The Idiot

Myshkin recognizes two faces in the crowd; Rogozhin and Lebedev, whom he met on the train. Also in the crowd are several "quite tipsy" (96) men who barge into the room. Rogozhin is taken aback by Nastasya's presence, as well as the surprising sight of the man he met on the morning train. Nevertheless, he approaches Nastasya and with "the boldness of a man condemned to death" (97) demands answers regarding her intentions toward Ganya. When she says that she has no plans to marry Ganya, Rogozhin turns to Ganya and tries to bargain with him. He offers increasingly large sums of money for Ganya to abandon his pursuit of Nastasya, while she encourages Ganya to accept. Instead, he tells Rogozhin to leave. Ganya's sister Varya interjects, accusing Nastasya of being "shameless" (98). Ganya tries to restrain his furious sister, and Varya spits in his face. Furious, Ganya swings a fist at Varya but instead the fist strikes Myshkin. By mistake, Ganya hits Myshkin in the face. In a reasonable tone, Myshkin points out the absurdity of the situation. He says that Ganya will soon be "ashamed" (99) of his actions while he tells Nastasya that she is only feigning shamelessness. Nastasya accepts his criticism and politely bids farewell to Ganya's mother, Nina. She departs and the crowd of men leave shortly after.

Myshkin's actions impress Ganya's brother Kolya, who claims that the chaos and disruption "all started because of this Nastasya Filippovna" (100). When Myshkin retires to his newly rented room, Kolya enters and praises Myshkin for not demanding a duel following Ganya's slap. Once Kolya leaves, Varya enters to thank Myshkin for his intervention. Ganya also arrives, hoping to apologize for acting "meanly" (101). When Varya leaves, Ganya admits that he and Nastasya will almost certainly be married, even if she is a "terribly irritable, suspicious, and vain woman" (103). He admits that he is marrying Totsky's mistress because doing so will make him very rich. He confesses that he does not love Nastasya and, if she treats him badly after their wedding, he will abandon her. Myshkin no longer sees Ganya as a bad person, he says, though he believes Ganya to be "weak and not the least bit original" (104). Ganya responds that the vast sum paid to him by Totsky to marry Nastasya will make him "an original man in the highest degree" (105). He insists that the rumors about Nastasya and Totsky are false. He also suspects that Myshkin has fallen in love with Nastasya. Ganya exits the room with his mood vastly improved. Kolya comes back into the room to pass Myshkin a message from General Ivolgin, asking for a meeting at a nearby café.

At the café, General Ivolgin is drunk. He asks Myshkin for money and, keen to please, Myshkin hands the old man everything he has (which is not much). In return, Myshkin asks to be taken to Nastasya's house because he "absolutely must be there tonight" (106). Ivolgin agrees but leads Myshkin on a long, pointless journey until they arrive at the house of a widow named Marfa. She is, he admits, his mistress. Kolya is also at Marfa's house because he is friends with her family, which includes a young, "terribly touchy" (111), and sickly man named Ippolit Terentyev. Marfa is not pleased to see General Ivolgin. She criticizes him for selling her possessions and leaving her and her children with nothing. However, the drunken General falls asleep. Myshkin recruits Kolya to lead him to Nastasya's real house. While they walk, Kolya defends his father. He blames his father's problems on alcoholism and assures Myshkin that Marfa receives money from his mother and sister.

Myshkin plans to tell Nastasya not to marry Ganya because he knows that Ganya does not love her, he only "loves [her] money" (112). He is concerned, however, about how she will receive him and his news. He arrives in time for Nastasya's birthday party. Guests at the party are a strange collection of people, including a moneylender named Ptitsyn who hopes to marry Varya, Ganya's buffoonish lodger Ferdyshchenko, and Nastasya's friend Darya. Guests also include General Epanchin, Ganya, and Nastasya's benefactor, Totsky. As the guests discuss earlier events at Ganya's house, Ptitsyn announces that he has assisted Rogozhin in amassing a large sum of money which is ready for Ganya should he rescind his interest in Nastasya. Myshkin arrives and is warmly received by Nastasya, even though he is an "unexpected guest" (114). For entertainment, Ferdyshchenko proposes that they play a game in which each guest confesses to the "worst of all the bad things" (117) that they have done in their lives. The guests agree though they have their reservations about the game.

Ferdyshchenko's game begins. Though he insists that he is "not a thief" (120), Ferdyshchenko tells a story about how he once stole money from a house and allowed a servant to take the blame. The servant was fired. Ferdyshchenko is surprised that the other guests do not find the story to be amusing. General Epanchin goes next. He tells the story of how he once shouted at an old woman, unaware that she was dying. She died without him ever having the opportunity to apologize, so he now supports a pair of "sick old women" (123) as a way to atone for his actions. Totsky takes a turn and describes how he betrayed a friend by purchasing a bouquet of red flowers for a certain woman. His friend was trying to court this woman and Totsky intended to present the flowers on behalf of the woman's husband, thereby undermining his friend's budding relationship. His friend was devastated by the loss and signed up for the military, eventually dying in combat. Nastasya is quietly horrified by the story, and the guests study her reaction closely. She does not play the game. Instead, she turns to Myshkin and asks him for his thoughts about her proposed marriage to Ganya. Myshkin feels as though "a terrible weight were pressing on his chest" (126) and advises her not to marry Ganya, who does not love her. Nastasya accepts his ruling. The guests are shocked. She also tells her abusive benefactor, Totsky, that he no longer needs to pay any man to marry her. She plans to leave the luxurious apartment that he pays for on her behalf as she has now "set [him] free" (127). Despite the late hour, the doorbell ringing interrupts her diatribe.

On Nastasya's instruction, Rogozhin leads a crowd of men into the apartment. Lebedev is among the familiar faces, whose numbers have grown to include a boxer and the former editor of a "disreputable scandal sheet" (128). When Rogozhin sees Nastasya, he falls silent for a moment. From his pocket, he produces a large sum of money and lays it on the table. He announces that this packet of 100,000 rubles will allow him to marry her. Nastasya is unimpressed. She has spent five years trying to escape men, she explains, and she cannot believe that she is still the subject of so much attention. She criticizes Ganya for being only interested in her for financial reasons and she criticizes Totsky, explaining her "loathing" (132) for him for having sex with her while she was a young woman and then abandoning her to the scurrilous rumors which have harmed her reputation. She would rather be homeless, she says, than take his money. After her confession, Nastasya is convinced that no man would marry her. Ferdyshchenko interrupts to suggest that Myshkin might be willing to be her husband. Myshkin says that this is true. He stands, praises her, and offers to marry Nastasya "as an honest woman" (133). Alongside his proposal, he announces that he is the recent recipient of a large inheritance. The other people in the room are stunned by his letter, which he hands to Ptitsyn to authenticate.

Ptitsyn examines and authenticates the letter. Myshkin is, he confirms, the inheritor of "an extremely large fortune" (134). Nastasya is shocked, but she agrees to the proposal, wondering whether she will now be a "princess" (135). Myshkin tells her not to worry about her potentially scandalous past with Totsky as she is "not guilty of anything" (136). At the mention of the rumors, Nastasya is despondent. She believes that Myshkin should marry someone with an unblemished reputation. Rogozhin is angry. He insists that Myshkin withdraw his proposal. Explaining to Myshkin that Myshkin deserves to marry someone respectable (like, for example, Aglaya), Nastasya decides to leave with Rogozhin, who is "nearly beside himself with joy" (137). Before she leaves, Nastasya wants to pay Ganya back for his loveless pursuit of her. She takes the 100,000 rubles and throws it into the fire, goading Ganya into retrieving the money with his "bare hands" (138). Ganya is so shocked that he collapses. Nastasya steps past him and plucks the "untouched" (140) money from the fireplace, claiming that Ganya's vanity is clearly stronger than his lust for money. She leaves the money and exits with Rogozhin. Ganya recovers in time to insist that the money belongs to him. He takes the rubles and leaves. Myshkin follows him out the door, hoping to follow Rogozhin's carriages. In the apartment, Ptitsyn and Totsky are shocked by what happened. Ptitsyn compares the events to a ritual suicide.