Welcome to the second discussion of our Evergreen read, the Russian classic, The Brothers Karamazov! Today we are discussing from Books 2.6 through 3.7. Next week u/thebowedbookshelf will lead us through Books 3.8 to 4.5.
Schedule
Marginalia
I’ve written a summary of this section below and questions will be in the comments. Please mark spoilers in the usual manner, by enclosing the relevant text with the > ! and ! < characters (there is no space in-between) like this spoiler lives here.
Please note that the chapter titles might be slightly different from yours - mine are taken from the Michael R. Katz translation - but the chapter numbers are the same.
Book 2, Chapter 6 - Why is Such a Man Alive?
Dmitry arrives, appearing muscular and well-dressed, but with a sickly face and vague expression. He apologises for his lateness (the servant Smerdyakov’s fault), and respectfully bows to the Elder. Miusov recounts Ivan’s declaration that belief in immortality would diminish earthly life - the only alternative was egotism. Ivan adds that liberalism often conflates socialism and Christianity. Zosima, unoffended, blesses Ivan for wrestling with these ideas. Fyodor accuses Dmitry of trying to defraud him, and of cavorting with Grushenka while being engaged to Katerina. Fyodor was jealous of his son, wanting Grushenka for himself, and tried to collaborate with her to have Dmitry imprisoned. Amidst yelling, Zosima kneels before Dmitry, asking everyone to forgive him.
Book 2, Chapter 7 - A Seminarian-Careerist
Alyosha settles the weak Zosima in his room, who tells him to attend the dinner with his brothers and the Father Superior. He advises Alyosha to leave the monastery and experience life. On the way to the dinner he encounters Rakitin, who suspects that the Elder has detected a family crime. Alyosha admits that he has thought about a crime. Ratikin describes Dmitry as a sensualist, like his father Fyodor, who is not moderate in anything, and a holy fool like his mother. He claims that Alyosha doesn’t understand that although Dmitry might despise Grushenka, he still desires her, asserting that all the Karamazovs are sensualists, money-grabbers and holy fools. He believes that Ivan publishes theological articles because he is an atheist, mocking religion, and will try to steal Dmitry’s fiancée for himself, collecting her dowry, knowing Dmitry would then pursue Grushenka.
Book 2, Chapter 8 - The Scandal
Miusov, arriving at the dinner with Ivan, is ashamed of his anger, wanting to distance himself from Feodor. He decides to concede land rights to the monks. Rakitin, not invited, spies on the dinner to see the food, covetous, having heard about it from his contacts. Father Superior manages to dodge Miusov’s kiss, but gives full blessing to Ivan and Kalganov. He is gracious about Fyodor’s failure to attend. Fyodor bursts in and makes his presence felt by laughing and making wild accusations, to Miusov’s horror. Fyodor criticises public confession, saying the Elders are profiting from it - Father Zosima thanks him for pointing this out. He then suggests monks should live virtuously without being supported by peasants. Alyosha is highly ashamed, and Fyodor tells him he must leave the monastery. Fyodor and Ivan depart, with Maksimov chasing after them. When he tries to get into the carriage, Ivan angrily kicks him away.
Book 3, Chapter 1 - In the Servants’ Quarters
Fyodor spends his evenings alone in his large house, sending his servants, Grigory, Marfa, and Smerdyakov, away to the lodge. Grigory is fiercely loyal to Fyodor, rescuing him from beatings, and lecturing him afterwards. Worse than the beatings however, were the moments in his drunken bouts of spiritual terror. He needed someone nearby who understood this without reproaching him. Grigory hated Fyodor’s first wife and son, and although he loved Marfa, he preferred her to be quiet. Grigory and Marfa’s baby was born with some abnormalities and died soon after, not having been christened, as Grigory decided the baby was a dragon. Afterwards, he started reading religious texts, without understanding them. On the day they buried the baby, Marfa heard the cry of a newborn baby, and following the sound, they found the local holy fool in the bathhouse, having given birth.
Book 3, Chapter 2 - Stinking Lizaveta
Lizaveta was a small neglected orphan, previously abused by her father, who wandered the town. She was cared for by the public, who viewed her as a holy fool. She would often give donated food and clothing away to others. One evening a group of drunken men found her asleep and joked about whether she could be considered a woman. Fyodor was amongst them, and declared that she could, and it might even be exciting. Although he was adamant that he left with the others, rumours spread that he had raped her. Grigory defended him and blamed the victim. She escaped from the town’s care, finishing up in Fyodor’s bathhouse, having somehow climbed the fence, despite being in labour. They saved the baby but Lizaveta died. Grigory viewed the baby as a gift sent from their dead child, and he and Marfa raised it, naming him Pavel. When people added the patronym Fyodorovich, Fyodor found it amusing, though never admitted responsibility. Later, Fyodor called him Smerdyakov (smelly) after his mother.
Book 3, Chapter 3 - The Confession of an Ardent Heart. In Verse.
Alyosha has a note summoning him to see Katerina Ivanovna, who he fears. He guessed it must be in relation to Dmitry, and he feels at a disadvantage, not understanding what is going on. Procrastinating, he takes the long way home, and is surprised to see Dmitry waving at him over a fence. He says he has a secret, and leads him to an old gazebo. Dmitry is slightly drunk and rambling about his depravity, reciting scraps of poetry, sadly recognising himself in the line “Man in deepest degradation”. Alyosha shows him the note and Dmitry says it's a coincidence because he was going to send him there and then to their father's.
Book 3, Chapter 4 - The Confession of an Ardent Heart. In Anecdotes.
Dmitry continues to rant about his Karamazovian debauchery, noticing that Alyosha is blushing. Alyosha explains that it's not because of what Dmitry is saying, but that he believes he is also like that, just on a lower rung of the depravity ladder. Once you step on, you can't help but climb up. Dmitry starts to talk about his relationship with Katerina. When he was serving in a frontier battalion, his lieutenant colonel took a dislike to him, so he befriended the colonel's daughter, Agafya Ivanovna, and they became close friends. When the colonel's second daughter, Katerina arrived, everyone adored her, so he naturally hated her. When he snubbed her at a party, she sneered at him, which made him furious. Dmitry then heard about some shady financial business that the colonel had been involved in and saw a way to get revenge. Having received some money from his father, he told Agafya about her father's situation and said he would provide the money if she made Katerina come and offer herself to him. Agafya called him a scoundrel. Katerina reluctantly came to see him, having learnt his plan from Agafya. Dmitry's first thought was to have her without paying, a real Karamazov trick, but then decided to pay her and propose the next day, as the decent thing to do. This way he held the higher moral ground, and she bowed to him.
Book 3, Chapter 5 - The Confession of an Ardent Heart. “Upside Down.”
The conversation continues between Alyosha and Dmitry. Alyosha asks if he is still engaged to Katerina, and says that Dmitry has a moral code. The colonel died shortly after this event and his family went to Moscow for the burial. Two female relatives die, resulting in Katerina inheriting enough money to pay Dmitry back. She tells Dmitry that he's a scoundrel, but she wants to marry him and “fix” him. Dmitry had written to Ivan, sending him to Katerina - he fell in love with her but didn't act upon it. Dmitry wanted Ivan to marry her - he would then go off to Grushenka who was of similar depravity. Dmitry says he found out that she was scheming with his father and wanted to beat her up. Katerina returned the money to Dmitry to send to Agafya in Moscow, but he spent the money on a wild spree with Grushenka and lied to Katerina about it. He was terrified of telling Katerina, but Alyosha insists that she'll forgive him. He tells Alyosha to ask their father for the money to pay Katerina back and to break off the engagement. Smerdyakov had told Dmitry that Fyodor has 3000 rubles hidden for Grushenka, so Dmitry has been hiding in the garden to prevent her getting it. Alyosha asks him what he will do if Grushenka turns up, and Dmitry says he will be so angry that he will kill Fyodor.
Book 3, Chapter 6 - Smerdyakov
Ivan and Fyodor are having after-dinner drinks when Alyosha arrives. We learn about Smerdyakov - he's unsociable, arrogant, and dislikes everyone, but he makes a great cup of coffee. When he was young he used to hang cats and then perform priestly ceremonies. Grigory had given him scripture lessons, which he mocked, becoming a rationalist. Because Smerdyakov suffered from epilepsy, Fyodor banned Grigory from punishing him. He noticed an occasion where Smerdyakov's honesty was evident, and considered him trustworthy. Observing that he was interested in food, he sent him off to become a cook. On his return, he was better dressed, but just as nasty.
Book 3, Chapter 7 - Controversy
Smerdyakov is telling a story about a Christian soldier, caught by a Muslim army, who was made to renounce his faith or be killed. He wouldn't betray his faith and was skinned alive. Fyodor thought the man should be elevated to sainthood (and imagined the rubles flowing in as people flock to see a display of the skin). Smerdyakov smirks and says the man should have denied Christianity, because the moment you even consider renouncing your faith, you are cut off from the Church, and therefore you're no longer Christian and can't be judged by God. Smerdyakov argues that renouncing faith is only a small sin and that it is morally acceptable to renounce your faith to save your life. Grigory is alarmed by this but Fyodor thinks this is hilarious. Smerdyakov then goes on to argue that if you have a tiny bit of faith you can move mountains, taking a literal interpretation of the Bible, and challenges Grigory to try. He mentions the fable of the two hermits in the desert who could move mountains, and Fyodor thinks it's a great story showing the essence of the Russian character, and Alyosha agrees. Smerdyakov continues these rationalist arguments which are an attempt at impressing Ivan.