The Idiot

Nastasya is the most complicated figures in the novel. Unlike Myshkin, who is motivated by a desire to bring goodness into the world, or Rogozhin, who is consumed by his passion, Nastasya is a tragic figure who is trying to navigate her own grief and trauma. Her childhood is marred by pain. Her mother dies in a house fire and her death causes Nastasya's father to lose his mind and his money, leaving Nastasya at the mercy of his friend, Totsky, who becomes her benefactor. When she grows into a beautiful young woman, Totsky is sexually attracted to her. He turns her into his sexual concubine and demands a physical relationship from her which she is powerless to refuse. The experience infuses Nastasya with a deep degree of self-loathing as well as a burning desire to seek revenge against Totsky. Plagued by rumors, Totsky tries to marry Nastasya to someone else, offering a large dowry on her behalf to wash his hands of her scandalous reputation. Nastasya refuses these proposals and moves herself to Saint Peterburg, turning herself into a physical reminder of the scandals which undermine Totsky's reputation. Nastasya hates Totsky but she cannot help but turn this hatred inward. She views herself as a product of this abuse, to the point where her mere existence becomes painful, and she seeks to punish herself. In this respect, Nastasya's life becomes a doomed attempt to escape her painful past.

Nastasya's relationship with Myshkin is one way in which she might be able to escape her trauma. In the patriarchal society of Saint Petersburg, women are disempowered so there is a social pressure on Nastasya to marry. She rejects men like Ganya as extensions of Totsky's abusive behavior, but Myshkin represents something different. He empathizes with her pain in a way that no other character is capable of doing. He loves her for who she is, not the dowry that is promised or the aesthetic beauty of her appearance. The love between Nastasya and Myshkin is an opportunity for Nastasya to be happy and for her to navigate her trauma for the first time with an empathetic figure in her life. This pitiable love is as close Nastasya comes to feeling real emotion, but she cannot accept Myshkin's proposal. She continues to reject him because she does not deem herself to be worthy of his love. Her trauma is so overpowering that she condemns herself to further suffering rather than entertain the idea that she might be happy.

At the end of the novel, Nastasya seems poised to resolve her trauma finally, cathartically. She accepts Myshkin's proposal, and they plan a marriage. At the very last moment, however, she sees Rogozhin in the crowd and decides to run away with him. Rogozhin and Nastasya travel by train to Saint Petersburg and— just as Myshkin predicted—the elopement ends in tragedy. Rogozhin stabs Nastasya, killing her. To some extent, Nastasya goes willingly to her death. She symbolically rejects the empathy and pity of marriage to Myshkin and embraces the burning, passionate violence of Rogozhin. She does not believe that she is worthy of Myshkin's love so she runs away with Rogozhin, half-aware of the inevitability of what will happen to her. In a way, she deliberately commits ritual suicide by choosing Rogozhin over Myshkin. Her choice is a final acceptance of the corruption of the world; the same world that tolerates the abusive Totsky and which alienates Nastasya is not one in which she ever wants to live. The only way to escape her pain is through death and she chooses to die in an act of tragic love, accepting the corrupt cruelty of the world. Her death has a traumatizing effect on Myshkin, revealing to him that the society will never be able to tolerate empathy and pity, which is all he has to offer.

Rogozhin is, in many ways, the anthesis of Myshkin. Whereas Myshkin is kind, sincere, and respectful, Rogozhin is violent, moody, and cynical. Their physical appearances contrast: whereas Myshkin is pale and blonde, Rogozhin is dark-haired and leathery. Rogozhin's dark eyes suggest a dark torment within him. Both Rogozhin and Myshkin are united in their love for Nastasya. This passion manifests and is motivated by different sentiments, however, which result from their differences in character. Myshkin sympathizes with Nastasya's tragic past, and he loves her because he sees her as a similarly broken version of himself. Rogozhin objectifies Nastasya, turning her into something that he can win, whose love for him would become an act of defiance. Rogozhin loves Nastasya in spite of everything: his family tells him not to love her, society tells him not to love her, and even Nastasya herself rejects him on several occasions. Whereas Myshkin's love for her is defined by his own internal, quiet empathy, Rogozhin's love for Nastasya is driven by a spiteful will to demonstration his own self-worth.

Rogozhin's relationship with money illustrates the inherent contradictions at the heart of Saint Petersburg's high society and further differentiates him from Myshkin. At the beginning of the novel, Rogozhin and Myshkin meet on the train. At that time, Myshkin has little more than the bundle that he carries in his arms. Rogozhin, meanwhile, is extraordinarily wealthy. An unexpected death has led to him inheriting a vast sum, so much so that even Lebedev is able to quote the vastness of Rogozhin's newfound fortune. Myshkin is the penniless idealist while Rogozhin is the moneyed cynic. Despite his wealth, however, Rogozhin lacks Myshkin's social connections. Myshkin may not have any money, but he does have his ancestry. His family name alone is enough to get him a meeting with General Epanchin which, in turn, leads to him securing a job. Rogozhin is immeasurably wealthier than Myshkin, but he is pushed to the periphery of the Russian elite. Rogozhin is never truly accepted into the same social circles which willingly open themselves up to Myshkin, even if they initially view Myshkin as some form of entertainment. This social isolation further motivates Rogozhin's seething resentment toward society and solidifies his role as the outsider.

At the end of the novel, Rogozhin gets everything he wants. After a long period of lusting after Nastasya, she abandons Myshkin on their wedding day and asks Rogozhin to run away with her. The couple flees to Saint Petersburg, but their love cannot flourish. Rogozhin murders Nastasya in an act of deep despair. The murder, which Myshkin originally predicted, seems inevitable. Rogozhin's burning passion cannot tolerate happiness. He cannot imagine a world in which he gets everything he wants, so any move toward such a world must be motivated by spite. He cannot love any woman who claims to love him, as he loathes himself. Rogozhin turns society's alienation inwards, fashioning it into a simmering form of self-loathing which consumes him. He cannot allow himself to be happy because any form of happiness is a plot against him which he does not yet understand. The same extravagant passion which once differentiated Rogozhin from Myshkin turns into an all-consuming form of self-hatred. Rogozhin kills Nastasya and gives himself up to the authorities, gladly accepting punishment from a society he hates and that, in his mind, hates him.

Aglaya is the youngest daughter of the Epanchin family. As a talented young woman, she can make those around her feel gratified and happy through conversation. She is commonly regarded as the most beautiful and most alluring of the three daughters, to the point where her two older sisters have an unspoken agreement to sacrifice their own wealth and status (in terms of marriage prospects) to help Aglaya find a suitable husband. This reverence and elevation have led to Aglaya becoming something of a spoiled child. She is not used to being refused anything and she struggles to understand why she cannot have whatever she wants. She refuses several marriage proposals. She refuses Ganya's offer on several occasions, even though he is absolutely stricken with her (and the status and wealth that she represents). Aglaya spends most of the novel unsure of what she really wants. When Myshkin first enters her life, she is fascinated by him. His original, sincere personality is refreshing for a girl who has grown up in the cynical, jaded world of Saint Petersburg's high society. Aglaya is unsure of how to feel about Myshkin, particularly as he seems like an unsuitable match for marriage in terms of his wealth and status. When these issues are addressed by his large inheritance, Aglaya is more comfortable expressing her love for him, but she still does not know how. She teases Myshkin and invites his attention, only to reject him and tell him that they are just friends. She is occasionally cruel to the sincere, pleasant Myshkin, as though her upbringing has failed to equip her with the tools to deal with his particular personality.

Ultimately, Myshkin rejects Aglaya. The attractive young woman with a large dowry, a pristine reputation, and high social standing cannot understand why she has been rejected for a woman with a terrible reputation among the elite of Saint Petersburg. She cannot empathize with either Myshkin or Nastasya, as she cannot understand the depth of feeling they may have for one another. A girl with no tragedy in her life cannot fathom why two people who have suffered so much might feel drawn toward each other. Her lack of understanding becomes paranoia, to the point where Aglaya cannot tolerate the idea of a marriage to Myshkin because she obsesses over the idea that Myshkin may still love Nastasya. Aglaya's paranoia comes to a tragic end. She searches beyond the confines of Saint Petersburg society to find someone else, eventually marrying a wealth Polish prince. Unfortunately for Aglaya, she is tricked. The man has no money and no title. As a result, Aglaya becomes estranged from her family. Like many of the characters, she is driven toward a tragic end by the expectations of society.