The Brothers Karamazov: Difference between revisions

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* '''Smerdyakov''' - The son of Stinking Lizaveta, a mentally challenged beggar-woman who hopped the fence of the Karamazov house one night and gave birth to him, aided by Grigory and his wife. The rumor is that he's an illegitimate child of Fyodor's, which is strongly supported by the text. He works as a manservant and cook in the Karamazov house after having been trained in Moscow for a time, and is [[Nietzsche Wannabe|generally misanthropic and antisocial]]. He is around twenty years old.

* '''Katerina''' - An aristocratic lady of Russia's upper crust, she met Dmitri while he was serving in the military. Due to a favor he did for her years past, she's come to the town seeking to marry him, convinced that they are in love.

* '''Agrafina''' - A [[Hooker With a Heart of Gold|disreputable but immensely attractive woman]] who has been a public fixture in the town for around half a decade. Rumors fly about her being a prostitute with a price too high for any man, but [[Hello Nurse|ultimately worth every kopeck]]. Grushenka, as she is most commonly known, is desired by both Fyodor and Dmitri, setting up the initial [[Love Triangle]] of the story.

* '''Agrafina''' - A [[Hooker With a Heart of Gold|disreputable but immensely attractive woman]] who has been a public fixture in the town for around half a decade. Rumors fly about her being a prostitute with a price too high for any man, but [[Hello, Nurse!|ultimately worth every kopeck]]. Grushenka, as she is most commonly known, is desired by both Fyodor and Dmitri, setting up the initial [[Love Triangle]] of the story.

* '''Father Zosima the Elder''' - A high Church authority at the local monastery, Father Zosima is the [[Messianic Archetype|very incarnation of Christianity]] and, indeed, morality itself. He is famed as a living saint, [[Mentor Archetype|boundless in his wisdom]], and receives petitioners from across the world. He was based in part on [~~http://en.~~wikipedia~~.org/wiki/Saint_Ambrose_of_Optina~~ an actual saint] that lived in Dostoevsky's time, and his life's story has some parallels to St. Augustine's biography. He is Alyosha's role model and mentor.

* '''Father Zosima the Elder''' - A high Church authority at the local monastery, Father Zosima is the [[Messianic Archetype|very incarnation of Christianity]] and, indeed, morality itself. He is famed as a living saint, [[Mentor Archetype|boundless in his wisdom]], and receives petitioners from across the world. He was based in part on [[wikipedia:Saint Ambrose of Optina|an actual saint]] that lived in Dostoevsky's time, and his life's story has some parallels to St. Augustine's biography. He is Alyosha's role model and mentor.

* '''Ilyusha''' - A schoolchild whom Alyosha encounters one day being teased by the other schoolboys. When Alyosha attempts to help him, Ilyusha bites his hand. The story of Ilyusha is a subplot throughout most of the book, involving his destitute family and their run-ins with members of the Karamazov family.

* '''[[Plucky Comic Relief|Madame Khokhlakov]]''' - A lady of modest income and good standing, Madame Khokhlakov is introduced when she appears at the monastery seeking an audience with the Elder Zosima for her daughter Lise, [[Ill Girl|a sick girl confined to a wheelchair]]. She later establishes herself as a town gossip, due to just really not knowing when to shut up. She is the source of a lot of comedy because of this.

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* [[Enthusiasm Versus Stoicism]]

* [[Fatal Flaw]]: Ivan's intellectual arrogance, Dmitri's hedonistic intemperance.

* [[Freak Out]]: Ivan.

* [[Freak-Out]]: Ivan.

* [[Gambit Pileup]]: Everyone's mindgaming everyone else.

* [[Grand Inquisitor Scene]]: The [[Trope Namer]] is the story Ivan tells Alyosha about the interrogation of Christ returned by the Inquisition.

* [[Hannibal Lecture]]: Most of Ivan's interactions with Alyosha.

* [[Have a Gay Old Time]]

* [[Hello Nurse]]: Grushenka.

* [[Hello, Nurse!]]: Grushenka.

* [[Heroic BSOD]]: Ivan's conversation with Smerdyakov.

* [[Hollywood Atheist]]: Ivan declaring that atheism means anything goes with morality.

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* [[Realistic Diction Is Unrealistic]]

* [[Satan]]: Appears during the forementioned [[Mind Screw]].

* [[Shout Out]]

* [[Shout-Out]]

* [[Sliding Scale of Idealism Versus Cynicism]]: The novel falls somewhere in the middle, with each character being tacked on to different points in the spectrum.

* [[The Spanish Inquisition]]: Setting for Ivan's parable "The Grand Inquisitor".

* [[The Spock]]: Ivan.

* [[Surprise Witness]]: Radically subverted with Ivan and Katya.

* [[Take That Kiss]]: Two of the rare examples where the giver is generally considered morally above the receiver: Christ to the Great Inquisitor, and Alyosha to Ivan (who identifies it as plagiarism, but is nevertheless gratified).

* [["Take That!" Kiss]]: Two of the rare examples where the giver is generally considered morally above the receiver: Christ to the Great Inquisitor, and Alyosha to Ivan (who identifies it as plagiarism, but is nevertheless gratified).

* [[Talking the Monster To Death]]

** It's a subversion: the devil laughs his ass off when Ivan tries to do that during his nightmare/vision. And {{spoiler|Smerdyakov's suicide kind of ruins Ivan's plan}}.

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[[Category:School Study Media]]

[[Category:The Brothers Karamazov]]

[[Category:Trope]]