Crime and Punishment & Other Great Novels of Dostoevsky
by Fyodor Dostoevsky
Contents
The Idiot — Part II — Chapter II
Overview
Myshkin returns to St. Petersburg and seeks out Lebedeff, amid the clerk’s chaotic household and a quarrelsome nephew. In the garden, Lebedeff reveals that Nastasia fled Rogojin on the eve of marriage and is hiding with Daria Alexeyevna.
Learning many are bound for Pavlovsk, Myshkin decides to rent Lebedeff’s villa there, drawn by hopes of finding Nastasia and unsettled by mention of Aglaya nearby.
Summary
In early June, the Epanchins decamp to Pavlovsk. Prince Myshkin arrives from Moscow, feels watched by a pair of strange eyes in the station crowd, and goes to Lebedeff’s neatly kept wooden villa. He walks into a lively scene: Lebedeff declaiming, his family listening, and a sardonic nephew provoking him.
The nephew, needing money after gambling losses, berates Lebedeff’s stinginess and exposes his eccentricities, while Lebedeff counters with claims of past kindness and piety, even praying for the Comtesse du Barry. Myshkin tries to arbitrate but grows impatient, pressing Lebedeff for the real reason he summoned him.
In the garden, Myshkin demands the truth about Nastasia. Lebedeff admits she slipped away from Rogojin in Moscow on the very eve of their marriage and fled to Petersburg, insisting she is “free.” She is staying with Lebedeff’s sister-in-law, Daria Alexeyevna, on Petersburgskaia; Colia visits her often.
Lebedeff rambles about the Apocalypse and urges a move to the country. He reveals he will relocate to Pavlovsk, having a villa from Ptitsin. Myshkin quickly asks to rent it, and Lebedeff agrees, hinting that Aglaya will be nearby with frequent visitors, which clearly wounds Myshkin.
Resolving to leave his hotel and accompany Lebedeff to Pavlovsk the day after tomorrow, Myshkin departs, absent-minded and preoccupied with Nastasia’s situation and the implied closeness of Aglaya.
Who Appears
- Prince MyshkinReturns from Moscow, confronts Lebedeff for news, learns Nastasia fled Rogojin, decides to rent a Pavlovsk villa and go there.
- Lebedeff (Lukian Timofeyovitch)Eccentric clerk hosting Myshkin; quarrels with nephew; reveals Nastasia’s flight; plans move to Pavlovsk; lets villa to Myshkin.
- Lebedeff’s nephewUniversity student who gambled away money; demands a loan, mocks Lebedeff, and exposes his habits.
- Vera LebedeffLebedeff’s elder daughter in mourning, holding her infant sister; tries to calm household tensions.
- Luboff (infant)Lebedeff’s newborn daughter; presence highlights the family’s recent bereavement.
- Lebedeff’s younger daughterTeenage girl who laughs and teases Lebedeff during the commotion.
- Nastasia PhilippovnaOffstage; fled Rogojin on the eve of marriage; now hiding with Daria Alexeyevna, insisting she is free.
- Parfen RogojinOffstage; recently in Petersburg; had pursued marriage with Nastasia; implied watcher at the station.
- Colia IvolginOffstage; frequently visits Nastasia; may be at Pavlovsk or with his father.
- Daria AlexeyevnaLebedeff’s sister-in-law; shelters Nastasia on Petersburgskaia; likely to go to Pavlovsk.