816 pages, Paperback
First published January 1,1880
Dmitri is 28 years old, Fyodors eldest son and the only offspring of his first marriage. Dmitri is a sensualist much like his father, and the two mens personalities often clash. Dmitri spends large amounts of money on nights filled with plenty...
Ivan is the middle son and first by Fyodors second marriage. He is a 24-year-old rationalist, disturbed especially by the apparently senseless suffering in the world, depicted as highly intelligent. He says to Alyosha in the chapter "Rebellion" (Bk....
Aleksey at age 20 is the youngest of the Karamazov brothers. The narrator identifies him as the hero of the novel in the opening chapter (as does the author in the preface). He is described as immensely likable.At the outset of the events, Alyosha is a no...
Smerdyakov was born of "Stinking Lizaveta", a mute woman of the street who died in childbirth. He was called "Son of the reeking one". He is widely rumored to be the illegitimate son of Fyodor Karamazov. He grows up in the Karamazov house as a...
Variously called Grushenka, Grusha, and Grushka, Agrafena Alexandrovna, a beautiful 22-year-old, is the local Jezebel and has an uncanny charm among men. She was jilted by a Polish officer in her youth and came under the protection of a tyrannical miser. ...
Called Katya, Katka, and Katenka, Katerina Ivanovna is Dmitris beautiful fiancee, despite his very open forays with Grushenka. She became engaged to Dmitri after he bailed her father out of a debt. Katerina produces a further love triangle among the...