Skip to main content

All Questions

7 votes
1 answer
172 views

What does Dostoyevsky's character's statement about Permissiveness mean for Morality in Western Civilization?

One of Western civilizations most important and well-respected piece of literature is The Brothers Karamazov by Feodor Dostoyevsky. Among other important religious issues, Dostoyevsky has one of his ...
user avatar
5 votes
1 answer
2k views

The Brothers Karamazov - Why does Dmitri use "Bernard" as an insult?

"Bernard" is first mentioned in Book XI. Ivan, Chapter IV, in an exchange between Dmitri and Alyosha: “Ethics?” asked Alyosha, wondering. “Yes; is it a science?” “Yes, there is such a ...
LLCampos's user avatar
  • 541
5 votes
1 answer
232 views

The Brothers Karamazov - ladies of the eighteen stone?

The Brothers Karamazov by Fyodor Dostoyevsky, Book XI, Chapter IX The expression "eighteen stone" is mentioned 3 times in the whole book, all in same chapter: What I dream of is becoming ...
LLCampos's user avatar
  • 541
4 votes
2 answers
1k views

The Brothers Karamazov - What is "The Bell"?

The Brothers Karamazov by Fyodor Dostoyevsky, Book X, Chapter IV Long will you remember The house at the Chain bridge. Do you remember? It's splendid. Why are you laughing? You don't suppose I am ...
LLCampos's user avatar
  • 541
6 votes
1 answer
230 views

The Brothers Karamazov - When was Russia saved before?

The Brothers Karamazov by Fyodor Dostoyevsky, Book VI, Chapter 3 And how suprised men would be if I were to say that from these meek monks, who yearn for solitary prayer, the salvation of Russia will ...
LLCampos's user avatar
  • 541
5 votes
1 answer
821 views

The Brothers Karamazov - What is the "Chain bridge"?

The Brothers Karamazov by Fyodor Dostoyevsky, Book X, Chapter IV I say this only to you. I am not at all anxious to fall into the clutches of the secret police and take lessons at the Chain bridge. ...
LLCampos's user avatar
  • 541
5 votes
3 answers
550 views

In the Brothers Karamazov, did Dostoyevsky take those characters out of real life?

In the novel The Brothers Karamazov, did the writer take those characters out of real life? Or did he just build the characters with time?
Ronit sharma's user avatar
6 votes
1 answer
124 views

What is the text Ivan refers to in the preface to the Grand Inquisitor

Before declaming the Grand Inquisitor in the Brothers Karamazov, Ivan refers to a poem with the virgin Marie visiting Hell and begging God for mercy for its inhabitants. Is this a real poem? If so, ...
azani's user avatar
  • 163
6 votes
2 answers
3k views

Why did Smerdyakov kill himself in the Brothers Karamazov?

It is being said that he committed suicide out of desperation. The Defense Lawyer, Fetyukovich, actually stated Smerdyakov did not kill himself out of guilt and remorse, but because he knew there was ...
Jane's user avatar
  • 61
8 votes
0 answers
378 views

What is the significance of the Grand Inquisitor in The Brothers Karamazov?

In The Brothers Karamazov, Ivan tells a long story to Alyosha about the Grand Inquisitor. I have been trying to grasp its meaning for some time, but what is the significance of that story?
Soumil's user avatar
  • 143
13 votes
2 answers
1k views

What is the significance of the "suffocation scene" at Tchermashnya in Brothers Karamazov?

I'm re-reading The Brothers Karamazov and was struck again by a strange scene whose meaning isn't immediately clear to me. In "Lyagavy", Part 3, Book 8, Chapter 2 of The Brothers Karamazov, ...
brianpck's user avatar
  • 336