The Brothers Karamazov

This section covers the following chapters: “They Arrive at the Monastery,” “The Old Buffoon,” “Women of Faith,” “A Lady of Little Faith,” “So Be It! So Be It!,” “Why Is Such a Man Alive!,” “A Seminarist-Careerist,” and “Scandal.”

Fyodor, Ivan, Miusov, and Kalganov (a young man from Moscow and friend of Miusov’s) arrive at the monastery for the meeting with Father Zosima. Dmitri is running late. Fyodor acts “like a buffoon” (41), and Miusov berates him. Alyosha is very upset while Ivan sits watching with curiosity. Zosima tells Fyodor not to be ashamed, to decrease his drinking, and “above all, do not lie to yourself” (44). Fyodor begins to like Zosima.

Father Zosima leaves to see a group of women who rapturously receive his blessings and request his guidance. A grieving woman seeks his counsel: Her three-year-old child died, and her husband began drinking heavily. Zosima tells her to return to her husband and to “rejoice” because her child is in heaven (49). A woman with a baby gives 60 kopecks for the elder to give to someone who is in need.

Madame Khokhlakov, a wealthy, relatively young widow, and her daughter, a paralyzed 14-year-old named Lise, visit Father Zosima to receive advice and healing prayer.