he feels something for Nastasya, though he is not sure that it is love. He describes how Nastasya is convinced that she is beyond redemption, so she tortures herself and can never be happy. The discussion angers Aglaya. Her outburst is interrupted by the arrival of Madame Epanchin. Aglaya runs away from the park, announcing that she will be "eloping from the house" (331) to Ganya. Madame Epanchin insists that Myshkin return home with her to explain the situation.

Madame Epanchin takes Myshkin to her dacha so that he can explain the situation with her daughter, Aglaya. Myshkin admits that Aglaya invited him to a meeting, but he does not reveal the "important matter" (332) that they discussed. With Myshkin unwilling to talk, Madame Epanchin allows him to leave. Myshkin returns to his own dacha, where he speaks to Vera, Lebedev's daughter. Vera asks Myshkin not to send Ippolit away after his incident. Myshkin assures her that he has no such plans to do so. He speaks to Koyla about how Ippolit was watched closely during the night. Lebedev enters and complains to Myshkin that someone at the party stole his wallet, causing "the disappearance of four hundred roubles" (335). Though Lebedev suspects that General Ivolgin stole his money, he pretends as though Ferdyshchenko is his chief suspect. Myshkin extracts Lebedev's real suspicions and promises to try to resolve the situation with General Ivolgin, so long as Lebedev promises to "act quietly" (341) and tell no one of the matter.

Myshkin decides to read the letters sent by Nastasya to Aglaya, though reading them pains him. The letters cause him to slip into a "heavy dream" (342), in which nothing is quite fixed or certain. In the dream-like letters, Nastasya describes Aglaya as though she is the light of Myshkin's life and as though Aglaya and Myshkin are a single being. She desperately wants them to be married. Nastasya knows that Rogozhin loves her to such an extent that his love is practically hate. The "raving" (345) letters make Myshkin reflect. He tries to visit the Epanchin family, but they are either asleep or not at home. He wanders through the park while thinking, whereupon his thoughts are interrupted by Nastasya. She becomes emotional, dropping to her knees and kissing his hands. Myshkin asks her to stop but she demands to know whether he is truly "happy" (346). She turns away before he can answer. Rogozhin arrives and encourages the emotional Nastasya to get into a carriage. Rogozhin explains to Myshkin that Nastasya wanted to see him one final time. Myshkin worries that Nastasya has lost her mind, but Rogozhin casually dismisses the idea. He announces that he and Nastasya are leaving; he also asks about Myshkin's happiness. Myshkin admits that he is not happy. Rogozhin refuses to believe him.