The Brothers Karamazov

Alyosha entreats Ivan to help cool this hatred between Dmitry and their father, but Ivan justifies his own lack of concern-and his atheism-during a heart-to-heart talk with Alyosha over dinner in a tavern. In his famous, riveting monologue, Ivan tells Alyosha the tale of the "Grand Inquisitor," in which Christ returns during the Spanish Inquisition, only to be imprisoned by an evil Cardinal and threatened with being burned at the stake. Later that night, old man Karamazov is found murdered and robbed, and the prime suspect, the impoverished Dmitry, is arrested at the height of a wild celebration in an inn just outside town, with his pockets full of cash. A climactic trial scene reveals what really happened: that Ivan, through his casual, amoral, philosophical remarks, hadincited the surly servant Smerdyakov (himself an illegitimate son of Karamazov) to kill their father and then commit suicide. After Ivan is visited in the middle of the night by someone who may well be the devil, his overwhelming sense of guilt forces him to burst into the courtroom and confess this 'guilt' out loud. The jury convicts Dmitry despite this confession, which leaves Ivan only one other alternative: to selflessly, and at great risk, arrange for Dmitry's escape-thereby realizing Alyosha's dream of uniting the brothers in forgiveness and love.