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Part Three, Chapter Eight
Themes
Key
LitCharts assigns a color and icon to each theme in The Idiot, which you can use to track the themes throughout the work.
Innocence v. Foolishness
Money, Greed, and Corruption
Social Hierarchy, Authority, and Rebellion
Absurdity and Nihilism
Passion, Violence, and Christianity
Summary
Analysis
When she and Myshkin reenter the house, Mrs. Epanchin is in a state of shock. Slowly recovering, she asks Myshkin what they were doing in the park, and Myshkin explains that they met to talk for an hour or so. Satisfied with this answer, Mrs. Epanchin bids the prince farewell. After he leaves, Adelaida comments that Myshkin has become more graceful lately. Meanwhile, Myshkin arrives home to his dacha and tells Vera that he needs to sleep. She begs him to allow Ippolit to stay, and Myshkin agrees. Just as Myshkin tries to sleep, Kolya arrives. He praises Ippolit’s “confession,” and says that he can’t stand it that people believe that Ippolit left the cap off the gun on purpose.
Kolya is young and impressionable, and it is perhaps for this reason that he is impressed by Ippolit’s decidedly lackluster speech because he is young and impressionable. Yet his sympathy for Ippolit lies in his own kind, compassionate nature, which is highly reminiscent of Myshkin. In a sense, Kolya is Myshkin’s protégé.
Themes
Lebedev enters and addresses Myshkin in an unusually formal, polite manner. He says that 400 roubles went missing from his wallet yesterday. Myshkin briefly interrupts to ask if Lebedev put an advert in the newspaper for gold and silver pawning, and Lebedev admits he did, but without listing his name and address. Lebedev continues to say that he noticed the money was missing at 7:30 a.m. that morning. Someone at the party must have taken it from his wallet, or picked it up if he dropped it on the floor. Lebedev is sure it wasn’t his maid or his children, which means one of the guests must have done it.
As if Myshkin’s party weren’t dramatic enough, another scandal weaves its way into the scene. Considering most people at the party a) are rich and b) consider themselves too respectable to do something like steal, the obvious candidates are the young nihilists, who enjoy committing social violations for fun, and General Ivolgin, who has problems with debt.
Themes
Lebedev narrows down the suspects based on their movements during the party to General Ivolgin, Keller, and Ferdyshchenko. When he discovered the money was missing he was convinced that Keller must have taken it, and he and General Ivolgin searched him while he was sleeping. Having found nothing, they woke him up and interrogated him, at which point they determined that he had not stolen the money. Meanwhile, there is evidence to suggest that Ferdyshchenko is the thief, such as the fact that he left the party early to go and see another friend—someone named Vilkin. Furthermore, when Lebedev went to Vilkin’s house, his maid said Ferdyshchenko wasn’t there.
Because Lebedev is such a comic character, the sudden arrival of this detective-like subplot has a humorous edge to it, even though it is a fairly dark subject matter. This subplot provides an interesting exploration of the question of whether those who come to mind as obvious villains (e.g. Ferdyshchenko) are the ones that actually tend to commit crimes.
Themes
General Ivolgin, meanwhile, comically demanded that Lebedev search him in order to prove that he didn’t steal the money. However, Lebedev noticed that the general had turned white and was shaking. Lebedev says he will be loyal to Ivolgin no matter what, but that he knows he’s in a dire state, with no money at all. He asks Myshkin if Ivolgin has tried to borrow money from him, and Myshkin says he hasn’t. Ivolgin wants to accompany Lebedev when he goes to hunt down Ferdyshchenko in St. Petersburg. Lebedev plans to let Ivolgin go off on his own and then catch him in the act with Mrs. Terentyev, with whom he’s been having an affair.
There appears to be a lot of obvious evidence that General Ivolgin is the culprit, but Lebedev chooses to dismiss this out of loyalty to his friend. At the same time, he knows that Ivolgin is guilty of something: having an affair. His decision to catch him in the act could be framed as an act of kindness, however, because it might encourage Ivolgin to stop the affair before anyone else finds out (including his wife).
Themes
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Myshkin says he wants to support Lebedev, but begs him not to involve Nina or Kolya. He also wants to be sure that Lebedev is absolutely confident that Ferdyshchenko is the culprit. Myshkin falteringly attempts to explain that he’s heard that one most not say anything “superfluous” in Ferdyshchenko’s presence, and that he is actually far more intelligent and competent than Ivolgin. Lebedev admits that Ivolgin is a pathological liar, but also says that Ivolgin said the same thing about Ferdyshchenko as Myshkin just did. He believes that this further proves Ferdyshchenko is guilty. Myshkin agrees to help Lebedev but begs him to keep the whole thing quiet.
Myshkin has come to learn that corrupt behavior in itself is viewed as nothing compared to the disgrace of public scandal. He therefore doesn’t mind involving himself in the dirty business of catching the thief and setting up General Ivolgin, but will only do so on the conditions that it all be kept quiet. In this sense, we once again see the effect that being friends with people like Mrs. Epanchin has had on Myshkin.
Themes
