Chapter 7 The Second Visit to Smerdyakov

Ivan visits Smerdyakov in his new lodgings and finds him recovered, complacent, and insolent. Pressed about earlier hints, Smerdyakov claims Ivan knew their father might be murdered, desired it for inheritance and to prevent Fyodor’s marriage to Grushenka, and effectively sanctioned the act by leaving for Tchermashnya at Smerdyakov’s mere suggestion. Ivan, enraged, strikes him but gains no confession.

Staggering into the night, Ivan is seized by self-reproach, recalling he had secretly expected violence and even “wanted the murder.” He rushes to Katerina Ivanovna and, in feverish agitation, recounts every word. Katya silently produces Dmitri’s drunken letter promising to “break his father’s skull” for money, which Ivan seizes on as decisive proof of Dmitri’s guilt and thus his own exoneration.

Over the following month, Ivan dismisses Smerdyakov with contempt, even as reports say Smerdyakov has grown ill and deranged. Ivan himself weakens, his hatred of Dmitri rooted chiefly in the patricide. Troubled by Smerdyakov’s taunt that conviction benefits Ivan’s inheritance, he paradoxically proposes financing Dmitri’s escape, suspecting a murderer’s impulse within himself.

After a later conversation with Alyosha, Ivan recalls Katya’s cry that he had persuaded her of Dmitri’s guilt, then learns she visited Smerdyakov. Startled that Katya harbored doubts, Ivan burns with anger and suspicion about what Smerdyakov told her. He impulsively rushes back to confront Smerdyakov again, intent on forcing a resolution.