Themes
Key
LitCharts assigns a color and icon to each theme in The Idiot, which you can use to track the themes throughout the work.
Innocence v. Foolishness
Money, Greed, and Corruption
Social Hierarchy, Authority, and Rebellion
Absurdity and Nihilism
Passion, Violence, and Christianity
Summary
Analysis
A couple of days after Nastasya’s party, Myshkin goes to Moscow to claim his inheritance. He stays there for six months, and those in St. Petersburg mostly avoid talking about him. However, rumors still manage to spread about him, which tend to be very ridiculous. There are also rumors stating that Nastasya has disappeared to Moscow, and that Rogozhin went after her. Ganya becomes very ill for a month, and when he recovers he quits his job, perhaps due to humiliation over everything that has happened to him. Varya marries Ptitsyn, supposedly because with Ganya not working, the family needs income.
Even in the wake of a scandal as dramatic as Nastasya’s birthday party, life eventually goes back to normal—or at least, a new normal. This return to normality is aided by people like Varya, who—in opposition to more dramatic and self-centered characters—is pragmatic and puts the needs of others before herself.
Themes
In the early hours of the morning after Nastasya’s party, Ganya gave Myshkin the packet of money and begged him to return it to Nastasya on his behalf. News of this, along with the dramatic events of Nastasya’s party, reached the Epanchin women almost immediately. It possibly came via Varya, who became close to the Epanchin sisters very quickly. Mrs. Epanchin has a low opinion of Varya, even though she has a huge amount of respect for Nina. Before long, Mrs. Epanchin receives news from Princess Belokonsky in Moscow about Myshkin. The princess adores Myshkin, and this “breaks the ice,” allowing the Epanchin women to start talking about him again.
The Epanchins’ shallow nature is perfectly demonstrated by the fact that they require the intervention of a high-ranking friend in order to assure themselves that it is acceptable to speak to Myshkin again. This is particularly ridiculous considering that Myshkin himself, while he was certainly embroiled in the scandal at Nastasya’s, did not actually do anything immoral. Yet his violation of social norms was so great that the Epanchins almost cut him off forever.
Themes
From Belokonsky, the Epanchin women learn that while Myshkin did receive his inheritance, it was not nearly as much as it had originally appeared. When Mrs. Epanchin learns that Myshkin paid off various shady creditors to whom his aunt’s brother-in-law supposedly owed money, she calls him a “fool,” but it is also clear that she cares for him as if he were her own child. More news arrives that after Rogozhin found Nastasya in Moscow, she promised to marry him, but then ran away again. During this period, Alexandra’s engagement to Totsky was also broken off. The whole Epanchin family was left in a grim mood. General Epanchin laments the loss of “such a fortune, and such a dexterous man!”
Again, the social world of the characters resembles a game of chess, in which each single act engenders one set of possibilities, while foreclosing others. While it is not made explicit that the end of Totsky’s engagement to Alexandra had anything to do with what happened at Nastasya’s, we already know that Totsky felt unable to marry until Nastasya herself was married. The chain reaction of events at Nastasya’s has thus left Alexandra without a husband.
Themes
Also during this time, Prince Shch., a well-known and widely admired individual, arrives in St. Petersburg. He is highly educated, hard-working, rich, and of very noble birth. He takes a liking to Adelaida, and in the spring proposes to her. The Epanchin family postpone their long summer holiday for the wedding. While the family are planning the wedding, another very rich, noble, charming, and intelligent suitor, Evgeny Pavlovich R., begins visiting them, this time taking a liking to Aglaya. Although he is known as a heartbreaker, he has earned the affection of Princess Belokonsky, which raises him the esteem of the Epanchin family.
Although both these suitors have excellent qualities, these qualities appear to matter less than the fact that they receive the approval of Princess Belokonsky. Belokonsky herself is perhaps not particularly interested in or qualified to find a match that will make the Epanchin women happy. However, simply because she is so high-ranking, her opinion counts above all.
Themes
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After Myshkin left, Kolya initially kept going about his life as usual. Ferdyshchenko disappeared. After Varya got married, Nina and Ganya moved with her to Ptitsyn’s house, while General Ivolgin got thrown into debtor’s prison after Mrs. Terentyev reported him. He didn’t have a terrible time there, but Nina was devastated. During this time, Kolya began to go off the rails, and was known to spend much time at the debtor’s prison. He also spent a lot of time with the Epanchin daughters, who “gradually grew to love him,” with the exception of Aglaya, who found him annoying. Mrs. Epanchin even grew fond of him, despite the fact that they occasionally fought, and he once called her a “despot.”
Many of the young people in the novel are rebellious, although this rebellion takes many different forms and has very different causes. For Kolya, the trauma of having his father sent to prison (and perhaps the impact of witnessing other scandals) appears to make him lose respect for his elders and for the “proper” way of doing things.
Themes
Kolya once gave Aglaya a short, pleading note from Myshkin, in which he told her he needed her and that he was desperate to know if she was happy. Aglaya was initially disturbed by the note, but after a while it delighted her. Still, Aglaya remained perturbed that Myshkin had chosen to communicate via “such a pipsqueak.”
Myshkin’s romantic interest might seem promiscuous, but this is not because he is a heartbreaker (unlike Aglaya’s other suitor). Rather, it is because he has such boundless, Christian love for everyone.
Themes
