pavel smerdyakov

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 servant. When the novel begins, Smerdyakov works as Fyodor's lackey and cook. He is morose and sullen, and (like Dostoevsky) suffers from epilepsy. As a child, he collected stray cats to hang and bury them. Generally aloof, Smerdyakov admires Ivan and shares his atheism. He finally confesses to Ivan that he, not Dmitri, murdered Fyodor, claiming to have acted with Ivan's blessing. Dmitri's defense attorney judged Smerdyakov to be "falsely naive" and able to tell people what they want to hear.…more