The Idiot — Part IV — Chapter VIII

Myshkin wakes heavy-hearted after the previous night’s seizure. Visits from Vera, Lebedeff, and a grieving Colia deepen his foreboding; the Epanchins briefly call, kindly yet ominously affirming him as a “friend.” Soon after, Vera relays Aglaya’s urgent message that he must not leave home until evening.

Hippolyte arrives, ill and agitated, and reveals that Aglaya intends to meet Nastasia that night, arranged through Rogojin at Daria Alexeyevna’s. He taunts Myshkin with jealousy, then departs, leaving Myshkin feverish with dread.

At dusk, Aglaya appears and commands Myshkin to escort her. They enter Daria Alexeyevna’s house, where Rogojin admits them and Nastasia, dressed in black, awaits. Aglaya and Nastasia sit facing each other, tension mounting as each probes the other’s motives.

Aglaya delivers a prepared rebuke: she pities Myshkin’s trusting nature, condemns Nastasia’s vanity and interference, and demands by what right Nastasia entangles their feelings. Nastasia, wounded and defensive, counters with scorn; the exchange escalates to accusations about shame, toil, and past humiliations.

Provoked by jealousy and pride, Nastasia challenges Aglaya, threatening to keep Myshkin if she wills. When Myshkin pleads, pointing to Nastasia’s misery, Aglaya, devastated, cries out and rushes away. As Myshkin tries to follow, Nastasia collapses into his arms; revived, she hysterically claims him as hers. Rogojin, silent and intent throughout, then leaves.

The scene ends with Myshkin tenderly soothing the incoherent Nastasia, their roles fixed by pity and desperation, while Aglaya’s flight signals a catastrophic rift.