The Idiot: Part Three, Chapter Ten Summary & Analysis

Myshkin finally goes to sleep and dreams about Nastasya again. He wakes up feeling anguished and reads the letters from Nastasya that Aglaya gave him. Reading the letters are like a “strange and unnatural” dream. The narrator reflects on the nature of dreams, and how, upon waking up from a dream, one usually feels that there is something they have failed to understand that is now lost forever. He is horrified by the fact that Nastasya wrote to Aglaya in the first place, and even more disturbed by what she actually said—so much so that he won’t even voice it himself. He characterizes the whole situation as “a dream, a nightmare, and an insanity.” 

In one of the letters, Nastasya calls Aglaya “perfection” and confesses her love for her. She says she would kiss the ground on which Aglaya stands. In another letter, she talks about her hope that Aglaya marries Myshkin, adding: “You and he are one for me.” In another, she writes that if she were to paint a picture of Christ she would depict him alone apart from a small child, who would be peacefully listening to him. She then tells Aglaya that she is innocent, and therefore perfect. Nastasya predicts that she will die soon, and in her final letter she urges Aglaya not to think that she is humiliating herself by writing these letters.

In this last letter, Nastasya admits that she has “renounced the world,” and predicts that Rogozhin will kill her because his love for her is so passionate that it resembles hatred. Myshkin, who has been aimlessly wandering around the park, finally walks to the Epanchins’ dacha. Although no one greets him at the door he walks in anyway and meets Alexandra, who informs him that it is half-past midnight. Aglaya and Mrs. Epanchin are both not feeling well and are already in bed. Myshkin leaves her, still feeling as if he is in a dream. Back in the park, he sees Nastasya and at first thinks he’s hallucinating, but then realizes she’s really there. 

Nastasya gets on her knees and begs Myshkin to tell her if he’s happy. She promises that this is the last time he will ever see her. Myshkin suddenly sees Rogozhin standing behind her. Rogozhin leads Nastasya away, promising to return quickly. When he does, he tells Myshkin that Nastasya has been waiting to see him all day, and that she is leaving tomorrow. Rogozhin says he’s read the letters, but when Myshkin declares that Nastasya is “insane,” Rogozhin suggests that perhaps she isn’t. Finally, he also asks Myshkin if he is happy, and when Myshkin miserably replies he isn’t, Rogozhin laughs.