Crime and Punishment & Other Great Novels of Dostoevsky
by Fyodor Dostoevsky
Contents
Chapter 10 The Speech for the Defence. An Argument that Cuts Both Ways
Overview
Fetyukovitch begins Dmitri’s defence with a calm, precise tone, promising to dismantle a seemingly overwhelming chain of evidence by showing each link won’t stand alone. He counters the prosecutor’s psychology with opposite readings, stressing contradictions about the pestle, the envelope, and Dmitri’s pity for Grigory. The audience responds favorably, shifting courtroom sentiment.
Summary
The celebrated advocate begins softly but confidently, avoiding empty rhetoric while hinting at his capacity for piercing pathos. He frames his mission: to break an “overwhelming chain” of evidence by proving each separate fact is unconvincing. He admits Dmitri’s turbulent character but warns against prejudice and narrative “romance” in legal psychology.
Contrasting with the prosecutor’s method, Fetyukovitch presents a counter-psychology: if Dmitri returned to Grigory only to check for a witness, why did he earlier abandon crucial caution by leaving the torn money envelope? If calculating, why spend time tending the servant and risk discovery instead of ensuring silence? Why fling the brass pestle far away unless moved by remorse?
From these contradictions he argues that psychological readings can “cut both ways,” proving anything the reader prefers. He insists Dmitri’s pity for Grigory points to a clear conscience regarding parricide. Laughter and approval ripple through the court at the prosecutor’s expense, and the defence’s momentum grows as the speech shifts public sentiment.
Who Appears
- FetyukovitchDefense attorney; opens with a precise, anti-romantic argument, dismantling each evidence link and attacking the prosecutor’s psychology.
- Ippolit KirillovitchProsecutor; his psychological narrative is targeted as speculative and self-contradictory.
- Dmitri (Mitya) KaramazovDefendant; depicted by the defence as impulsive yet capable of pity, undermining the parricide theory.
- GrigoryOld servant struck in the garden; his injury and Dmitri’s return become key to the defence’s argument.