The Grand Inquisitor

The Brothers Karamazov is Fyodor Dostoevsky’s final novel. Dostoevsky published the novel serially over 1879 and 1880 and died only a few months after its completion. The book was written at a relatively settled period in Dostoevsky’s life, when he was already a successful and highly respected writer. This was also a period of personal tragedy, with Dostoevsky’s three-year-old son Alyosha dying in May 1878, as Dostoevsky was beginning work on the novel. Dostoevsky’s grief for his son is reflected in the novel’s themes of loss as well as in the name of its moral center, Alyosha Karamazov.

The Brothers Karamazov is a synthesis of the ideas and themes that occupied Dostoevsky throughout his career, including the complexities of human nature, the collision of different worldviews, and faith. The novel follows the lives of three brothers, the sons of the landowner Fyodor Karamazov: Dmitri, Ivan, and Alyosha. Each brother represents a distinct aspect of the human experience: Dmitri embodies passion and desire, Ivan embodies rationalism and skepticism, and Alyosha embodies faith and innocence. The story revolves around the murder of Fyodor Karamazov and the investigation that follows. The conflicts surrounding the investigation fuel philosophical and theological questions.