Genesis: "The Brothers Karamazov"/Chapter One

This is intended to be the first of many chapter discussions concerning the book, The Brothers Karamazov. All of those who are participating in this discussion are encouraged to post their individual replies. My own copy of The Brothers Karamazov was translated from the Russian by Richard Pevear and Larissa Volokhonsky.

Book One: A Nice Little Family

In this chapter, Alexi Fyodorovich Karamazov, who is usually called Alyosha, is the third son of a brutish landowner by the name of Fyodor Pavlovich Karamazov, who continues to remain famous for his dark and violent death. The narrator tells us the story of Fyodor Pavlovich's life. As a young man, he is known as a "loutish buffoon." He owns a very small amount of land and earns a reputation of "sponging off of other people." Nevertheless, he somehow manages to marry a very rich, beautiful and intelligent girl by the name of Adelaida Ivanovna Miusova, who convinces herself that eloping with a bold and sarcastic man like Fyodor Pavlovich is one of the most romantic things that she can do. After they are married, Adelaida Ivanovna realizes that she feels nothing but contempt for Fyodor Pavlovich, and when their son, Dmitri, is three, she runs away with a poor seminary student, leaving Fyodor Pavlovich with the boy, who begins to travel around the area, tearfully complaining about his wife's desertion. In his wife's absence, however. Fyodor Pavlovich turns his home into a harem and spends much of his time indulging in drunken orgies, financed by the fortune that he gained from Adelaida Ivanovna. It is when Fyodor Pavlovich hears about his wife's death due to starvation (or disease), he runs down the street, drunkenly celebrating his new-gained freedom.

There is another version of this story, however, which says that Fyodor Pavlovich instead weeps like a child. The narrator tells us that both of the stories may be true -- for even wicked people like Fyodor Pavlovich are generally more naive and simple than one is inclined to suspect (he may have both wept and rejoiced concerning learning about his wife's death in a Petersburg garret.

Book One provides a history of the major characters and their relationships, so the narrator can jump right into the main story in Book Two, without stopping to explain things as he goes to discuss the rest of the story. The Brothers Karamazov is a cross between a realistic novel and a philosophical record. The characters have extremely complicated and intricate psychologies, and yet they also represent certain ideas and concepts. This combination of realism and philosophical symbolism is evident in these chapters, as each meticulously drawn character comes to embody a more abstract set of concepts and beliefs. Fyodor Pavlovich Karamazov, the father, with his orgies and his abhorrent treatment of his wives and children, embodies amoral, obnoxious Epicureanism (or a commitment to seeking pleasure rather than living responsibly or virtuously). Ivan Karamazov's brilliant mind and burgeoning literary reputation embody the struggle to reconcile intellect with religious belief. Dmitri Karamazov's violent hatred of his father and uncritical love of his brothers stand in opposition to Ivan's critical faculties. Dmitri's character illustrates the effects of action based on emotion rather than on the intellect. Finally, Alyosha, whom Dostoevsky describes as the hero of the novel, is nearly the opposite of Fyodor Pavlovich. His love of mankind shows that is is innocent, pious, and virtuous without being mystical or fanatical.

Of similar importance, there are several religious concepts in these chapters that may be unfamiliar to the modern reader, who may not be a member of the Russian Orthodox Church, to which the Karamozovs belong. First, the article for which Ivan has gained notoriety before the story begins deal with the question of ecclesiastical courts. These are simply courts of law that decide cases based not on the political laws that govern nations, but on religious law and the strictures within the church. Ecclesiastical courts in Russia that the time of the novel do not have the power to try or punish criminals. Ivan's article argues that ecclesiastical courts should be given authority over criminal prosecution and punishment because if criminals knew they were defying God when they committed their crimes, many of them would choose to obey the law. Given Ivan's reputation for religious doubt, many of the people who knew him suspect that he does not entirely believe his own argument. Ivan's argument is motivated not by a desire to punish, but, paradoxically, by compassion for mankind. He believes that without religious authority, people would ultimately descend into lawlessness and chaos. At the same time, because he does not believe in the church, Ivan rejects the notion of binding morality. His article is sincere in that he believes his recommendations would improve the human condition, but insincere in that he does not believe in the ideas and institutions under which his recommendations would be carried out. The article, and the larger debate about ecclesiastical courts, thus serves to offer a preliminary insight into the nature of Ivan's anguished mind: he is so committed to intellectual logic that he is led to advocate ideas he does not believe in his own heart.

I understand that the above synopsis encompasses all of the chapters in Book One; however, the next posting, which will be called "Chapter Two" (appropriately) will discuss only chapter two. This is being provided for those readers who are already into, for example, book two.