Chapter 4 A Hymn and a Secret

Alyosha arrives late at the prison and encounters Rakitin leaving in a huff. Dmitri mocks Rakitin’s opportunism and “scientific” reductionism, then shifts from banter to despair, declaring that what is over is not the coming trial but his fear of losing God.

Dmitri recounts Rakitin’s plan to exploit the case in print and his tasteless poem about Madame Hohlakov, contrasting such cynicism with his own new inner awakening. He describes a reborn self that longs to suffer redemptively, even in the mines, to “sing a hymn” to God and to help other convicts find renewed hearts.

He agonizes over goodness without God, compares Ivan’s sphinx-like silence to Rakitin’s sneers, and fears Katerina’s testimony and Grigory’s certainty will doom him. His love for Grushenka torments him, and he refuses to beg her pardon, vowing instead to make amends in deed.

Dmitri then whispers his secret: Ivan has arranged and insists upon Dmitri’s escape after the verdict, with funds for flight to America with Grushenka. Dmitri is torn—escape would betray the “sign” of salvific suffering, yet life without Grushenka seems impossible, and convicts may not marry. He pleads with Alyosha not to decide yet.

As time runs out, Dmitri admits he believes Ivan thinks him guilty. In anguish he asks Alyosha whether he believes him capable of patricide. Alyosha solemnly swears he has never believed it, reviving Dmitri’s spirit for the trial. Dmitri urges Alyosha to “love Ivan,” and Alyosha departs in tears, resolved to seek Ivan at once.