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Part Two, Chapter Eleven
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
At 7 p.m., three days after the soiree, Mrs. Epanchin comes to the terrace of Lebedev’s house and immediately tells Myshkin that she has not come to ask for forgiveness because he is entirely to blame. She asks if he sent Aglaya a letter a few months ago, and then demands to see it. Myshkin, who is blushing, says that he doesn’t have the letter but can recite it from memory. Mrs. Epanchin asks if he is in love with Aglaya, but Myshkin assures her that he wrote it “as a brother.” She then asks him about the “poor knight,” which Myshkin cannot explain. Mrs. Epanchin says Aglaya called Myshkin a “little freak” and an “idiot.” When Myshkin expresses his hurt, she accuses Aglaya of being “a despotic, crazy, spoiled girl.”
Mrs. Epanchin is cruel and unreasonable here. She wants to blame Myshkin for all kinds of things that are not his fault, including Aglaya’s evident attachment to him. Her irrationality even goes so far that she demands to see a letter that Myshkin sent to Aglaya (and which he would therefore not still have in his possession). Clearly, when Mrs. Epanchin feels out of control, she blames others in a rather rash and haphazard way.
Themes
Mrs. Epanchin then makes Myshkin promise he’s not married to “that one” (Nastasya). Finally satisfied, she tells Myshkin that Aglaya doesn’t love him. She then tells him that she believes God sent him to them “as a friend and a true brother.” Mrs. Epanchin then turns to discussing Ganya. She believes that Varya has ingratiated herself to the Epanchin family in order to facilitate a marriage between Aglaya and Ganya. She then accuses Ganya of manipulating and deceiving Myshkin, and of introducing Aglaya and Nastasya. Myshkin is so shocked by this last idea that he leaps up from his chair.
The way Mrs. Epanchin treats Myshkin suggests that she forgets, or is not able to actually understand, that he is a person with feelings of his own. This is perhaps because of his otherworldly purity and willingness to forgive, which makes him repeatedly accept bad treatment from other people. It is also perhaps because she sees him as an “idiot,” someone with reduced capacities due to his illness, and therefore finds it easy to take advantage of him.
Themes
Mrs. Epanchin tells Myshkin she’s sure he begged Burdovsky to accept the 10,000 roubles, which Myshkin promises he didn’t. She then shows Myshkin a letter from Burdovsky in which he states that Myshkin is better than most men, and promises that he will eventually pay the 250 roubles back. Myshkin is pleased by the apology, but Mrs. Epanchin remains horrified. She bans Myshkin from visiting their house, but Myshkin informs her he’s already been banned—by Aglaya. He shows a bamboozled Mrs. Epanchin a letter from Aglaya indicating that she does not want to see him. Mrs. Epanchin thinks for a moment, then grabs Myshkin’s arm and drags him toward her house, saying that Aglaya needs a “buffoon” like him.
Once again, the parallels between Mrs. Epanchin and Aglaya are emphasized by the fact that they are actually committing the exact same acts without even realizing it. Both have a similarly contradictory relationship to Myshkin. They love him yet are constantly declaring their hatred of him, and dismiss him, even as it is clear that his actions have a great impact on them.
Themes
