Chapter 2 Smerdyakov with a Guitar

Pressed by dread of an impending catastrophe, Alyosha prioritizes finding Dmitri over returning to the dying Zossima. He slips over the fence into the garden summer-house to catch Dmitri unawares and waits in hiding.

Hearing a guitar nearby, Alyosha overhears Smerdyakov, dressed up and self-satisfied, serenading and conversing with Marya Kondratyevna. Smerdyakov disparages poetry, Russia, and his own origins, boasting of his abilities and resenting insults about his birth. He belittles Dmitri’s character and praises foreign institutions, while Marya flirts and romanticizes duels.

Alyosha inadvertently reveals himself and asks after Dmitri. Smerdyakov, feigning detachment yet admitting fear of Dmitri’s threats, claims ignorance of Dmitri’s whereabouts. He then discloses that Ivan sent him in the morning to invite Dmitri to dine at the Metropolis tavern and warns Alyosha not to mention his role, fearing retaliation.

Grasping the lead, Alyosha rushes to the tavern, intending to call his brothers down from the entrance. As he arrives, Ivan opens a window and invites him up. Alyosha ascends and finds Ivan dining alone, setting the stage for their discussion about Dmitri.