The Idiot: Part Four, Chapter Three Summary & Analysis

General Ivolgin has often caused a big commotion like this, rarely with any serious consequences. This time, the whole incident is different. Leading up to the explosion, Ivolgin had been extra grouchy and sensitive. In the three days before he became very close with Lebedev, but then suddenly had a huge fight with him. It seems as if there is some secret that Ivolgin has been keeping. However, at this point the narrator suddenly stops to say that, because the reasons behind people’s actions tend to be so complicated, sometimes it is better for narrators to simply relay a set of events rather than attempt to describe the motivations behind them. 

Lebedev returned from his trip to St. Petersburg the same day he left. For two days, Lebedev said nothing to Myshkin about the trip or the missing money, and spent all his time with Ivolgin. The two men drink, embrace each other, and generally “egg each other on.” However, they then have a fight, and the next morning Ivolgin comes to see Myshkin, clearly very agitated. He speaks for 10 minutes, but Myshkin cannot understand anything he says. At the end, there are tears in his eyes, and he announces that Myshkin has “understood him.” He asks if he might speak again with Myshkin for an hour, and while Myshkin suggests they could do so now, Ivolgin arranges it for the next day.

After, Lebedev comes. He, along with Keller and Kolya earlier, all seem to want to congratulate Myshkin on something. Lebedev begins speaking cryptically about how he doesn’t deserve Myshkin’s trust. Myshkin then says he wants to tell Lebedev something about the money he lost, but Lebedev explains that he actually found it a while ago. He says that it was on the floor where his coat had been hanging, and that his wallet must have slipped out. Confused, Myshkin points out that Lebedev “searched every corner,” but Lebedev insists that the wallet somehow just turned up. 

Myshkin asks why Lebedev didn’t tell him that he found the money, and Lebedev explains that he actually put the wallet back where he found it as a kind of experiment. He hoped that General Ivolgin would find it, but in fact he never noticed it. However, that same day, Ivolgin became inexplicably angry and disappeared. Later that night, Lebedev noticed that the wallet was gone, too. However, it then reappeared in the skirt of his frock coat, having fallen through a pocket that tore on the inside. Lebedev notes that, mysteriously, the tear in the pocket looks “as if somebody had cut it with a penknife.”

Lebedev says that he will “find” the wallet again the next day, but first wants to tease Ivolgin a little more. Myshkin asks why he is torturing Ivolgin, noting that the fact that Ivolgin put the wallet back shows that he’s trying to get Lebedev’s forgiveness. Persuaded by Myshkin, Lebedev says he will “find” the wallet that day, rather than waiting until the next. He gives it to Myshkin to keep until tomorrow. Myshkin advises that Lebedev shouldn’t say anything directly, but just quietly remove the wallet from his skirt, so that Ivolgin figures out what is going on. Lebedev says he knows it would be better to follow Myshkin’s kind advice, even though Ivolgin has been particularly rude lately.