Dostoevsky brothers Karamazov description. XII

Final Romance Dostoevsky. The Brothers Karamazov is a masterpiece of Russian and world literature and the final work of the writer, in which many motifs, plots, images of his previous works were repeated in a new way. The author spent his whole life working towards the creation of this novel. It poses the fundamental problems of human existence: the question of the meaning of the life of each person and the whole human history, the question of the moral foundations and spiritual pillars of human existence. This book has matured in the national field, has developed on the basis of the common searches of Russian philosophical-religious and artistic-humanistic thought, and marks new stage in its development: the desire to bring together philosophy and faith, science and religion, which was clearly manifested in the same years in the activities of Vl.S. Solovyov, in his "Readings on God-manhood", which served as one of the incentives for Dostoevsky's work on his last novel. At the same time, The Brothers Karamazov is based on a long European literary tradition in understanding these issues, enters into a dialogue with the works of Shakespeare, Schiller, Goethe, Hugo, is included in the widest cultural context era.

In the creative laboratory of the writer, the origins of the novel go back to his large-scale plans - (1868-1869) and (1869-1870). In the spring of 1878, the idea of ​​a novel in two or three volumes arose about the moral ordeals of Alexei Karamazov and his brothers, one of which is a type of Atheist, and the hero himself is a monastic student leaving for the world.

The plot of the novel was formed according to the impressions of the writer's acquaintance with, accused of parricide and serving a sentence in the Omsk jail. Dostoevsky already a few years after leaving prison became aware that Ilyinsky had been convicted for someone else's crime; its history is set out twice in, in chapter I of the first part and in chapter VII of the second part. In the autumn of 1874, the writer decided on the basis of this story to write a psychological “drama” about the crime and moral rebirth of two brothers (“Drama. In Tobolsk ...”), but then this idea was significantly transformed and grew into a grandiose epic novel, created with caution on the epic of L.N. Tolstoy "War and Peace".

The positions of the heroes of the novel - the Karamazov brothers - are extremely generalized: their destinies represent the entire modern intelligentsia in relation to Russia and to humanity as a whole, the future of Russia and humanity is made dependent on the moral and ethical development of the individual. According to one of the plans, “one brother is an atheist. Despair. The other one is all fanatic. The third is the future generation, manpower, new people". Three generations are presented in the novel: fathers, children, and future "roaming forces" - boys. But the purpose of the writer was to give not historical novel, and the pictures and faces of current life, he turned to the recent past, to the events of thirteen years ago, which were supposed to be an introduction to the contemporary activities of Alexei Karamazov.

The novel also became a kind of laboratory in 1876-1877: it posed many problems that became the subject of artistic analysis in the novel: the “Russian idea” is the concept of the original spiritual development of Russia, the moral decay of society is general isolation, social role Russian court, relations between fathers and children, etc.

The implementation of the plan required "hard labor": the novel was created over the course of almost three years and - an unusually long period for Dostoevsky.

Dostoevsky wrote the novel in books representing "something whole and complete" - and more than once it happened that half of the book was already in print, while the other half was still being formed under the writer's pen. The work on book V “Pro and contra” and VI “Russian monk” turned out to be especially laborious for him, which the writer himself defined as culminating in the novel. In the process of work, Dostoevsky gave great importance realistic accuracy of the image, consulted with lawyers and regarding the description of the judicial procedure, with physicians about the illness of Ivan Karamazov. The scene of action - the city of Skotoprigonievsk - reproduces the topography where Dostoevsky wrote his novel and where expensive sights have been preserved: the house of the writer himself (in the novel this is the house of the old man Karamazov), and the house of Grushenka (petty bourgeois), and other places, so that the modern reader, who finds himself in Russa, can follow the routes of Dmitry Karamazov. But the writer strove for "complete realism" not only in depicting the details of the life and spiritual life of the characters, but also in recreating the spiritual appearance of the characters. In a letter to K.P. Pobedonostsev dated May 19, 1879, he noted that his Ivan, like all “current business socialists, no longer rejects the existence of God, but denies with all his might "the creation of God, the world of God and its meaning <...>. Thus, I flatter myself with the hope that even in such an abstract topic I have not betrayed realism.

One of the tasks of the novelist was to present new samples of positively beautiful people - ascetics, true heroes of Russian life - and to prove the authenticity of both the elder Zosima and Alyosha Karamazov. Regarding Zosima, the author wrote to N.A. Lyubimov: "Let me confess that a pure, ideal Christian is not an abstract matter, but figuratively real, possible, forthcoming with one's own eyes, and that Christianity is the only refuge of the Russian Land from all evils. Dostoevsky admitted that the prototype of the elder Zosima "was taken from some of the teachings of Tikhon of Zadonsk, and the naivety of the presentation - from the book of the wanderings of the monk Parthenius."

As V.E. Vetlovskaya, the image of Alyosha Karamazov bears the features of a hagiographic hero and reveals similarities with the Life of Alexei the Man of God. However, the main character is also named after him, who died on May 16, 1878 at the age of three. His death shocked the writer. Soon, on the advice of his wife, he went with him to Optina Hermitage, where he stayed on June 25-27, had meetings with the famous, who became one of the prototypes of the image of Zosima.

In modern criticism of the writer, the novel did not receive a proper assessment. Democratic and populist criticism immediately condemned him. in "Notes of a Contemporary" he saw in Dostoevsky's new novel a manifestation of "cruel talent"; he will then develop the idea of ​​the cruelty of the writer in a special article devoted to all his work (Cruel talent // Domestic notes. 1882. No. 9, 10). in the article "The Mystical-Ascetic Novel" he saw in Dostoevsky's religious preaching a departure from humanism, from the protection of the spiritual freedom of man: according to the critic, both the Inquisitor and Zosima preach the enslavement of the will, the subordination of the individual to authority; Antonovich reproached the author for "the complete unnaturalness of his faces and their actions."
The true scope of the novel from the critics of the 1880s. noticed only, who saw in it the formulation of pan-European problems, the connection with Byron's rebelliousness and Schopenhauer's pessimism, and at the same time " Russian decision question" - the genetic connection of Ivan Karamazov with Turgenev's Bazarov.

But the real study of the novel began only at the turn of the 19th-20th centuries. from the fundamental work of V.V. Rozanov, published in 1891. In one of the central chapters of the novel, Rozanov found the key to understanding Dostoevsky's entire work as artistic and philosophical, mystical and symbolic, turning to the fundamental mysteries of being and the human spirit. Following V. Rozanov, other critics of the religious and philosophical direction are S. Bulgakov, D. Merezhkovsky, Vyach. Ivanov, N. Berdyaev, L. Karsavin, S. Gessen, N. Lossky, S. Frank and others - interpreted the pages of the novel as a discovery of the transcendent nature of man and the tragedy of religious consciousness, facing a choice between "being in God" and "escape from God."

In the 1920-1940s. Literary critics did a great job of studying the history of the novel, its origins (Grossman, Dolinin, Reizov), in the 1980s. this work was continued by the American Slavist R.L. Belnep. In the 1950s-1980s. the novel is studied in the aspect of sociological (Ermilov, Kirpotin), philosophical and ethical (Chirkov, Belkin, Kantor), poetic and mythological (Vetlovskaya, Meletinsky, etc.), in the aspect of literary traditions and national identity (Vilmont, Shchennikov).

One of the original key concepts of the novel is "Karamazovism", a term that characterizes the psychological complex inherent in the Karamazov family, and, above all, its head Fyodor Pavlovich Karamazov, and which has become the same household word as "Oblomovism" or "Khlestakovism". Karamazovism is unrestrained passions, spiritual chaos, "disintegration of the soul." This phenomenon reflects both the social and moral degradation of the Russian nobility (the point of view of V. Ermilov, A. Belkin), and biological, cosmic and ontological decay (the point of view of N. Chirkov, E. Meletinsky), the idea that “life in its own expansion gives rise to the denial of itself” (Chirkov).
M. Gorky saw in Karamazovism a brilliant generalization of the "negative properties of the Russian national character." In our opinion, Karamazovism is a manifestation of mass spiritual nihilism, it is “the penetration of godlessness into the very way of life of a Russian person, the defeat of the entire order of existence” (“corruption of the spirit”); This is most clearly manifested in Father Fyodor Pavlovich, whose ostentatious voluptuousness is a challenge moral ideal, hidden theomachism in the name of falsely understood truths: "naturalness" and "human rights".
The epidemic of unbelief, in the image of Dostoevsky, is a very dangerous disease that causes an escalation of the base instincts of the “crowd” (predation, rudeness, licentiousness), and most importantly, complete liberation from internal prohibitions and the assertion of extreme egoism: “Burn the whole world with fire, it would be only me Fine". Karamazov's unrestraint is interpreted as a self-destructive force. The propensity of a Russian person to renounce the saint is presented as a consequence of the eternal restlessness of a Russian person - "forgetfulness of any measure in everything", "the ability to go over the edge" - and all this is caused by a deep need for an inner anchor - a sense of the strength of social and moral foundations. Such destructive impulses arise at the moments of a sharp break in the stable national way of life.
But Russian passion is represented in the novel by a force that is not only destructive, but also creative. All events in the novel take place in the interval between two trials - the monastic court, created by the elder, and the trial of Dmitry Karamazov - the scene of the lawsuit between the old man Karamazov and his son Dmitry in the cell of the old man Zosima and the trial on charges of parricide. Both in Zosima's speeches and in the final trial, the trial of the Russian person in general is carried out and the deep reasons for his disorder, the problematic nature of his fate are revealed. A Russian person suffers from the fact that he often finds himself in the thrall of false value orientations, ostensibly humanistic ideas dressed up in the clothes of truth and justice. Elder Zosima captures in the souls of visitors a deep split, a need for religious faith, a thirst for life according to the "law of Christ" and, at the same time, a constant inclination to lie, which protects the egoistic claims of man. The fate of each character is determined by the nature of these contradictions, the moral and ethical positions of a person. The artfully constructed composition of the novel serves as a systematic comparison and opposition of these positions.
The novel consists of 12 books. After the first two books - the exposition "History of a Family" and the outrageous "Inappropriate Meeting" - in the 3rd book "The Voluptuous" presents confessors and defenders of primitive unbelief and demonstrative godlessness (Fyodor Pavlovich and his unrecognized son Pavel Fedorovich Smerdyakov), in 4- The book "Tears" contains characters (Katerina Verkhovtseva, Father Ferapont, Ms. Khokhlakov, the Snegirevs) who strive to act nobly and morally, but whose virtue is strained, built on inveterate and vain pride or painful ambition, whose behavior is self-centered: they there is no sense of inner connection with the world as a whole. In books 5 "Pro and contra" and 6 "Russian monk" the main characters come to the fore: Ivan, Zosima, Alyosha (even earlier Dmitry); they put their credo in connection with universal laws, comprehend in the light of a certain ontology. Then the positions of each of the brothers are put to the test in critical situation: first, the faith of Alexei is tested (book 7th "Alyosha"), then - the human potential of Dmitry (book 8th "Mitya" and book 9th "Preliminary investigation") and finally Ivan (book 11th "Brother Ivan Fedorovich). Book 10 "Boys", dedicated to the theme of the future generation, stands apart. Finally, in the final 12th book, The Error of Judgment, all the heroes are once again brought together and all positions are put on public trial.
The image of Dmitry Karamazov is connected with the problem of the moral and religious revival of man - the main one in the novel. This personality is indefatigable, in no way knowing measures socially dangerous. At the same time, it is the trembling Russian soul, stricken by its own disintegration, yearning to "collect" itself as a human being. Dmitry sees in his fall a manifestation common law life - ethical duality modern man torn between the ideal of the Madonna and the ideal of Sodom. This consciousness does not console him, as underground man but causes pain and despair. Mitya is a "broad Russian nature", a type repeatedly varied by the writer. A deep religious feeling lives in him: he truly believes in God, but moral consciousness he often does not anticipate actions, but appears after the fact as a remorse of conscience. He beats his father and threatens him with reprisals, but at the “opportune moment” he is unable to raise his hands against him - and explains this by the saving intercession of God. His rebirth began even before his arrest - with a change in attitude towards Grushenka, but an exceptionally important moment in Dmitry's moral resurrection is his dream about the peasants who had been burned, about a crying child in the arms of a withered mother - an implicitly emerging thought of responsibility to the people. Mitya is reborn through spiritual ordeals, through torment and suffering - this is a passive way of knowing the laws of the human spirit and himself, corresponding to the program of human self-salvation, bequeathed by the elder Zosima. As a spiritually seeking person, Mitya does not fit into the usual typology of Russian truth-seekers-intellectuals - the heroes of Turgenev and L. Tolstoy, who are preoccupied with the search for truth, a life goal. His faith does not need to be tested, his task is different - the religious purification of the soul, repentance for what he has done, gaining integrity. Dmitry is closer to heroes from the popular environment like Lyubim Tortsov or Ivan Severyanovich Flyagin. In the finale, it turns out that moral harmony is still only a dream of the hero, that he is hardly capable of carrying his hard labor cross all his life and therefore is preparing to escape to America; however, he believes that he will run away not for joy, but for "another penal servitude, no worse, perhaps, this one." He does not imagine his existence outside his native land, apart from its soil, without the "Russian God". With the fate of Dmitri, Dostoevsky expresses his cherished idea that the ineradicable need to live according to conscience is the most important Russian unrestraint.
Dmitry's intuitionism is contrasted with the rationalism of his brother Ivan. Ivan is the heir to the educational ideology, which established the cult of reason as the highest criterion of truth, legality, truth. At the same time, the story of Ivan, like that of Dostoevsky's other ideologists, reflects the tragedy of the mind—its enormous destructive power and inability to be the only firm support for man. First artistic analysis"woe from wit" gave W. Shakespeare in the tragedy "Hamlet". By the fate of his Hamlet, Shakespeare showed that the power over the human soul of an infinitely probing mind, one-sided criticism is heavy, painful: it turns a person into a hostage of his own reflection, it leads him to the recognition of nonsense, futility. human life. In "The Brothers Karamazov" references to Hamlet are repeated and Shakespeare's hero is always remembered in a context that provokes a comparison of a Russian person with Europeans: "There are Hamlets, but we still have Karamazovs." Ivan Karamazov raises the question of the meaninglessness of being on a different plane than Hamlet: he is concerned about the unjustification not of individual existence, but of the entire human history from the point of view of the highest and “ultimate” goals of mankind. He affirms the absurdity of God's world, in which there are unjustified and unredeemed sufferings of children. If Hamlet was shocked by the omnipresence of evil, then Ivan Karamazov constantly declares something else - the rootedness of evil in human nature. It is difficult to determine what is more in Ivan's rebellion: whether compassion for a person or indignation at him. But the logic of his rebellion leads to the conclusion that the existence of evil in the world proves the absence of God, and atheism leads to the assumption of evil, to the principle "everything is allowed." Ivan understands that Christianity is attractive as a great, unifying creed, and tries to discredit its unifying power in his poem "The Grand Inquisitor". Christianity seems to Ivan not wise enough: a different way of integrating people, proposed by the "powerful and intelligent" spirit, the devil, who tempted Christ, seems to him real, corresponding to human nature - the path not of conscience, but of forcible unity - by the power of the sword, mystery and authority - the tools of the totalitarian church state.
Dostoevsky reflected in Ivan's poem the eschatologism characteristic of the Russian intelligentsia of the last century - the aspiration to the "future city". What did the “Russian boys” like to talk about? “About world questions,” says Ivan, “not otherwise: is there a God, is there immortality? And those who do not believe in God, well, they will talk about socialism or anarchism, about the reorganization of all mankind according to a new state, so the same hell will come out, all the same questions, only from the other end. Not only the intelligentsia, but also the mass of people of the 20th century, lived their lives with the belief in the remaking of "the whole of humanity in a new state." Ivan's fantasies were a prediction of the grandiose social hoaxes of the 20th century: the ideology of National Socialism, the theory of victorious socialism and the coming communism, the ideas of Maoism, etc.
Ivan's thesis “everything is allowed” is a philosophical postulate that implies a new status of a free person who has cast off the shackles of religion. Ivan wrote about this in another poem - "Geological Revolution", which he was reminded of by the devil who appeared in a nightmare; in it, Ivan Karamazov dreams of a society of people who have completely renounced God: “Man will be exalted with the spirit of divine, titanic pride, and a man-god will appear.”
The idea of ​​"everything is allowed", once on the street, among primitive people, turns out to be a deadly weapon. Smerdyakov acts according to this theory, killing his father against Ivan's conscious will, but guessing his secret desire for "one bastard to eat another bastard." Dostoevsky showed the weakness of Ivan's atheistic mind, which reveals amazing blindness and helplessness in a collision with the intrigues of Smerdyakov, subordinating him to his desires. Only towards the end of the novel does Ivan realize his greatest mistake, having learned from Smerdyakov's confession that in his eyes he, Ivan, was the main killer, and Smerdyakov himself recognized himself only as his henchman.
In The Brothers Karamazov, just as in Goethe's tragedy Faust, the union of the thinker with the devil is depicted. In Dostoevsky's novel, the devil appears in two faces: this is Ivan's real, living double Smerdyakov - the embodiment of everything diabolical in Ivan's soul, and the devil, who appears to him in a nightmare, at the moment of an attack of delirium tremens, is the fruit of his sick imagination. The devil, the "hawker" from the nightmare, is the same casuist, chisel-maker and paradoxist as Smerdyakov and Fyodor Pavlovich. Along with external signs, words and deeds, Dostoevsky's traits resemble Goethe's Mephistopheles and seeks to evoke association with him himself. Mephistopheles in "Faust" appears as a tempter of man. The devil is in Ivan's nightmare and the tempter, who dissuades him from turning himself in to the court, and at the same time the provocateur, pushing Ivan to faith in God. Ivan's furious dispute with the devil is evidence of the painful struggle of faith and disbelief in the soul of the hero-ideologist. Therefore, here, as in Faust, the devil is sent to man by Providence in order to awaken the human in him.
But the union of Faust with Mephistopheles is a symbol of the aspiration of the German spirit to limitless knowledge and broad activities who are on the other side of good and evil; as a tragic national gift, it will be noted by K.G. Jung and revealed in T. Mann's novel Doctor Faustus. Ivanov's alliance with the devil is a sign of the struggle for unlimited freedom, which in fact turns into a defense of "limitless despotism" and personal slavery. And the most terrible consequence of such a union for a Russian person is the inability to believe with a passionate thirst for it, which is convincingly shown in the finale of the novel.
The tragic fate of Ivan Karamazov is a warning to both a strong personality and an entire people who risk transgressing the laws of humanity, conscience and truth in order to assert their power and broad life tasks. In the affirmation of the ideal of the highest responsibility, national and universal (everyone is "to blame for everyone and for everything"), the national and cultural specificity of Russian Faust manifested itself.
The image of the third brother - Alyosha - is the writer's last experience in solving the problem of "positive beautiful person". This is the type of the new Russian ascetic, the religious truth seeker. For the first time in new Russian literature, a positive hero appears in the cassock of a monastic novice. Dostoevsky was the first to show the fundamental difference between the patriot-ascetic and the fighter-atheist, he presented the antithesis of the Ascetic and the Hero. The substantiation of the character of Alexei Karamazov in the very first chapters of the novel is given on the basis of the principle "by contradiction"; he is not at all like the Heroes. Among the leading heroes of Russian literature, their conscious life began with a sharply critical attitude towards close circle and internal separation from it - Alyosha's life begins with the realization of himself as a worldly person: he is open to the world, easily converges with people, unconditionally trusts everyone. He is able to get along with a depraved father with an acute rejection of depravity, because he knows how to see in any person the bearer of the face of God. According to the writer, the faith of Alexei is akin to the faith of the Russian people, and he unconditionally believed in his monastic mentor, the elder Zosima, because he saw in him the guardian of the people's faith.
Alexei's character warehouse is correlated with the personalities of Christian ascetics - heroes hagiographic literature. According to V.E. Vetlovskaya, in Alexei the qualities of an ascetic who overcomes worldly temptations predominate - and it is in this respect that his fate is comparable to the canonical plot of the Life of Alexis - God's man and with spiritual verses about him. However, Alyosha is endowed with the ability for indiscriminate love from the very beginning - and in this he is akin to the Russian saints Theodosius of the Caves, Stephen of Perm, Sergius of Radonezh. Already with the blessing of his mother, who gave him under the protection of the Mother of God, he was carried away “on some new, unknown, but already inevitable road” - and it was not by chance that he met the extraordinary elder Zosima on it. And Zosima sends him into the world not as a probationary novice, for ascetic education, but as a fighter of Christ's army, already ready to reconcile and unite people, transform them, warn them from evil thoughts and criminal deeds. Alyosha also experiences sinful temptations, especially when he rebels against God because the body of his elder began to give away corruption. But his temptations are insignificant in comparison with the self-torture of Christian ascetics: he does not torture himself with fasting, prayer, or chains. And most importantly, he is not at all afraid of the world, does not suffer from its temptations. In it, Dostoevsky portrays a new type of monastic student who did not seek to hide in holy walls from worldly passions. His behavior corresponds to the doctrine of internal asceticism, directed not to personal, but to common salvation, to righteousness in the world. This doctrine was formed in the bowels of the Russian monastery, Optina Hermitage, and was consistently developed by its elders - Leonid, Macarius and Ambrose. Optina Pustyn played a significant role in the spiritual life of Russian writers: N.V. Gogol, I.V. Kireevsky, Dostoevsky, L.N. Tolstoy, K.N. Leontiev and others. Even Alyosha’s statement that Karamazov’s passions lurk in him is, in essence, not a confession of vices, not a description of his own condition, but a gesture of inner rapprochement with the world, which is fundamentally important for a Russian monk. The feeling of unity of the righteous with the world has a Christian-ontological basis, comes from a special experience of the world as a kind of integrity, beauty and joy, a feeling of being a particle of the divine universe. In draft sketches for the novel, the author writes about Alexei: “Are you a mystic? Never! Fanatic? By no means! In the final text, this idea is provided with reservations. A modern scholar sees in these statements a defense against the stereotyped attacks of liberals "in an age when mysticism was viewed with suspicion and fanaticism was recognized only in politics" (Balknap). Alyosha experiences a strong mystical experience in the chapter "Cana of Galilee", after he dreamed of a dead beloved elder sitting next to Christ in a dream. Already at the moment of awakening, he felt the contact of the soul with the other world, and it was as if the threads from all these worlds of God converged at once in his soul, and it all trembled, in contact with the other world. This moment of divine revelation became decisive in his fate: "He fell to the ground as a weak young man, but he stood up as a fighter for life and realized and felt it suddenly ...". From that moment on, something “solid and unshakable” was added to Alexei’s Christian softness and humility, which descended into his soul and was necessary in the matter of spiritual healing of people.
In relations with the brothers, Alexei acts not only as a trusting listener - a "confidant", but also as a spiritual healer, a conscientious judge, and in some cases a mentor. It is noteworthy that in this capacity, Alexei often recognizes himself as an executor of the will of God, a messenger of God; for example, when he convinces Ivan to believe that he, Ivan, is not a murderer: “God sent me to tell you this<...>. And it was God who placed it on my soul to tell you this.”
Dostoevsky considered Alexei Karamazov the first hero of his novel, but main book a second volume of it was to be written about him (see the preface "From the Author"), but it remained unwritten. There is evidence of one of the writer's intentions: “He wanted to take him [Alyosha] through the monastery and make him a revolutionary. He would commit a political crime. He would be executed. He would search for the truth, and in this search, naturally, he would become a revolutionary. Suvorin A.S. Diary. M., 1992. S. 16). Some researchers take this evidence as a real plan<...>. It is known, however, how often and quickly the writer's intentions changed. The implementation of such a “plan” raises serious doubts: Alexei is too far from a revolutionary, moreover, he is decisively opposed to him. He could do only one murderous act - to sacrifice himself, like Christ. The novel outlines a different perspective of Alyosha's activities: here he, like Christ, instructs his disciples - twelve teenage boys (by association with the twelve apostles of Christ) - to a life faithful to the ideals of Christian love and brotherly love.
The spokesman for the author's program in the novel is the elder Zosima, Ivan's main ideological opponent. A preacher of the Christian brotherhood, Zosima also acts as a denouncer of the ideals of the era - a civilization for which personal rights and needs and “bread questions” turn out to be decisive: “... the world says:“ You have needs, and therefore saturate them, for you have the same rights, like the noblest and richest people ... "<...>Understanding freedom as an increase and quick satisfaction of needs, they distort their nature, because they generate in themselves many senseless and stupid desires, habits and the most absurd inventions. They live only for envy of each other, for carnality and arrogance. Zosima is most concerned about the fact that “in the world, the thought of serving humanity, of the brotherhood and integrity of people, is becoming more and more extinct.” The period of human separation can end, in his opinion, only when people stop looking for improvements in life on the path to achieving new rights and enjoying benefits, and turn their efforts towards personal self-improvement: “In order to remake the world in a new way, it is necessary that people themselves psychically turned to the other side. Before you really become every brother, there will be no brotherhood.”
The novel "The Brothers Karamazov" is very close to the epic of V. Hugo "Les Misérables" (1862) in terms of "the main idea Art XIX century”, which Dostoevsky considered V. Hugo to be a forerunner: “This is the restoration of a dead person, crushed unjustly by the yoke of circumstances, the stagnation of centuries and social prejudices.” Both novels affirm the idea of ​​the inevitable national and worldwide unity of mankind, of the restoration of spiritual and moral ties lost by people at the dawn of bourgeois civilization. And these ideas are expressed in both novels by righteous heroes: Miriel and Jean Valjean in Les Misérables, Elder Zosima and Alexei in The Brothers Karamazov.
In Miriel, the ideal traditions of European Christian chivalry and, at the same time, the latest aspirations of social Christianity in the 19th century appeared. In Zosima, the features of the so-called. Russian, non-statutory, unofficial monasticism, to which hundreds, if not thousands of ascetics, elders, holy fools, wanderers belonged (Zander). Service to people is focused on different goals: for Miriel, this is a desire to soften social contrasts, to eliminate envy, corporate and personal, malice, to kindle in the souls of the fallen love for the world and the will for peace; Zosima's intention is to awaken in people the need for personal transformation and readiness to love their neighbor.
Very important for Hugo and Dostoevsky is the clash of Christian righteousness, and more broadly, of absolute, divine moral norms with civil law, public legislation and unspoken public morality. Hugo's novel reflects the European reverence for legal law as a shrine and the writer's faith in the improvement of law on the basis of science and reason. Dostoevsky consistently holds the idea that the law of morality, the law of conscience, the law of religiosity is immeasurably higher than the legal law. Therefore, Dostoevsky believes in the morally organizing principle of the Church, and even expresses the idea of ​​the inevitable transformation of civil society into a single universal Church. Hugo, on the other hand, considers the Church and the monastery to be the archaic beginnings of the harsh Middle Ages, although he proposes to use the social principles of the monastery: the social equalization of people, the renunciation of the blood family for the sake of a fraternal spiritual community. In a word, Hugo, in his interpretation of religious asceticism, follows the traditions of utopian socialism, and Dostoevsky follows the concept of Russian religious renewal, one of the variants of the “Russian idea”.
The final trial of the novel in the case of Dmitry Karamazov (and at the same time the moral trial of his brothers) is perceived by both the participants in the debate and all those present as a phenomenon of an all-Russian scale. Here the final assessments of the moral maturity of both the Russian educated society and the Russian common people are made. In the trial of Russia, which is taking place in Skotoprigonievsk, two points should be distinguished: criticism of moral decay, which reproduces the true picture of public life, and an assessment of this picture by the prosecutor Ippolit Kirillovich and the lawyer Fetyukovich. There is a lot of justice in the prosecutor's speech: he considers the main evil to be in an unprecedented outburst of individualistic energy. But the prosecutor, following the Inquisitor in Ivan's poem, argues that the only obstacle to Russian unrestraint can only be a cruel bridle, severe punishment, merciless punishment of criminals. At the same time, the prosecutor appeals to national traditions, assuring that individualism is a consequence of early corruption from European enlightenment. Lawyer Fetyukovich also appeals to national roots, “to our cordiality,” but he also offers a temptation that is very dangerous for a Russian person: to accept as truth the idea of ​​moral relativism, the idea of ​​the relativity of the concepts of good and evil; agree that Dmitry killed his father, but not recognize such a crime as parricide, since Fyodor Pavlovich was a bad father and person. The danger of such a temptation is not far-fetched: Russian people will have to experience it more than once in the civil wars of the 20th century. The narrator records the fact that the false pathos of the lawyer's speech was perceived by the public "as a shrine." Fetyukovich's appeal to accept his conclusion: "He killed, but not guilty" - was met with enthusiasm: "The women cried, wept, and many of the men, even two dignitaries, shed tears."
Another variant of the false confusion of law and truth is the decision of the jurors. They (petty officials, merchants and peasants) are "soil Rus'" here. Their emphasized meaningful silence, contrasted with the talkativeness of the competing parties, is like a “sign” of genuine honesty and truth. However, jurors also allow " miscarriage of justice”, issuing a guilty verdict to Dmitry Karamazov. By their decision, they only confirm the inviolability folk concepts morality: that patricide is always a crime. And as a sacrifice to this truth, they sacrifice the fate of innocent Dmitry. In the final assessment of their verdict, which is given in the final polyphony of the crowd, irony is heard:
“Yes, sir, our peasants stood up for themselves.
“And they finished off our Mitenka!”
The moral truth in the final book of the novel is truly manifested only in the position of Dmitry Karamazov, in the fact that he, contrary to the lawyer’s conclusion: “he killed, but is not guilty,” defends the exact opposite idea: “He did not kill, but he is guilty.” Mitino's self-condemnation affirms the priority not of law, but of truth, as Dostoevsky understood it, the inexorable thirst for religious transformation that lives in the Russian people, which will lead them to the path of national salvation.
Dostoevsky understood that the fulfillment of this cherished dream would not come soon, no economic prerequisites would provide it - the birth of a New Man was necessary: ​​“People cannot be bought on any market and with any money, because they are not<...>only made for centuries<...>long independent life of the nation, its great long-suffering labor ... ".

Shchennikov G.K. The Brothers Karamazov // Dostoevsky: Works, letters, documents: Dictionary-reference book. SPb., 2008. S. 34-45.

On November 8, 1880, referring to The Brothers Karamazov as an epilogue, Dostoevsky wrote to the editor of the magazine N.A. Lyubimov: “Well, my novel is over! He worked for three years, printed two - a significant minute for me.
Thus, according to the writer himself, the beginning of work on one of greatest novels world literature dates back to the end of 1877. But for three years only the final stage continued - artistic expression images and ideas. Dostoevsky nurtured these images and ideas all his life. Everything experienced, rethought and created by the writer finds its place in this work.
Difficult human world it incorporates many philosophical and artistic elements previous works of Dostoevsky: the line of the old man Pokrovsky from the very first work of the writer goes into the line of staff captain Snegirev in The Brothers Karamazov, the motif of a split personality (Ivan Karamazov and the devil) goes back to youthful, the main idea of ​​the "Legend of the Grand Inquisitor" grows out of, the old man Zosima is preceded by St. Tikhon, Alyosha is preceded by Prince Myshkin, Ivan is preceded by Raskolnikov, Smerdyakov is preceded by a footman Vidoplyasov in the story, Grushenka and Katerina Ivanovna are Nastasya Filippovna and Aglaya in The Idiot.
The immediate predecessor of The Brothers Karamazov, one might even say - creative laboratory, appeared, in it Dostoevsky accumulated and analyzed facts, observations, reflections and notes for his latest creation. But only when the idea of ​​"The Brothers Karamazov" already completely takes over creative imagination, he informs readers in the October 1877 issue of The Writer's Diary of his decision to stop publishing for a year or two, and in the last, December issue, he admits that he wants to do one "artistic work." On March 16, 1878, Dostoevsky wrote to the teacher V.V. Mikhailov: “... I have conceived and will soon begin a big romance, in which, among others, children will participate a lot, and especially minors, from about 7 to 15 years old. Many children will be brought out. I study them and have studied them all my life, and I love them very much and have them myself. But the observations of such a person as you, for me (I understand this) will be precious. So, write to me about the children what you yourself know ... ".
In April 1878, the first entries about the novel were entered into a draft notebook. "Memento [remember - lat.] (about the novel)” – this is the title of one page of notes to “The Brothers Karamazov”, referring to approximately the same time as the letter to V.V. Mikhailov, and mainly related to the same topic - about children.
“Find out if it is possible to lie between the rails under the wagon,” Dostoevsky continues his notes in a rough notebook, “when he has gone through the entire quarry? Handle: wife convict in hard labor can she immediately marry another? Does an Idiot have the right to keep such a horde of adopted children, to have a school, etc.? Inquire about children's work in factories. About gymnasiums, to be in a gymnasium. Ask about: can a young man, a nobleman and a landowner, for many years be confined to a monastery (at least with his uncle) as a novice? (NB. Regarding Filaret, who stinks.) In an orphanage. Bykov. Alexander Nikolaevich. Mikhail Nikolaevich. (Brings up<ательный>house). S. Bergman. About Pestalozzi, about Frebel. Leo Tolstoy's article about school modern learning Here<ечест- венных>zap<исках>» (75 or 74). Walks along the Nevsky with crutches. If you knock out a crutch, then what process will the court go to and where and how? Take part in the Froebel walk. See "New Time", Wednesday, April 12, No. 762...”.
The first drafts of the novel are connected with the "children's theme". Dostoevsky carefully studies the latest pedagogical writings, gets acquainted with the followers in Russia of the German teacher, the creator of "kindergartens" Friedrich Froebel, learns from the newspaper "New Time" (1878, April 12) about the intention of St. Petersburg supporters of Froebel to arrange "educational private walks" for young children , carefully studies the works of the famous Swiss teacher Johann Pestalozzi.
The image of Alyosha Karamazov also arises, however, like Prince Myshkin, he is also called an “idiot”. Dostoevsky plans to “imprison” him for many years as a novice in a monastery. The note about the "stinking Filaret" refers to the idea of ​​the chapter "The Corrupting Spirit". Kolya Krasotkin has already been conceived, and the story of how he lay between the rails under the car.
Dostoevsky intends to visit an orphanage and an orphanage, where his wife's cousin A.G. worked as a pediatrician. Dostoevskaya, wants to consult on children's issue with her other cousin, a gymnasium teacher, she thinks to make, obviously, inquiries on the history of monasteries from an archaeologist and historian, she is going to talk with a friend of A.G. Dostoevskaya, who had a very sickly child.
The writer reads an article by L.N. Tolstoy "On public education" (Domestic notes. 1874. No. 9), where L.N. Tolstoy defends those methods of initial education that do not require large expenditures and can be introduced into public schools. Dostoevsky is also interested legal consequences possible pranks of the "boys": "if you knock out a crutch", and "with crutches" - this is perhaps the first sketch of the sick Liza Khokhlakov in the novel.
And although not all the planned themes and episodes were included in the final text of the novel (for example, the theme of factory labor of juveniles was not developed, there is no episode “with crutches”), but on the whole, the program outlined by Dostoevsky was realized in the novel.
In the very first notes, the image of Mitya Karamazov, who was sentenced to hard labor, appears. Dmitry Karamazov in rough notes bears the name. That was the name of the parricide, whose story is described twice in. “I especially remember one parricide,” Dostoevsky writes in Notes from the House of the Dead. “The other day the publisher of Notes from the House of the Dead received a notification from Siberia that the criminal was really right and suffered for ten years in hard labor in vain; that his innocence was discovered in court, officially, ”the writer testifies.
Dostoevsky was shocked by the fate of the imaginary parricide. For twenty-five years this terrible memory lived in his memory and "responded" in The Brothers Karamazov.
But work on The Brothers Karamazov was unexpectedly interrupted by a tragic event in the writer's personal life: on May 16, 1878, at the age of three, his youngest child, died of an epileptic fit. The wife of the writer A.G. Dostoevskaya describes the writer’s grief: “Fyodor Mikhailovich went to see the doctor off, returned terribly pale and knelt by the sofa, on which we shifted the baby, so that it would be more convenient for the doctor to look at him. I also knelt next to my husband, I wanted to ask him what exactly the doctor had said (and he, as I found out later, told Fyodor Mikhailovich that the agony had already begun), but he forbade me to speak with a sign.
... And what was my despair when suddenly the baby's breathing stopped and death came. Fyodor Mikhailovich kissed the baby, crossed him three times and burst into tears. I also sobbed, and our children wept bitterly, who loved our dear Lesha so much.
Strongly fearing that Alyosha's death would affect Dostoevsky's already shaky health, A.G. Dostoevskaya makes the only right decision to save her husband for creativity, to allow him to calmly create The Brothers Karamazov. She asks the philosopher, who charmed the writer with both his personal charm and his lectures in St. Petersburg, to persuade Dostoevsky to go with him to Optina Pustyn, a monastery near Kaluga (according to legend, it was founded by the repentant robber Opta); about the elder Ambrose from this monastery, legends were made up among the people as an ascetic, miracle worker and healer.
Calculation of A.G. Dostoevsky turned out to be absolutely accurate: after a trip to Optina Pustyn in June 1878 and meetings with the elder Ambrose, Dostoevsky returned comforted and with extraordinary inspiration began to work on his latest work. Dostoevsky and his wife were destined to survive this terrible grief - the death of their son Alyosha, so that the "Brothers Karamazov" made their love and torment immortal. A.G. Dostoevskaya reports that in the chapter "Believing Women" Dostoevsky captured "many of her doubts, thoughts and even words", and in the complaints of a woman from the people who lost her son and came to seek consolation from Zosima (it is not difficult to find many features of Ambrose in him), one can hear his own voices of Dostoevsky and A.G. Dostoevskaya: “It’s a pity for my son, father, he was three years old, only three months away and he would be three years old. I am tormented by my son, father, by my son ... And even if I only looked at him just once, just once I would look at him again, and I would not go up to him, not say, I would lurk in the corner, if only for a minute to see him alone, to hear him playing in the yard, he would come, used to shout in his little voice: "Mother, where are you?" If only I could hear how he would walk around the room with his legs once, if only just once, with his legs knock-knock, but so often, often, I remember how he used to run to me, screaming and laughing, only I would have heard his legs, heard, recognized!
Maternal love, as it were, resurrects the dead boy, and the description of the death of Ilyushechka and the grief of his father, retired staff captain Snegirev in The Brothers Karamazov, in which the personal torment of Dostoevsky and A.G. Dostoevskaya, so pierces the heart with enduring pain that, it seems, there was no more stunning depiction of family grief in world literature.
During the days of his visit to Optina Hermitage, according to a legend that exists among the inhabitants of the city of Kozelsk, Dostoevsky met a friend of his youth, a Petrashevite, on his estate in the village of Nizhnie Pryski, which was located between Kozelsk and the monastery.
In the atheistic judgments of Ivan Karamazov, one can also find echoes of N.S. Kashkin in the 1840s At one of the evenings, as follows from the investigation file of the Petrashevites, N.S. Kashkin read "a speech of criminal content against God and the social order, proving that the suffering of mankind proclaims the malice of God much more than His glory."
The first two books of The Brothers Karamazov were finally ready at the end of October 1878. In January 1879. In the November issue of the magazine for 1880, the printing of the last chapters was completed.
The Brothers Karamazov is not only a synthesis of Dostoevsky's entire work, but also the completion of his entire life. Even in the very topography of the novel, childhood memories are combined with impressions. recent years: the city in which the action of the novel takes place reflects the appearance of Staraya Russa, and the surrounding villages (Chermashnya, Mokroe) are associated with the estate of the writer's father Darovoye in the Tula province.
Dmitry, Ivan and Alyosha Karamazov - three stages of biographical and spiritual path Dostoevsky himself. claims that Ivan Karamazov, “according to our family tradition, is Dostoevsky in his early youth. There is also a certain similarity between my father, as he was probably in the second period of his life, between penal servitude and a long stay in Europe after his second marriage, and Dmitri Karamazov. Dmitry reminds me of my father with Schiller's sentimentalism and romantic character, naivety in relations with women.<...>But most of all, this similarity is manifested in the scenes of the arrest, interrogation and trial of Dmitry Karamazov. Obviously, the court scene occupies so much space in the novel because Dostoevsky wanted to describe the suffering he experienced during the Petrashevsky trial and which he will never forget.
Some similarity also exists between Dostoevsky and the elder Zosima. His autobiography is essentially a biography of my father, at least as far as childhood is concerned. The father places Zosima in the province, in an environment more modest than his. Zosima's autobiography is written in the peculiar, somewhat old-fashioned language spoken by our clergy and monks. Despite this, there are all the essential facts from Dostoevsky's childhood: love for his mother and older brother, the impression made on him by church services, which he attended in childhood<...>his departure to a military school in the capital, where, according to the story of the elder Zosima, he was taught French and the art of social behavior, and along with so many false concepts.<...>So, probably, the father appreciated the upbringing he received in the Engineering Castle.
The novel "The Brothers Karamazov" is a spiritual biography of Dostoevsky, his ideological and life path from atheism in the circle of Petrashevists (Ivan Karamazov) to a believer (Alyosha Karamazov). But, as always with Dostoevsky, his creative and life biography becomes history. human personality in general, the universal and all-human destiny. Dmitry, Ivan and Alyosha not only have one ancestral root (a common father, Fyodor Pavlovich Karamazov), but they also have a spiritual unity: one tragedy and common guilt for it. All of them are responsible for the murder of their father by Smerdyakov.
However, Dostoevsky connects the disintegration of feudal-serf Russia and the growth of the revolutionary movement with unbelief and atheism. That is why, the writer believes, the main culprit in the murder of his father is Ivan Karamazov. It was he who preached that there is no God, and Smerdyakov drew the conclusion from this: if there is no God, then everything is allowed. But Dmitri with his unbridled passions, and even the “man of God” Alyosha, are also to blame for the death of their father: Ivan and Dmitry are actively to blame, Alyosha semi-consciously, passively. Alyosha knew that a crime was being prepared, and yet he allowed it, he could have saved his father and did not. The common crime of the brothers entails a common punishment: Dmitry expiates his guilt by referring to hard labor, Ivan - by the disintegration of his personality, Alyosha - by a severe moral crisis. As a result, all three brothers through suffering are reborn to a new life.
But moral idea novel, the struggle of faith with disbelief (“the devil fights God, and the battlefield is the hearts of people,” says Dmitry Karamazov), Ivan and Alyosha (to the question of Fyodor Pavlovich Karamazov “Is there a God or not?” Ivan replies: “No, no God”, and Alyosha: “There is a God”) goes beyond the Karamazov family. Ivan's denial of God gives rise to the sinister figure of the Inquisitor. In the novel "The Brothers Karamazov" the "Legend of the Grand Inquisitor" by Ivan Karamazov organically appears - greatest creation Dostoevsky, the pinnacle of his work, his hymn to Christ and His cause.
Christ comes to earth again. This time he appears in Seville, at the worst time of the Inquisition. "The Legend of the Grand Inquisitor" has an anti-Catholic character (see: Evnin F. Dostoevsky and Militant Catholicism in the 1860s-1870s (On the Genesis of the Legend of the Grand Inquisitor) // Russian literature. 1967. No. 1. S. 29-42). In the Western theocratic idea, the writer saw the triumph of the "Roman idea" of the pagan empire, an idea that strives for the worldwide unification of people by violence. Dostoevsky saw the same "Roman idea" in atheistic socialism and saw in it a vice of the proud Western spirit.
Christ appears among the crowd, and the people recognize Him. He radiates all light, stretches out his hands, blesses, works miracles. The Grand Inquisitor, "an old man of ninety, tall and straight, with a withered face and sunken eyes," orders the guards to imprison him. At night, he comes to his prisoner, "stops at the entrance and for a long time, a minute or two, peers into his face." Then he starts talking. "Legend" is the monologue of the Grand Inquisitor, and Christ remains silent throughout the entire monologue. The entire long monologue of the Grand Inquisitor is directed against Christ and His teachings, but by accusing Him, he thereby justifies his betrayal of Christ.
The Grand Inquisitor has finished his monologue, but his captive is still silent. “The old man would like him to say something to him, even bitter, terrible. But He suddenly silently approaches the old man and softly kisses him on his bloodless, ninety-year-old lips. That's the whole answer. The old man winces. Something moved at the ends of his lips: he goes to the door, opens it and says to him words that are more terrible even than the nails of Golgotha: "Go, go and don't come again. Don't come at all... Never! never!"
Ivan finished telling Alyosha the legend of the Grand Inquisitor, and Alyosha unraveled, understood the "secret" of the Grand Inquisitor: "Your Inquisitor does not believe in God, that's his whole secret." The Grand Inquisitor did not understand that the silence of Christ is the best refutation of all his arguments. He does not need to justify himself, since all the arguments of the Grand Inquisitor are refuted by His mere presence, the very fact of His appearance.
But in the kiss of Christ the Grand Inquisitor there is truth and there is a lie. Dostoevsky is in him, and Ivan Karamazov is in him. What is the meaning of this kiss of Christ? There is truth in this kiss, because Dostoevsky himself is in it, but also untruth, because Ivan Karamazov is also in it. The truth of this kiss is that Christ loves any person, including those who do not love Him and do not want to love. Christ came to save sinners. And humanity needs for its salvation precisely such a higher love as the most big child needs the greatest maternal love. The kiss of Christ is such a call to the highest love, the last call of sinners to repentance! This is the idea of ​​Dostoevsky himself. However, the kiss is also the work of Ivan Karamazov: he made the truth kiss the lie.
Never in all of world literature has there been such a striking hymn to Christ and spiritual freedom as in The Legend of the Grand Inquisitor in Dostoevsky's last brilliant novel, The Brothers Karamazov.

Belov S.V. F.M. Dostoevsky. Encyclopedia. M.: Education, 2010. S. 119-127.

Lifetime publications (editions):

1879—1880 — M .: In the University type. (M. Katkov).
1879: January. pp. 103-207. February. pp. 602-684. April. pp. 678-738. May. pp. 369-409. June. pp. 736-779. August. pp. 649-699. September. pp. 310-353. October. pp. 674-711. November. pp. 276-332.
1880: January. pp. 179-255. April. pp. 566-623. July. pp. 174-221. August. pp. 691-753. September. pp. 248-292. October. pp. 477-551. November. pp. 50-73.

1881 — SPb.: Type. br. Panteleev, 1881. T. I. 509 p. T. II. 699 p.

The novel "The Brothers Karamazov" by Dostoevsky, written in 1880, was conceived by the writer as the first part epic work"History of the Great Sinner". However, Fedor Mikhailovich's creative plans were not destined to come true - two months after the publication of the book, he died.

For a reader's diary and preparation for a literature lesson, we recommend reading the summary of The Brothers Karamazov online in chapters and parts. You can also take a special test to test your knowledge on our website.

Main characters

Fyodor Pavlovich Karamazov- the head of the Karamazov family, a small landowner, a depraved, greedy, selfish old man.

Dmitry Fedorovich (Mitya)- the eldest son of Karamazov, a drunkard, a reveler, a brawler, a man with unbridled passions.

Ivan Fedorovich- the middle son, restrained, rational, in whose soul there is a struggle between faith in God and his denial.

Alexey Fedorovich – younger son, a sincere, honest, deeply believing young man.

Other characters

Katerina Ivanovna- Mitya's bride, a proud, determined, sacrificial girl.

Grushenka- a cohabitant of a wealthy merchant, a vile, prudent young woman, the subject of enmity between the old man Karamazov and Mitya.

Zosima- an old man, Alyosha's mentor, who foresaw the plight of Mitya.

Smerdyakov- a young lackey in the house of Karamazov Sr., his illegitimate son, a cruel, vicious man.

Mrs. Khokhlakov- widow, landowner, neighbor of the Karamazovs, whose daughter Liza is in love with Alyosha.

Petr Alexandrovich Miusov- Mitya's cousin, a nobleman, an enlightened intellectual.

Part one

Book one. The history of one family

I. Fyodor Pavlovich Karamazov

The first wife of Fyodor Pavlovich was a girl from the noble noble family of the Miusovs. From a despotic husband, a young woman fled to St. Petersburg, "leaving Fyodor Pavlovich in the arms of a three-year-old Mitya", and after a while she died of typhus.

II. He sent away his first son

The boy was brought up by his cousin, Pyotr Aleksandrovich Miusov. Having matured, Mitya tried to extort the maternal inheritance from his father. Fyodor Pavlovich began to "get off with small handouts, temporary deportations", and four years later announced that all the money had run out.

III. Second marriage and second children

Having given Mitya upbringing, Fyodor Pavlovich “married a second time very soon after.” This time he chose an unrequited orphan who gave him two sons, Ivan and Alexei. After a while, the second wife also died, unable to bear the difficult married life with Karamazov.

IV. Third son Alyosha

Everyone "loved Alyosha wherever he appeared, and this from his very childhood, even from his childhood." Having matured, "chaste and pure" the young man decided to leave as a novice in a monastery. This choice was made by Alyosha under the influence of the elder Zosima.

V. Elders

The conflict between Dmitry and Fyodor Pavlovich over the inheritance heats up to the limit. Then Alexei offers the whole family to gather at the elder Zosima and discuss the problem together.

Book two. Inappropriate meeting

I. Arrived at the monastery

The entire Karamazov family gathers at the monastery, as well as Pyotr Miusov, Dmitry's guardian. The whole company agrees to "behave decently here."

II. stern jester

In Zosima's cell, a verbal skirmish takes place between Peter Miusov and the elder Karamazov. Pyotr Alexandrovich asks forgiveness from the elder for the unworthy behavior of Fyodor Pavlovich.

III. believing women

The elder asks those present for permission to go out for a while, "to bless those who were waiting for him."

In a small outhouse crowded with women who came to the old man with their troubles. Zosima listens to everyone, consoles and blesses.

IV. lady of little faith

The landowner Khokhlakov comes to the elder, who confesses her absence true faith. The elder replies that faith is achieved by "the experience of active love".

V. Wake up! Wake up!

During the absence of the elder in the cell, a heated argument breaks out between Ivan Fedorovich, Peter Miusov and two hieromonks on religious topics.

VI. Why does such a person live?

Fyodor Pavlovich scandals, accusing his eldest son of embezzlement of maternity capital and his love affairs - having brought his bride, Katerina Ivanovna, he, according to his father, "goes to one local seductress."

"A scene that has come down to disgrace" ends with Zosima swearing at Dmitri's feet.

VII. Seminarian careerist

Left alone with Alyosha, Zosima punishes him to leave the monastery after his death. He blesses him "for great obedience in the world" and predicts great happiness in great sorrow.

VIII. Scandal

Miusov and several hieromonks and a local landowner receive an invitation to dine with the abbot. Fyodor Pavlovich decides to finally play a dirty trick. He bursts into the abbot and offends everyone present, including the clergy.

Book three. Voluptuous

I. In the lackey

Only three people serve Fyodor Pavlovich: “old man Grigory, old woman Marfa, his wife, and servant Smerdyakov, still a young man.” Gregory is an honest and incorruptible servant who, despite his wife's persistent persuasion, does not leave his master.

II. Lizaveta stinking

25 years ago, Grigory stumbled upon a local holy fool in a bathhouse - Lizaveta stinking, who had just given birth to a baby. Everything pointed to the fact that the baby was the illegitimate son of Fyodor Pavlovich. Karamazov allowed to keep the child, and christened him Pavel Fedorovich Smerdyakov. Growing up, the boy became a lackey in the Karamazov household.

III. Confession of a warm heart. In verse

Alyosha meets his older brother, who confesses that he "happened to plunge into the deepest, deepest shame of debauchery", and in his hearts reads a hymn to him to Schiller's joy.

IV. Confession of a warm heart. In jokes

Dmitry talks about his acquaintance with Katerina Ivanovna. Upon learning that her father, the lieutenant colonel, squandered government money, Dmitry offered the required amount in exchange for her maiden honor. For the sake of saving her father, Katerina Ivanovna was ready to sacrifice herself, but Dmitry gave the girl money free of charge.

V. Confession of a warm heart. "Upside Down"

Having become a rich heiress, Katerina returns the money to Dmitry. In addition, in a letter, she confesses her love to him and offers to marry her.

Dmitry agrees, but soon falls passionately in love with Grushenka, the greedy cohabitant of the old merchant. For her sake, Mitya is ready to leave his bride without hesitation, and even kill his father - his main rival for the attention of a charmer.

He asks Alyosha to visit Katerina and report that everything is over between them, since Mitya is “a low voluptuary and a vile creature with uncontrollable feelings”, who spent three thousand rubles of his bride on a spree with Grushenka.

VI. Smerdyakov

Dmitri finds out that his father has a package of money for Grushenka if she decides to come to him. He asks Smerdyakov to warn him immediately if Grushenka shows up at his father's house.

Smerdyakov is a vile, cruel young man of his own mind, suffering from seizures, who does not feel affection for anyone.

VII. controversy

Alyosha comes to his father, where he finds his brother Ivan, Grigory and Smerdyakov, boldly discussing questions of faith.

VIII. For cognac

Under the influence of cognac, Fyodor Pavlovich forgets that he is in the company of Ivan and Alyosha, and tells how cruelly he humiliated their mother. From these words, Alyosha begins to have a fit.

IX. Voluptuous

At that moment, Dmitry bursts into the house, fully convinced that his father is hiding Grushenka from him. In anger, he beats the old man.

X. Both together

Alexei comes to Katerina and conveys Dmitry's words about their breakup. However, Katerina Ivanovna already knows about everything from an unexpected guest - Grushenka.

A scene takes place between the women, during which Grushenka shows all the meanness of her nature.

XI. Another dead reputation

Alyosha receives a letter with a declaration of love from Liza, the sick daughter of the landowner Khokhlakov. He re-reads it and thrice and, happy, falls into a "serene sleep".

Part two

Book four. Tears

I. Father Ferapont

Father Ferapont, the main rival of the elder Zosima, lives in the monastery. This is a "great fasting and silencer", stubbornly ignoring the elder.

II. father

Fyodor Pavlovich shares his plans with Alyosha: he does not intend to give money to any of his sons, since he is going to live for a long time and indulge in "sweet filth".

III. Contacted students

On the way, Alyosha stumbles upon "a bunch of schoolchildren". Six boys throw stones at one boy who desperately tries to fight them off. Alyosha wants to protect him, but the embittered boy bites his finger.

IV. At the Khokhlakovs

In the house of the Khokhlakovs, Alyosha finds Ivan and Katerina - an explanation takes place between them.

Liza is happy to learn that Alyosha took her love letter seriously and is ready to marry her "as soon as the legal time comes."

V. Tearing in the living room

At the Khokhlakovs, Alyosha is convinced that "brother Ivan loves Katerina Ivanovna and, most importantly, really intends to" beat off "Mitya". Ivan confesses his feelings to her, but in response he is refused.

Although Katerina now despises Dmitry, she intends to remain faithful to him to the end, even if he marries Grushenka.

Alyosha learns from Katerina that the other day Dmitry Fedorovich publicly insulted the retired staff captain Snegirev. She asks to bring him 200 rubles.

VI. Tearing in the hut

Having found “a dilapidated house, warped, only three windows to the street”, Alyosha discovers the Snegirev family, mired in terrible poverty: the drunken head of the family, his feeble-minded wife, a cripple daughter and a son - a boy who bit his finger.

VII. And in the open air

Alyosha asks to accept 200 rubles from Katerina Ivanovna, but Snegirev fiercely tramples on the bills - he does not intend to take payment for his shame.

Book five. Pro and contra

I. Collusion

Alyosha returns to the Khokhlakovs. He talks to Lisa about love, about their common future. This conversation is overheard by Mrs. Khokhlakov.

II. Smerdyakov with a guitar

In search of Dmitri, Alyosha stumbles upon Smerdyakov. He informs him that both brothers, Ivan and Mitya, went to the tavern to talk about something.

III. The brothers get to know each other

Ivan talks with Alyosha, and for the first time communicates with him on an equal footing. He shares his plans - to go to Europe, start a new life.

IV. Riot

The brothers begin to talk about the Almighty, and Ivan is sure that "if the devil does not exist and, therefore, a man created him, then he created him in his own image and likeness." Deeply believing Alyosha only helplessly whispers: "This is a riot."

V. Grand Inquisitor

Ivan tells Alyosha a poem about the Grand Inquisitor who imprisoned Christ. He asks the son of God to save mankind from the agony of choosing between good and evil. The Grand Inquisitor is waiting for objections from Christ, but he only silently kisses him.

VI. So far very unclear

Ivan finds Smerdyakov with his father, who advises the master to leave this house as soon as possible, in which, apparently, trouble will soon happen. He hints that he is going to have a "long fit" tomorrow.

VII. "It's interesting to talk to a smart person"

Ivan spends the whole night in painful thoughts, and in the morning he informs his father that he is leaving for Moscow in an hour. On the same day, the footman has a seizure.

Book six. Russian monk

I. Elder Zosima and his guests

Alyosha comes to the dying Zosima. The elder tells the young man to urgently find his older brother Dmitry in order to "warn something terrible."

II. From the Life of the Reposed Hieroschemamonk Elder Zosima in Bose, compiled with own words his Alexei Fyodorovich Karamazov

The holy ascetic in the world belonged to a poor noble family. As an officer, he went to a duel, during which he was enlightened, after which he went to the monastery.

III. From the conversations and teachings of the elder Zosima

Zosima talks about life and shares advice: do not forget about prayers, love your neighbor, ask God for fun, never judge anyone, work tirelessly.

Book seven. Alyosha

I. Corrupting Spirit

After the death of the elder, people gather near his cell, accustomed to "consider the deceased elder even during his lifetime as an undoubted and great saint." A great disappointment for believers is the fact of the rotting of the elder.

Ferapont hurries to take advantage of this circumstance, whose righteousness and holiness no one doubts anymore.

II. Such a minute

For Alyosha, the day of Zosima's death becomes "one of the most painful and fatal days" in his life.

In a depressed state, Alyosha is found by his friend Rakitin, who persuades him to go to Grushenka.

III. Lukovka

Grushenka greets young people affectionately. She is especially glad to Alyosha, and shamelessly jumps "on her knees, like a caressing cat." However, Alyosha does not react in any way to Grushenka's flirting - "the great grief of his soul absorbed all sensations."

IV. Cana of Galilee

Meanwhile, Alyosha returns to the skete, where he falls asleep at the coffin of Zosima. He dreams of an old man - he is happy and cheerful, and asks not to be afraid of death, not to be afraid of the Lord.

Book Eight. Mitya

I. Kuzma Samsonov

In an attempt to find the right amount, Dmitry Fedorovich turns to the merchant Samsonov, Grushenka's patron, for advice. He, in turn, wants to play a trick on the unfortunate suitor and advises him to sell the grove to a forest buyer nicknamed Frog.

II. Frog

After a long tedious search, Mitya still finds Lyagavy. After the conversation, Mitya realizes that he was cruelly played a joke on. Incessant thoughts about Grushenka drive him back to the city.

III. gold mines

Dmitry Fedorovich goes to Mrs. Khokhlakov in the hope of borrowing three thousand rubles from her. The landowner promises him "more, infinitely more than three thousand" - advice to go into gold mines.

IV. In the dark

Tormented by fierce jealousy, Mitya goes to his father.

Grigory notices Mitya running away, and pursues him to the very fence. Without thinking twice, Mitya gives the old man a strong blow with a copper pestle, which he took from Grushenka.

V. Sudden decision

Dmitry, covered in blood, rushes to the official Perkhotin, to whom he had previously pawned his pistols. He buys weapons and goes in search of Grushenka to the neighboring village of Mokroe.

VI. I'm going myself!

At the inn, Dmitry finds Grushenka in the company of Poles. He shows the owner the money and orders to call the gypsies, music, champagne - Mitya is ready to party!

VII. Former and undisputed

Mitya makes it clear that he has only one night at his disposal, and he wants "music, thunder, din, everything before." He joins the Poles and plays cards with them until morning.

VIII. Rave

The night passes in a drunken stupor, insane revelry, it resembles "something disorderly and absurd." Early in the morning, a police officer and an investigator appear at the inn, and Mitya is arrested on suspicion of killing his father.

Book nine. Preliminary investigation

I. The beginning of the career of an official Perkhotin

The young official Perkhotin, impressed by the spectacle of the distraught and bloody Dmitry Fedorovich, decides that "now he will go straight to the police officer and tell him everything."

II. Anxiety

Perkhotin reports the incident to the police officer, and insists that "to cover the criminal before he, perhaps, would actually take it into his head to shoot himself."

III. Walking of the soul through ordeals. Ordeal first

Mitya refuses to confess to the murder of his father. He rejoices when he learns that the old man Gregory survived after the injury.

During interrogation, Mitya frankly confesses his hatred and jealousy for his father, and this only aggravates his plight.

IV. Ordeal second

Soon Mitya gets bored with the interrogation. He gets excited, screams, withdraws into himself, insults those being interrogated. However, it is explained to him how much harm he is doing to himself by "refusing to give this or that testimony", and the interrogation continues.

V. The third ordeal

Mitya tries to remember all the details of the terrible evening. He confesses that conventional signs, which Grushenka was supposed to give to his father, he learned from Smerdyakov.

VI. The prosecutor caught Mitya

It becomes humiliating for Mitya to search his personal belongings, but it is even harder for him to strip naked in front of strangers.

Irrefutable evidence of Dmitry's crime is a torn envelope from under three thousand, found in the bedroom of the old man Karamazov.

VII. Great Mystery Mitya. booed

Mitya is forced to admit that the money he spent all night on was received from Katerina Ivanovna.

He is already fully aware that he has "disappeared", and now he is only worried about the fate of Grushenka.

VIII. Testimony of witnesses. baby

The interrogation of witnesses begins. Grushenka manages to convince Mitya that she is sure of his innocence. Thanks to this support, Mitya “wants to live and live, to go and go on some path, to a new calling light.”

IX. Mitya was taken away

After signing the protocol, Mitya learns that “he is a prisoner from now on and that they will take him to the city now, where they will imprison him in one very unpleasant place.” The investigation will continue in the city.

Book ten. boys

I. Kolya Krasotkin

Kolya Krasotkin "was dexterous, stubborn character, bold and enterprising spirit." He was an excellent friend, and deservedly enjoyed the respect of his classmates.

II. kids

Kolya is forced to look after two babies in the absence of their mother. This time, this occupation does not bring him joy - he is in a hurry on some important matter.

III. Schoolboy

Kolya meets with his friend. They are discussing Ilyusha, who was stoned two months ago - the boy is seriously ill, and will not even live a week.

Friends go to Alyosha Karamazov, with whom they want to talk.

IV. bug

Kolya tells Alyosha how Smerdyakov taught Ilyusha a "brutal joke, a vile joke" - to stick a pin into a crumb of bread and feed it to a hungry yard dog. He fed such bread to Zhuchka, and for a long time could not come to his senses, remembering the torment of the unfortunate animal.

Even when Ilyusha fell ill, he remembered everything and called Zhuchka. They tried to find her, but they never found her.

V. At Ilyushin's bed

Kolya visits Ilyusha and is amazed at how weak he is. The sick boy is very happy to see his friend, but his happiness knows no bounds when Ilyusha brings Zhuchka to him - healthy and unharmed.

VI. Early development

In the midst of the fun, the capital's doctor comes to the Snegirevs, who was specially called by Katerina Ivanovna. Kolya and Alyosha begin to talk about the meaning of life.

VII. Ilyusha

The doctor's verdict is disappointing. Before his death, Ilyusha asks his father to take up a "good boy, another" and never forget him.

Book eleven. Brother Ivan Fedorovich

I. At Grushenka

Alyosha visits Grushenka, and she asks him to find out what secret has appeared between Ivan and Dmitry, because of which the prisoner's mood has noticeably improved.

II. Sore leg

Alyosha learns from Mrs. Khokhlakov that Katerina called a doctor from Moscow so that he could confirm Mitya's insane state at the time of the crime.

III. Imp

Lisa informs Alyosha that she takes back her promise to become his wife. She confesses to the young man that she still loves him, but does not respect him for his kindness and tolerance for human vices.

IV. Hymn and secret

Mitya understands that he will have to work hard in the mines until the end of his life, and he comes to God - "it is impossible to be hard labor without God."

Mitya gives his brother his secret - Ivan offers him to run away, but everything will be decided after tomorrow's court session.

VI. First meeting with Smerdyakov

Upon arrival from Moscow, Ivan Fedorovich visits Smerdyakov in the hospital, and finds out from him all the details of the mysterious attack and the crime committed.

VII. Second visit to Smerdyakov

At the second meeting, the footman accuses Ivan of wanting the "death of a parent" himself and deliberately went to Moscow so as not to be present at terrible tragedy. Ivan begins to suspect Smerdyakov of the murder of his father.

VIII. Third and last meeting with Smerdyakov

Smerdyakov confesses to the murder, which he decided on under the influence of Ivan's atheistic reasoning. Having twisted Karamazov's words in his own way, Smerdyakov realized that "everything, they say, is allowed" to everyone.

The footman gives Ivan a pack of stolen banknotes and tells in detail how he committed the crime. At the same time, he constantly repeats that it is Ivan who is the “most legitimate killer”, and he only became a tool in his hands.

IX. Crap. Nightmare of Ivan Fedorovich

Smerdyakov's confession deeply affects Ivan, and delirium tremens takes possession of "his organism, which has long been upset, but stubbornly resisted the disease."

H. "That's what he said!"

Alyosha runs to Ivan and reports that “Smerdyakov took his own life” - he hanged himself. Ivan is not surprised - in delirium, he talked with the devil, and he told him about it.

Book twelve. Judgement mistake

I. Fatal day

On Judgment Day, Mitya repeats that he is guilty of debauchery, drunkenness and laziness, “but he is not guilty of the death of an old man, my enemy and father,” as well as of stealing three thousand rubles.

II. Dangerous witnesses

The court session continues, the defense counsel for the defendant and the prosecutor alternately speak. An exact calculation is being made of the money spent by Mitya at the inn on the fateful night.

III. Medical examination and one pound of nuts

The medical examination, which Katerina Ivanovna insisted on, "also did not help the defendant very much." The invited doctors testify that Dmitry Fedorovich "is in a completely normal condition ».

IV. Happiness smiles at Mitya

During the interrogation, Alyosha confidently says that it was not his brother who killed his father, but Smerdyakov, but he has "no evidence, except for some moral convictions."

Katerina tells everything without concealment, starting from meeting Mitya and ending with the last humiliating date with him. After her story in the courtroom, "something pretty swept in Mitya's favor."

V. Sudden disaster

Ivan Fedorovich gives the bailiff his father's money, which he "received from Smerdyakov, from the murderer." But after this statement, Ivan has a severe seizure, and he is taken out of the courtroom.

VI. Prosecutor's speech. Characteristic

The prosecutor is indicting. He dissects the entire Karamazov family with special care, in which he sees elements of a "modern intelligent society."

VII. Historical image

The prosecutor describes in detail the events of the fateful evening, explaining the motives for the actions committed by Mitya.

VIII. Treatise on Smerdyakov

The prosecutor talks about Smerdyakov and his possible involvement in the murder of Karamazov. In the course of his reasoning, he comes to the conclusion that he is not guilty of anything.

IX. Psychology in full swing. Jumping trio. The end of the prosecutor's speech

The prosecutor's speech, in which he paid special attention to the psychology of the crime, is very popular with the public. Many do not doubt that what he said is "everything is true, irresistible truth."

X. Speech of the defender. Double edged stick

It's the defender's turn to speak. He presents facts that speak of Mitya's innocence, and at the same time hints at "some abuse" of psychology in the accusatory speech of the prosecutor.

XI. There was no money. There was no robbery

In his speech, the defender makes the main emphasis on the fact that, in fact, there was no robbery - “you cannot be accused of robbery if you cannot specify exactly what was robbed, this is an axiom.”

XII. And there was no murder

The defender is outraged that Mitya is acting as the main suspect only because the accusers follow their own logic: “Who killed if not him?”.

XIII. Adulterer of thought

The defender is sure that if the victim was not the father of the accused, but some other person, the accusers would not be in a hurry "to destroy the fate of a person by mere prejudice against him."

XIV. The men stood up for themselves

The floor is given to Mitya, and he Once again swears his innocence and begs for mercy. After a lengthy deliberation, the jury delivers a verdict - "Yes, guilty!" .

Epilogue

I. Projects to save Mitya

Ivan Fedorovich suffers from a severe nervous breakdown, and Katerina Ivanovna takes care of him. Together with Lesha, they discuss the project of Mitya and Grushenka's escape to America, which Ivan had planned even earlier.

II. For a moment the lie became the truth

Mitya is in the hospital - after the announcement of the verdict, he "sick with a nervous fever." Alyosha invites his brother to run away, and he agrees.

Katerina Ivanovna comes to Mitya, and in tears they ask each other for forgiveness.

III. Ilyushechka's funeral. Speech at the stone

Ilyushechka's funeral is attended by his school friends and Alyosha. Near the stone, where the boy so loved to sit, they take an oath never to forget Ilyusha and each other. Alyosha encourages them to love life with all their hearts and make good deeds because life is unimaginably beautiful, especially when "you do something good and true."

Conclusion

Dostoevsky's work has a complex multifaceted structure. It is impossible to accurately define its genre, since it contains signs of a social, philosophical, love and even a detective novel.

After reading a brief retelling of The Brothers Karamazov, we recommend that you read the novel in its entirety.

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F.M. Dostoevsky, "The Brothers Karamazov", summary ... The first lines of the novel begin with an epigraph: “Truly, truly, I say to you: if a grain of wheat, falling into the ground, does not die, then only one will remain; and if he dies, he will bear much fruit (Gospel of John). It is in these words that the main idea of ​​\u200b\u200bthe work sounds. What do they mean? The world is a struggle and unity of two opposites. Is death always evil? Is white always light? Is a fight necessary? Is suffering necessary? What is the soul in this fight? Who is God in this duel? And does he exist? These and other questions are read in the destinies, deeds, words of the main characters...

The action of the novel takes place in the small town of Skotoprigonyevsk in the 70s of the 19th century. On the first page, we find ourselves in the monastery, in the skete of the elder Zosima, who is known in the district as a righteous man and healer. The prayed place becomes a stage where the main characters gather. The author introduces us in detail to each of them, symbolically anticipating subsequent tragic events.

Fyodor Pavlovich Karamazov is the father of a large family, a dissolute, cynical, infinitely greedy and unusually cruel man. An extraordinary, sometimes terrible craving for power, for earthly pleasures and pleasures erases in him all the existing boundaries between good and evil, destroys Eternal values. That kindred, spiritual thread that connects him with children is also lost.

The eldest son Dmitry Karamazov is a man with unbridled passions, he is thrown from one extreme to another like a pendulum. He is honest, ready for generous deeds and at the same time can be extremely cruel and ruthless. His soul is drawn to love, to light, deep faith, and every day he promises himself that he will stop this disorderly life full of drunkenness and debauchery. But the forces that affect the oscillations of its pendulum are so great and uncontrollable that the creative energy in it is instantly transformed into destructive. This is the so-called elemental "Karamazov" force, which, to one degree or another, was transmitted from his father, Fyodor Pavlovich, to each of his offspring.

Ivan Karamazov is the middle son, outwardly calm, self-possessed, rationally thinking. But even passions rage in him and the struggle between faith and godlessness does not stop. At first glance, he is more of a silent observer than an active participant in the unfolding drama. But this impression is deceptive. His tacit consent played a decisive role, it became a real killer .... However, let's not get ahead of ourselves.

Continuing to describe the summary of The Brothers Karamazov, let us return to the youngest offspring of Fyodor Pavlovich, who, according to Dostoevsky, is the main person. Alyosha Karamazov is the third, youngest son - a novice of Zosima, an honest, sincere, deeply believing young man, who is in constant search for truth and reconciliation. It was at his suggestion that the whole family gathered in the skete of the elder to resolve the flaring property dispute between the father and the eldest of the brothers.

Human passions? It is an intense desire to possess the here and now. It is so great that a person is ready to go to extreme measures, just to achieve his goal. It is in the possession of someone or something that he sees himself truly happy. Just such a duel for happiness takes place between Dmitry and his parent. At stake are three thousand rubles and the beautiful Grushenka, with whom both are immensely in love. In the skete of the elder, reconciliation does not occur.

On the contrary, everything ends in scandal.

Zosima, seeing with the eyes of God, gives parting words to everyone. Before Dmitry, he kneels, truly loving for his future suffering and for the pain that he needs to go through in order to be cleansed. He blesses Ivan, wisely noting that the issue in his heart has not yet been resolved. He tells Fyodor Pavlovich that his buffoonery comes solely from the fact that he is ashamed of himself. And he punishes Alyosha to be with his brothers and father now.

Everyone disperses, and a series of events unfold in the city of Skotoprigonyevsk. They follow one after another: words thrown in rage, thoughtless actions, increasing resentment. They are like a storm that grows every minute, captures everyone and everything along the way, turns black, ready to collapse and destroy everything around. Some will die and some will survive....

Dmitry increasingly demands money from his father. With each new day, hatred and jealousy become stronger. Day and night he guards his beloved Grushenka at his father's house, if she, seduced by Fyodor Pavlovich's money, decides to come to him. He becomes extremely suspicious and in a fit of rage and despair beats the parent. But another secret is hidden in his soul, his shame - he squandered someone else's three thousand with Grushenka at an inn in the village of Mokroe. And Katerina Ivanovna, his formal bride, gave him this money to send it to his sister in Moscow. Huge shame and in front of the girl for his theft, for his betrayal, for his love for another push him to a desperate step.

Ivan is secretly in love with Dmitry's fiancee. Every day he sits "near the anguish" and involuntarily plunges into her tormented soul, where there is a struggle between the feat of loyalty to the groom and a deep feeling for him, Ivan. Every day he observes the undisguised cynicism of his father, who is ready to exchange everyone and everything, if only to live in his filth to the end. Every day he becomes an unwitting listener to the deeply immoral, base reasoning of Smerdyakov, who is supposedly the illegitimate son of Karamazov from the tramp Lizaveta. He listens and realizes with disgust that the lackey's words echo his own thoughts to some extent. Is everything allowed or not? If you believe in God and the immortality of the soul, then not everyone, but if not ... So, everyone chooses for himself how it is better and more comfortable for him to settle in the world.

In his doubts, he writes the poem "The Grand Inquisitor", in which he raises the main questions: accepting God and not accepting the world of God, what is justice, striving for perfection and what is the true harmony of God, what is the difference between human happiness and true. The culmination of his “storm” is the last conversation with Smerdyakov, in which the latter advises him to leave the city for several days, hinting at length that anything can happen to his father in his absence. Ivan is outraged, but at the same time intrigued, and agrees ...

Alyosha, following the orders of the elder and his own loving soul, talks, instructs and tries to help everyone. He sees confusion in everyone's heart, he observes this endless cruelty and indifference, he becomes a witness to an endless duel between true values ​​and sin, in which a person more often chooses to fall into the abyss, and doubts also appear in his soul. At this time, the elder Zosima dies. Around there is an expectation of some miracle after his death, but instead of the expected, there is a smell of decay. Alyosha is embarrassed. There are too many stones on his way to the truth, which knock down and want to destroy ....

Passions run high, a storm rises, and the death of Fyodor Pavlovich Karamazov becomes the apotheosis. Who is the killer? Coincidence of circumstances and facts speak against the eldest son. He is arrested. Judgment begins. Dmitry is a libertine, a deceiver, a rowdy and a drunkard, but he is not a murderer. Smerdyakov confesses to Ivan the murder of his father and tells in detail how it happened, warning that it was he, Ivan, who inspired him, and with his secret consent a terrible crime took place. Ivan is desperate. On the one hand, he does not admit guilt, but on the other hand, his conscience says otherwise. He intends to go to court and tell how everything really happened. Smerdyakov, disappointed in him, in his ideas about permissiveness, gives him the stolen money and hangs himself. Ivan, in a fever, appears before the court and confesses his assistance to this crime: "The lackey killed, and I taught."

Ekaterina Ivanovna, hysterically, takes out a decisive letter, Dmitry's last message to her, in which he writes in detail about his desire to kill his father and take the money due to him. This clue becomes key. Thus, she saves Ivan and destroys Dmitry, the ulcer of her heart, whom she promises to love forever, no matter what ... Finishing describing the summary of The Brothers Karamazov, we move on to the final, no less symbolic scene - the funeral little boy Ilyushenka Snegirev. At the funeral, Alyosha urges those gathered to love life, appreciate it wonderful moments to be kind and honest….

"The Brothers Karamazov": summary, conclusion

At the end of the journey, you always want to return to the beginning and remember how it all began .... Getting down to the description of “Summary of The Brothers Karamazov”, we touched on the epigraph. In conclusion, I would certainly like to return to it: “Truly, truly, I say to you: if a grain of wheat, falling into the ground, does not die, then only one will remain; and if he dies, he will bear much fruit (Gospel of John). "Wheat grains" fell into the ground. Many of them were trampled down, pressed into the mud and destroyed, but it is their "death", their fall, pain and suffering that will bring "much fruit" - spiritual purification and love ....

The Brothers Karamazov by Dostoevsky is a masterpiece of world literature. In addition, in this work, the motives and images of the previous works of the writer were repeated in a new way. Dostoevsky went to the creation of the novel all his life. Here he raised the most important problems of mankind: the moral and spiritual foundations of human existence, the question of the meaning of life.

History of the novel

The idea of ​​the novel was formed by the author long before writing - after Dostoevsky met D. Ilyinsky, who was serving a sentence for the murder of his father. But this man was convicted for someone else's crime. In the autumn of 1874, Dostoevsky decided to write on the basis of this tragic history psychological drama about a crime, but gradually the writer's plan grew into a full-fledged novel.

The novel was created over the course of three years and published in Russkiy Vestnik. Dostoevsky began sketching The Brothers Karamazov in the autumn of 1878, and finished the novel in November 1880.

The author approached the depiction of what is happening in the novel very seriously, consulted with lawyers in order to most realistically describe the judicial procedure, and consulted doctors about the character’s illness. The setting reproduces Staraya Russa, where the author worked on his novel, and where both the writer's house (Karamazov's house in the novel) and Agrippina Menshova's house (Grushenka's house) have been preserved. Dostoevsky strove for realism not only in the life and life of the characters, but also in the spiritual appearance of the characters.

Purpose and main theme

Dostoevsky, in his Diary of a Writer, detailed his intentions regarding The Brothers Karamazov. The author posed many problems in the work: the spiritual and moral development of Russia and society, the social role of the court, the attitude of fathers and children. Reflecting on the novel people's Russia, could not avoid the question of Orthodoxy. The author filled the novel with sore issues of that time - there are many responses to the events of public life. But the main component of the novel is the past, present and future of Russia.

On the example of the heroes of the work "The Brothers Karamazov", F. M. Dostoevsky showed the milestones of Russian history. Russia's past is the passing generation: old Karamazov, Polenov, Mrs. Khokhlakov, old man Zosima. The author contrasts them with representatives of the "present" time - the brothers Karamazov, Grushenka, Smerdyakov, Rakitin. Liza Khokhlakova, Smurov, Kolya Krasotkin are representatives of the younger generation, the "future" of the country.

And of course, important role The gospel plays in the moral content of the novel: abundant quoting of texts from the Bible, constant disputes and conversations of the characters about the gospel texts, an epigraph that gives hope for the revival of Russia after decomposition.

Main characters

Dostoevsky in The Brothers Karamazov reveals to the reader the relationship in the family, where the father does not care how his sons grow up, that they find shelter in other families while he walks and lives for his own pleasure. The elder Dmitry "moved" from guardian to guardian and met his father at the age of eighteen. He grew up eccentric, creating the appearance of a prosperous life, Dmitry mercilessly borrows money.

The average Ivan from childhood grew up observant, but closed and unsociable. He studied well, graduated from high school and gymnasium, he earned his own living - he wrote articles, published them in various publications.

The younger Alyosha is a kind, shy person. Everyone loved him and treated him with respect. Even in the gymnasium, when he was teased, he remained unperturbed and urged everyone to be understanding human weaknesses and trouble. Alyosha always wanted to serve in the church, but he was blessed to live with his father and brothers, saying that he was much more needed there.

The characters of The Brothers Karamazov by Fyodor Dostoevsky, the father and Dmitry, are in love with one woman - Grushenka, but she did not reciprocate any of them. As a result, the father and son quarreled, and the eldest son repeatedly threatened to kill his father.

When Karamazov Sr. was found with a broken head in own house, no one had any doubts that this was the work of the eldest son. Moreover, the rejected Ekaterina Ivanovna, most likely because of revenge, presents a letter in which Dmitry writes about his intention to kill his father. The middle brother tried to prove his brother's innocence, as he had evidence that the killer was none other than their father's illegitimate son. Nobody believed Ivan, Dmitry was sentenced to 12 years of hard labor.

The work ends with Alyosha attending the funeral of Ilya Snegirev and urging everyone to be kind and take care of each other - life is beautiful, and this is the best we have.

conclusions

Dostoevsky's novel "The Brothers Karamazov" teaches the reader to be more tolerant of each other, to listen to someone else's grief, to show sympathy, to love one's neighbor. Sometimes everything that a person does not attach importance to - a look, a sigh, thoughts - can be harmful. And not only for yourself, but also for those around you. A person is responsible for his words and deeds, because sooner or later he will have to answer for them, even if they were thrown in anger.

BROTHERS KARAMAZOV

Novel F.M. Dostoevsky.

A frame from the film The Brothers Karamazov. Director I.A. Pyryev:

Russia. Large linguo-cultural dictionary. - M .: State Institute of the Russian Language. A.S. Pushkin. AST-Press. T.N. Chernyavskaya, K.S. Miloslavskaya, E.G. Rostova, O.E. Frolova, V.I. Borisenko, Yu.A. Vyunov, V.P. Chudnov. 2007 .

See what "BROTHER KARAMAZOV" is in other dictionaries:

BROTHERS KARAMAZOV- "BROTHERS KARAMAZOV", USSR, Mosfilm, 1968, color, 232 min. Film, drama. By novel of the same name F.M. Dostoevsky. Ivan Pyryev, who has always shown an interest in Russian national character, came at the end of the creative path to film adaptations ... ... Cinema Encyclopedia

Brothers Karamazov

The Brothers Karamazov (novel)- This term has other meanings, see Brothers Karamazov (meanings). Brothers Karamazov ... Wikipedia

Brothers Karamazov (rock band)- Brothers Karamazov Ukrainian rock band. Formed in 1990 in the city of Dnepropetrovsk. The name of the group was given by Yuri Shevchuk, who maintains good relations with the musicians to this day. The most famous song is "Little Flock". New ... ... Wikipedia

The Brothers Karamazov (TV series)- Brothers Karamazov (TV series 2008) Brothers Karamazov Genre drama Producer Sergei Danielyan Ruben Dishdishyan Aram Movsesyan Yuri Moroz Director Yuri Moroz Screenwriter Alexander Chervinsky ... Wikipedia

The Brothers Karamazov (film)- Brothers Karamazov (film, 1969) This term has other meanings, see Brothers Karamazov (meanings). Brothers Karamazov ... Wikipedia

Brothers Karamazov (group)- This term has other meanings, see Brothers Karamazov (meanings). "The Brothers Karamazov" Ukrainian rock band. Formed in 1990 in the city of Kyiv. The name of the group was donated by Yuri Shevchuk, who supports with musicians ... ... Wikipedia

The Brothers Karamazov (film, 1968)- This term has other meanings, see Brothers Karamazov (meanings). Brothers Karamazov Genre Drama ... Wikipedia

The Brothers Karamazov (TV series)- This term has other meanings, see Brothers Karamazov (meanings). The Brothers Karamazov Genre drama Cast Sergei Koltakov Sergei Gorobchenko Anatoly Bely Alexander Golubev Pavel Derevyanko ... Wikipedia

The Brothers Karamazov (film)- This term has other meanings, see Brothers Karamazov (meanings). The Brothers Karamazov (film): The Brothers Karamazov (film, 1915) (Russia, director Viktor Turyansky) The Brothers Karamazov (film, 1921) (Germany, director Karl Frohlich) Brothers ... Wikipedia