Crime and Punishment & Other Great Novels of Dostoevsky
by Fyodor Dostoevsky
Contents
Chapter 2 The Old Buffoon
Overview
The visitors meet Elder Zossima in his cell, where Fyodor Pavlovitch disrupts decorum with buffoonery and lies, provoking Miusov. Zossima responds calmly, diagnosing Fyodor’s self-deception and urging moral restraint. The clash exposes family and ideological tensions. Zossima departs briefly to bless others, and Fyodor suddenly promises to behave.
Summary
The party enters Elder Zossima’s modest cell, where two monks, a novice, Alyosha, and the divinity student Rakitin are present. Formal greetings begin, but Miusov, Ivan, Kalganov, and Fyodor Pavlovitch withhold customary reverence, embarrassing Alyosha. Zossima invites them to sit; the tense tone is set.
Fyodor Pavlovitch seizes attention with jokes and irreverent anecdotes, mimicking Miusov and spouting a false story about Diderot. Miusov bristles, nearly leaving. Zossima urges calm and tells Fyodor Pavlovitch not to be ashamed of himself, inviting him to be at ease.
Pressed by vanity and shame, Fyodor Pavlovitch plays the penitent, asking how to gain eternal life. Zossima advises him to avoid drunkenness, lechery, greed, keep fewer taverns, and, above all, not lie—especially not to himself. He explains how self-deception destroys respect and love and breeds vindictive offense-taking.
Fyodor Pavlovitch fawns over Zossima, admits lifelong lying, then blames a fantastical saint’s tale for shaking his faith, pinning it on Miusov. The Father Librarian denies such a legend; Miusov protests being misquoted. The quarrel escalates as Fyodor mocks and Miusov despises him.
Zossima rises, briefly leaving to bless other visitors, telling Fyodor Pavlovitch again not to lie. Alyosha, distressed, escorts him. At the door, Fyodor Pavlovitch insists he had only been testing Zossima and declares he will now keep silent, leaving the discussion to Miusov as Dmitri still has not arrived.
Who Appears
- Fyodor Pavlovitch KaramazovAbrasive, mocking patriarch; lies, provokes Miusov, fawns over Zossima, and is warned against self-deception and vice.
- Elder ZossimaCalm spiritual guide; counsels Fyodor against lying to himself, lust, drink, and greed; maintains composure and leaves to bless others.
- Pyotr Alexandrovitch MiusovOffended landowner; refuses ritual reverence, clashes with Fyodor, nearly storms out, denies a saint’s-head legend.
- Alyosha KaramazovAshamed and anxious; supports Zossima, escorts him, silently witnesses his family’s impropriety.
- Ivan KaramazovObserves coolly, withholding intervention while tensions mount between Fyodor and Miusov.
- RakitinDivinity student; present as observer, known to Alyosha, offers no open comment.
- Father PaissyMonk attending the meeting; listens intently during the disturbance.
- Father LibrarianMonk who corrects Fyodor’s fabricated saint’s tale.
- KalganovYoung visitor; awkward, fails to bow, watches the conflict unfold.
- Novice (unnamed)Assists Zossima and accompanies him when he leaves to bless visitors.