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
During the conversation over tea, Mrs. Epanchin tells Myshkin that she’s just heard Lebedev “corrected” the article about him. Lebedev admits it’s true, explaining “I’m mean,” and Mrs. Epanchin urges Myshkin not to forgive him. Keller jumps in to confirm that Lebedev did correct it, but Lebedev then notes that he only corrected the first half of the article, and left the second half as it was. Ippolit now says that he purposefully mentioned the correction because he knew it would infuriate Mrs. Epanchin, and he wanted to see her reaction. As an argument begins to erupt again, General Epanchin and Aglaya urge Mrs. Epanchin to come home with them immediately, but she insists that Myshkin is clearly ill and must come with them.
Lebedev has now become one of Myshkin’s close friends and has shown his support, particularly in the wake of his most recent epileptic fit. The fact that he “corrected” the article thus amounts to a hurtful betrayal. Perhaps he did so out of the same sense of family loyalty that caused him to be proud when Doktorenko gave his speech. Alternatively, perhaps Lebedev is ultimately a foolish, unreliable, and duplicitous person even if there is also some good within him.
Themes
Ippolit turns to Evgeny and demands to know why Evgeny has laughed at him every time he’s spoken. Evgeny asks if Ippolit really thinks he can persuade everyone to agree with him after speaking to them for only 15 minutes. At first unsure, Ippolit decisively confirms that he believes this. Evgeny notes that the ideology of Ippolit and his friends seems to revolve entirely around “the right of force.” Ippolit at first denies this, but while Evgeny continues to explain what he means, Ippolit stops listening. It is clear that Ippolit spends much of his time in a “delirium,” not fully conscious of the world around him, and only has moments of full awareness.
Ippolit’s delirium is a product of the fact that he is suffering from late-stage tuberculosis. However, it also an essential part of the novel’s skeptical portrayal of nihilism. Ippolit’s inability (and perhaps also unwillingness) to listen to Evgeny indicates that nihilism is a narrow-minded ideology, one that shuts a person off from other views. Being caught up in nihilist belief is akin to being caught in the kind of delirium produced by Ippolit’s illness.
Themes
Ippolit suddenly bids everyone farewell and invites them to his funeral. Mrs. Epanchin takes his arm, and in a rambling speech, he tells her that above all she is frightened of the “sincerity” shown by him and his comrades. Mrs. Epanchin comments that Ippolit is delirious; she tearfully promises that they will send for a new doctor for him tomorrow. Ippolit, meanwhile, repeatedly assures her that he hasn’t corrupted Kolya, before proceeding with a rather nonsensical rant, interspersed with demands that people stop laughing at him. Eventually he collapses into a chair and sobs with his face in his hands. Mrs. Epanchin comforts him.
When Mrs. Epanchin mentions that she fears the “sincerity” of the young nihilists, perhaps she means that the conviction with which they put their beliefs into practice is alarming, because its consequences are potentially dangerous. On the other hand, there is perhaps an extent to which sincerity is in itself off-putting to a high society woman like Epanchin. In a superficial world of polite detachment, any earnest conviction seems out of place.
Themes
The group discusses what should be done with Ippolit, and Myshkin offers for him and his friends to stay at Lebedev’s. Now Mrs. Epanchin demands to know if Myshkin himself is sick or not. At this moment, Ippolit stands and staggers toward the door, where Burdovsky and Doktorenko are standing. Myshkin says he feared this would happen, and Ippolit screams that he hates everyone there, but hates Myshkin most of all. He curses them all. General and Mrs. Epanchin sarcastically thank Myshkin for such a wonderful visit; Adelaida takes Myshkin’s hand sympathetically, but Aglaya hisses at him that if he doesn’t “drop these loathsome people,” she will hate him forever. She leaves without saying goodbye, along with the rest of her family.
Likely because they are so overly attached to notions of propriety, General Epanchin and Mrs. Epanchin both blame Myshkin for everything that went wrong that day even though it is quite obviously not his fault. Aglaya does not have the same obsession with “proper” ways of being, but does appear to have inherited her mother’s trait of feeling quite horrified when things do not go the way she wants them to. As a result, she coldly punishes Myshkin for the days’ events, too.
Themes
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On the way out, the Epanchins, Prince Shch., and Evgeny come across two “magnificent” women riding in a carriage. One of them (Nastasya) calls out to Evgeny, addressing him affectionately, and mentions Rogozhin. Before she rides away, she says: “See you tomorrow!” Evgeny claims to have no idea who he is, and goes back to Myshkin to ask for an explanation. However, the prince weakly assures him that he doesn’t know anything about it himself.
Even when she is being friendly, Nastasya’s presence alone can send chills up the spines of the other characters. They all fear her scheming and power, and are desperate to remain uninvolved with it.
Themes
