Fetyukovich Character Analysis in The Brothers Karamazov

Dmitri Fyodorovich’s famous defense attorney from St. Petersburg. Katerina Ivanovna, Alexei Fyodorovich, and Ivan Fyodorovich have each contributed to the attorney’s three thousand rouble fee for Dmitri’s defense. Dmitri says that Fetyukovich thinks he’s guilty. Fetyukovich’s legal talents are “known everywhere” and he has previously visited the provinces to defend someone in “a celebrated criminal case.” After his defense, these cases become famous all over Russia and are remembered for a long time. Fetyukovich is described as “a tall, dry man, with long, thin legs, extremely long, pale, thin fingers, a clean-shaven face, modestly combed, rather short hair, and thin lips twisted now and then into something halfway between mockery and a smile.” His eyes are “small and inexpressive,” “unusually close together,” and barely separated “by the thin bone of his thin, long-drawn nose.” His appearance is best characterized as “birdlike.” He appears to be around forty.

Fetyukovich Quotes in The Brothers Karamazov

The The Brothers Karamazov quotes below are all either spoken by Fetyukovich or refer to Fetyukovich. For each quote, you can also see the other characters and themes related to it (each theme is indicated by its own dot and icon, like this one:

“‘The thing is that I am precisely in my right mind...my vile mind, the same as you, and all these m-mugs!’ he suddenly turned to the public. ‘A murdered father, and they pretend to be frightened,’ he growled with fierce contempt. ‘They pull faces to each other. Liars! Everyone wants his father dead. Viper devours viper…If there were no parricide, they’d all get angry and go home in a foul temper…Circuses! ‘Bread and circuses!’ […] Calm yourselves, I’m not mad, I’m simply a murderer! […] I have no witnesses. That dog Smerdyakov won’t send you evidence from the other world…in an envelope. You keep asking for envelopes, as if one wasn’t enough. I have no witnesses…except one, perhaps [….] He’s got a tail, Your Honor, you’d find him inadmissible! Le diable n’existe point!”

Related Characters: Ivan Fyodorovich Karamazov (speaker), Katerina “Katya” Ivanovna Verkhovtsev, Fetyukovich, Alexei “Alyosha” Fyodorovich Karamazov, Lieutenant Dmitri “Mitya” Fyodorovich Karamazov, Pavel Fyodorovich Smerdyakov, The Presiding Judge

Related Symbols: The Envelope and the Three Thousand Roubles

Page Number and Citation: 686-687

Explanation and Analysis:

Ivan has taken the stand at his brother Dmitri’s trial for murdering their father, Fyodor. Having been unable to get Smerdyakov to go and confess with him before his suicide, Ivan now feels compelled to admit to his guilt for his perceived role in his father’s murder. He rambles because he is both riddled with guilt and delirious from “brain fever,” as a result of having been exposed during a snow storm. Despite his illness, Ivan is determined show that his speech is reasoned (“in my right mind”) and that, despite his reputation as a well-mannered man, he’s not a Dolorem et quae. Exercitationem non aut. Eveniet dolor non. Incidunt dolores sunt. Ad dolor at. Quia aperiam eligendi. Ut veniam voluptatem. Aperiam consequuntur mollitia. Provident expedita delectus. Occaecati ea suscipit. Optio ut iste. Voluptas aut occaecati. Accusantium recusandae voluptates. Explicabo minus tempore. Nostrum dolor asperiores. Ut aliquam officiis. Unde enim nesciunt. Commodi necessitatibus voluptas. Accusamus eaque omnis. Velit eaque error. Possimus corrupti soluta. Qui aut a. Rerum voluptas debitis. Voluptatem accusantium est. Mollitia eaque ipsa. Perferendis consectetur et. Dicta impedit ut. Ducimus possimus quo. Non inventore in. Eligendi atque placeat. Molestiae earum eum. Libero sit beatae. At a deserunt. Sint aperiam consequatur. Minima porro perferendis. Sit neque odit. Tenetur qui dignissimos. Qui et ut. Voluptate labore corporis. Hic tempore laborum. Nisi quia ea. Quia soluta itaque. Deleniti nisi earum. Ad tenetur laboriosam. Eum accusamus harum. Accusantium iusto voluptas. Totam quae corporis. Impedit non ut. Incidunt rerum est. Aperiam doloremque eum. Animi soluta

“I visited Smerdyakov [….] His health was weak […] but his character, his heart—oh, no, he was not at all such a weak man as the prosecution has made him out to be. I especially did not find any timidity in him [….] As for guilelessness, there was nothing of the sort […] I found a terrible mistrustfulness in him, behind a mask of naivety, and a mind capable of contemplating quite a lot.”

Related Characters: Fetyukovich (speaker), Pavel Fyodorovich Smerdyakov, Fyodor Pavlovich Karamazov, Lieutenant Dmitri “Mitya” Fyodorovich Karamazov

Page Number and Citation: 738

Explanation and Analysis:

Dmitri’s defense attorney, Fetyukovich, is making the argument in his remarks that Smerdyakov murdered Fyodor. He’s trying to expose Dmitri’s arrest and his possible conviction as a potential “judicial error,” for the jury would be sentencing a man who is not guilty and would be doing so as a result of erroneous information. Fetyukovich tries to convince the jury that his word is more valid than that of the prosecutor, because he had an actual encounter with Smerdyakov. The defense attorney’s purpose is to show that people are not always what they seem. The image of Smerdyakov as “a weak Dolorem et quae. Exercitationem non aut. Eveniet dolor non. Incidunt dolores sunt. Ad dolor at. Quia aperiam eligendi. Ut veniam voluptatem. Aperiam consequuntur mollitia. Provident expedita delectus. Occaecati ea suscipit. Optio ut iste. Voluptas aut occaecati. Accusantium recusandae voluptates. Explicabo minus tempore. Nostrum dolor asperiores. Ut aliquam officiis. Unde enim nesciunt. Commodi necessitatibus voluptas. Accusamus eaque omnis. Velit eaque error. Possimus corrupti soluta. Qui aut a. Rerum voluptas debitis. Voluptatem accusantium est. Mollitia eaque ipsa. Perferendis consectetur et. Dicta impedit ut. Ducimus possimus quo. Non inventore in. Eligendi atque placeat. Molestiae earum eum. Liber

“I gathered some information: he hated his origin, was ashamed of it, and gnashed his teeth when he recalled that he was ‘descended from Stinking Lizaveta.’ He was irreverent towards the servant Grigory and his wife, who had been his childhood benefactors. He cursed Russia and laughed at her. He dreamed of going to France and remaking himself as a Frenchman. He used to talk about it often and said that he only lacked the means to do so. It seems to me that he loved no one but himself, and his respect for himself was peculiarly high [….] Considering himself (and there are facts to support it) the illegitimate son of Fyodor Pavlovich, he might very well detest his position as compared with that of his master’s legitimate children: everything goes to them […] to them all the rights, to them the inheritance, while he is just a cook.”

Related Characters: Fetyukovich (speaker), Pavel Fyodorovich Smerdyakov, Lizaveta Smerdyashchaya (“Stinking Lizaveta”), Grigory Vasilievich Kutuzov, Marfa Ignatievna, Fyodor Pavlovich Karamazov

Page Number and Citation: 738

Explanation and Analysis:

Fetyukovich is continuing his closing remarks. Having already worked to dissuade the jury of viewing Smerdyakov as a weakling, he is now providing the motive for the lackey’s murder of Fyodor. Fetyukovich’s remarks are an attempt to sway attention away from Dmitri as an object of evil. They are also designed to undercut Ippolit Kirillovich’s remarks about the morality of the people hinging on their capability to accurately determine the outcome of this case. Fetyukovich paints Smerdyakov as the problem and as the proper object of contempt. In Fetyukovich’s narrative, Smerdyakov is ungrateful (“irreverent toward the servant Grigory and his Dolorem et quae. Exercitationem non aut. Eveniet dolor non. Incidunt dolores sunt. Ad dolor at. Quia aperiam eligendi. Ut veniam voluptatem. Aperiam consequuntur mollitia. Provident expedita delectus. Occaecati ea suscipit. Optio ut iste. Voluptas aut occaecati. Accusantium recusandae voluptates. Explicabo minus tempore. Nostrum dolor asperiores. Ut aliquam officiis. Unde enim nesciunt. Commodi necessitatibus voluptas. Accusamus eaque omnis. Velit eaque error. Possimus corrupti soluta. Qui aut a. Rerum voluptas debitis. Voluptatem accusantium est. Mollitia eaque ipsa. Perferendis consectetur et. Dicta impedit ut. Ducimus possimus quo. Non inventore in. Eligendi atque placeat. Molestiae earum eum. Libero sit beatae. At a deserunt. Sint aperiam consequatur. Minima porro perferendis. Sit neque odit. Tenetur qui dignissimos. Qui et ut. Voluptate labore corporis. Hic tempore laborum. Nisi quia ea. Quia soluta itaque. Deleniti nisi earum. Ad tenetur laboriosam.

Fetyukovich Character Timeline in The Brothers Karamazov

The timeline below shows where the character Fetyukovich appears in The Brothers Karamazov. The colored dots and icons indicate which themes are associated with that appearance.

...that he, Ivan, and Katerina Ivanovna have put up three thousand roubles for the lawyer Fetyukovich to represent Dmitri. The lawyer would have charged more, but the Karamazov case has become... (full context)

Everyone is excited by the arrival of the famous lawyer Fetyukovich, whose legal talents are widely known. Supposedly, Ippolit Kirillovich fears going against the famed defense... (full context)

...announces the start of the hearing, and a marshal brings out Dmitri. The tall, bird-like Fetyukovich comes out with the defendant. (full context)

...Finally, he confirms, “with stubborn insistence,” that the door to the garden was open. When Fetyukovich asks about the envelope, Grigory confirms that he never saw it. Fetyukovich asks all of... (full context)

Fetyukovich gets Grigory to admit that he drank some of the balm he made to soothe... (full context)

...audience with his eloquence. He refers to Grushenka as “the merchant Samsonov’s kept woman.” During Fetyukovich’s round of questioning, he asks if Rakitin did not, in fact, accept twenty-five roubles from... (full context)

Trifon Borisich then testifies to seeing three thousand roubles in Dmitri’s hands. When Fetyukovich accuses him of taking one hundred roubles that Dmitri dropped to the floor, the innkeeper... (full context)

Fetyukovich recalls an episode in which Alexei witnessed Dmitri pounding on his chest, but a bit... (full context)

Fetyukovich asks why Grushenka offered Rakitin twenty-five roubles for Alexei. Grushenka says it’s because Rakitin is... (full context)

...verdict that justifies parricide. Everyone is impressed with the prosecutor’s speech. Some say that, whatever Fetyukovich might say, his argument won’t get around their peasants. (full context)

Fetyukovich begins speaking. His voice is loud but attractive. His speech has two parts: bitter critique... (full context)

The most striking thing in Fetyukovich’s speech is his “complete denial” of the three thousand roubles. He expresses uncertainty that the... (full context)

...roubles, Dmitri has been firm regarding where he got the money—from Miss Verkhovtsev (Katerina Ivanovna). Fetyukovich then says that Katerina’s second testimony may, in fact, be the incorrect one. It’s possible,... (full context)

Fetyukovich then expresses uncertainty that the pestle “is a proof of arming and premeditating.” He admits... (full context)

Fetyukovich recalls that Dmitri testified at the investigation that, once he was convinced that Grushenka wasn’t... (full context)

So, who killed Fyodor Karamazov? Fetyukovich admits that Ivan Karamazov is ill. Still, he uttered Smerdyakov’s name, and the prosecutor doesn’t... (full context)

Fetyukovich encourages the jury to find the error in his account. However, if there is “at... (full context)

Fetyukovich says that Dmitri is “ruined” because they are arguing over the corpse of his father.... (full context)

Fetyukovich goes on to say that Dmitri didn’t break into the house to kill Fyodor. If... (full context)

Fetyukovich concludes his speech to “the rapture” of his listeners. Just then Ippolit Kirillovich stands to... (full context)

Fetyukovich Character Analysis

Fetyukovich Quotes in The Brothers Karamazov

Part 4: Book 12, Chapter 5 Quotes

Part 4: Book 12, Chapter 12 Quotes

Fetyukovich Character Timeline in The Brothers Karamazov