“Brothers Karamazov” book 2
Book 2 of The Brothers Karamazov is “An Inappropriate Gathering” but would perhaps be better called a deeply uncomfortable one.
A quick summary of the chapters, which have a profusion (overabundance, perhaps?) of characters:
1: “They Arrive at the Monastery.” They are Fyodor Pavlovich (the father), Ivan (2nd of BKs), Pyotr Alexandrovitch (cousin of FPs 1st wife and helped care for all 3 BKs after their mothers’ deaths), and a relative of his, Kalganov. Not Dmitri. They are met by a landowner, Maximov, then invited to dinner.
2. “The Old Buffoon” They are joined by 2 other monks, 2 Fathers (Paissy and the librarian), a seminarian, Alyosha, and Zosima. FP talks and talks, Zosima is very kind to him, tells him to stop lying and better things will follow.
3. “Women of Faith” Zosima blesses women waiting for him, some of whom have traveled far.
4. “A Lady of Little Faith” A lady landholder has also come to thank Zosima for curing her lame daughter, Lise. Lise mocks Alyosha, says she has a message from Katerina Ivanovna to give him for Dmitri, and Zosima tells them that Alyosha will visit them.
5. “So Be It! So Be It!” A long, involved discussion of church, state, Ivan’s article and various arguments. Dmitri arrives.
6. “Why is Such a Man Alive?” Lots of bad behavior, though Dmitri is the first to be respectful to Zosima, who ends up bowing to him and touching his head to the floor, which alarms Dmitri and others.
7. “A Seminarist-Careerist” Zosima tells Alyosha he’ll have to leave the monastery. Alyosha meets Rakitin, another novice. Rakitin has much gossip: Dmitri is engaged to the respectable Katerina Ivanovna, but sleeping with Grushenka. Ivan is interested in KI now that Dmitri is wandering. And FP also likes Grushenka. Rakitin thinks Zosima’s bow to Dmitri presaged a crime.
8. “Scandal” The dinner with the father superior goes badly. FP said he wouldn’t come, he shows up, angers Miusov again and insults the monastery. All leave,with Maximov trying to go with FP and Ivan. Ivan becomes cold to FP.
I found Zosima to be most engaging, and FP most disturbing, as I’m sure the author intended. The talks on ecclesiastical courts, while probably politically timely when published, went on and on. Lots of women introduced, and it’s obviously the groundwork for what will unfold.
What did everyone else think?
June 12th, 2013 at 8:25 am
I’ve always loved that final scene with Maximov trying to jump onto the carriage and Ivan kicking him off. Especially with Pyotr continuously referring to Maximov as public murder victim von Sohn the whole time and even using his name as a verb (”What did you vonsohn in there?”).
The thing about the ecclesiastical courts is interesting in light of later things (like the Grand Inquisitor and one of the book’s overriding questions, which is about whether justice is possible in this life or even in the afterlife) but it’s still a weird digression, I agree. There are certainly plenty of things that Dosotevsky does that any young, aspiring writer would be steered well clear of in a formal educational setting: huge paragraphs, telling not showing, using your characters as a mouthpiece for your own views, or else using them as paper dolls to play devil’s advocate. But somehow I still feel he makes it work.
It’s certainly a way of writing a novel that feels very outdated, but I kind of miss that in novels these days, I have to admit. I like how, in spite of being a murder mystery at its heart, BK is a book that’s ABOUT things.