I just finished, and WOW there’s so much I’d love to discuss! I appreciate everyone’s musings here; they made my mind swirl with thoughts. This is my first time posting on this website, so I’m not totally sure how it all works. I don't know if this will actually reach anyone, but it’s fun to write the thoughts anyways, especially considering I’ll probably never meet another person that has actually read this book...

My admiration for Alyosha’s character is unending, and I feel like he speaks directly to my soul in this novel, along with Zosima, who was like a father to Alyosha and someone he admired as a kind of embodied ideal (Zosima is an incredible character whose wisdom is astounding, but I want to talk more about Alyosha...) When I think about the humble, pure and compassionate, yet still naive, Alyosha, my heart bursts with love. FD’s development of Alyosha is masterful, and he isn’t shy about presenting him as the unlikely hero/protagonist of the story. I love how he acts intuitively from his heart rather than his mind, and he always finds himself in the right place at the right time for each of the other characters. His compassionate heart doesn’t judge others, but rather actively seeks redemption and spiritual growth in them. When others suffer for their flaws and mistakes, Alyosha only sees their suffering hearts, and yearns for those hearts to be freed from their suffering... This allows every other character to confide in him without fear of judgement, so they can confess their “sins”, as if they are confessing to God, then hope they can still be loved... I don't think I can overstate the power of Alyosha's endless love and forgiveness for everyone that opens up to him. I can't imagine what would happen to everyone in this story if they didn't have Alyosha's presence in their lives! It’s hard to put it all into words, but I think the sentiment is there, and it's probably obvious that he is my favorite character...

Ivan’s character is also masterfully woven into the story, and I honestly wish we got more of him. I saw that people discussed the Grand Inquisitor already, so I’m only going to say how much I loved when Alyosha kissed Ivan at the end, just as He kissed the Inquisitor...beautiful! But what I really want to talk about is Ivan's "Devil" nightmare! Oh man, I was hanging on every word in that chapter... what an amazing depiction of the nature of a “devil”. He was actually presented as a good-hearted being who was only fulfilling his eternal duty in order to keep “everything” from falling apart. He even said he wants to rejoice and "sing hosanna" in the end, but if he does, everything would cease to exist! So he’s like an archetype that needs to be built into reality in order for it to work (like a necessary polarity of sorts, "the indispensable minus"). His main function seems to be something like maintaining the chaos and keeping the duality of belief and non-belief alive. He also refers to other beings like him (in a kind of spiritual realm outside of time) that also tell stories and have their own mythology. He even mentions Job and says "they made such a fool of me in those days", because he couldn't shake Job's faith... Mind BLOWN. And the quadrillion miles, all for just a few moments of rapture and celebration at the end, but it was all worth it... That little story really got me for some reason, like a metaphor for life.. And when Ivan mentioned it in the court amidst seemingly going insane, what a scene! Again, my words are limited in attempting to describe this stuff, and it’s all intentionally mysterious in FDs presentation. This is just my interpretation, but I’d love to hear what others think about that!

This reconciliation of [Mitya's] personality and its flaws only comes after his arrest, through the act of expiation, when he embraces his fate with the help of Alyosha. His initial motivations (to do away with the 'base', 'sensual', 'Karamazov' side, as he puts it in his first talk with Alyosha early in the novel) are untenable and lead him to ruin in the form of nearly killing either his father and/or Grigory Vasilievich. Only an existential 'miracle', in the form of brute luck and contingency, saves him, and opens him up to salvation through expiation and forgiveness. Alyosha plays a key role in this. — John Doe

Alright a few thoughts about Mitya... I love John Doe's summary above! I was honestly put off by his character in the beginning, but I ended up loving him by the end and was deeply moved by his arc and final transformation. It seems he had a kind of “spiritual” awakening, largely presented in that dream about the poor babe. Again FD uses mysterious symbolism through a dreamlike state to portray a powerful moment of awakening and new resolve. That’s what stood out most about Mitya for me. I absolutely love the psychology here, especially regarding his conscience. Although he may be condemned for a crime he did not commit, he's still able to accept his punishment because his conscience is clear. He may be a "scoundrel" but he's not a murderer! I love how the exploration of the conscience is so tightly knit with religious ideas, which seems to be a classic theme for FD. No one can escape their conscience, no matter how hard they try... This is also touched upon with Zosima and the story about the man who couldn't live with himself after committing a murder many years before... Whether or not you believe in God or an afterlife, it's clear to me that our conscience is our punishment, regardless of our beliefs. (I just started reading Crime & Punishment, and I can't wait to dive deeper into this idea!)

I also have to mention Kolya. I really loved his development and interactions with Alyosha. He made me think of a young Ivan, with his sharp inquisitive intellect that made him feel superior to others and often get lost in egoism. I think his arc at the end really brings out the hero in Alyosha, whose brief but powerful presence in Kolya's life planted a seed that will grow in him for the rest of his life. I feel like Kolya could easily fall victim to the same kind of curse that Ivan suffers from, but his conversations with Alyosha, whom he already admired greatly, shattered that intellectual sense of superiority and made him question why he was always unconsciously trying to be better than other people. Alyosha lovingly and gently puts him in his place, while also creating a genuine friendship. There is never any competition with Alyosha, and Kolya quickly notices that Alyosha treats him as an “equal”, which is why he loves him so much, and he even admits that Alyosha may be “better” than him. I loved that conversation so much, all centered around the dying little Illyusha... I honestly think this interaction will change Kolya’s life dramatically, and it's a testament to the power of Alyosha’s character to have a profound effect on everyone he encounters. This also made me think of Ivan when he mentions at one point that he actually wishes Alyosha could save him, but he's older and much deeper in his convictions than Kolya, and Alyosha tries but can't really get through to him. I don't know, does anyone else feel a similarity between Kolya and Ivan?

And the other lunatic Smerdyakov has a bit more brain than Fyodor. He is proper evil. And there's nothing to talk about with proper evil (especially one feigning weakness) except destroy it. — Agustino

As for Fyodor and Smerdyakov, I like this idea that Smerdyakov is "proper evil", while Fyodor is actually just a "buffoon" who shamelessly and consciously gives into all of his temptations and desires, then intentionally tries to expose everyone else for their vices in order to bring others down with him. I think he said he actually enjoys playing that role. However, I found it interesting that he does have a conscience, and he questions whether there is "immortality" or not, but he seems to find comfort in Ivan's atheism, because he's afraid of the hell he might go to... On the other hand, Smerdyakov is much closer to "evil" than Fyodor, because he is bitter and resentful towards the world and his own existence. I thought FD's creation of Smerdyakov was psychologically brilliant, because he has every reason to hate the world and his place in it... The book implies several times that he is Fyodor's son with "stinking Liza", which is an image that's hard to even think about without feeling sick, but that sounds like a fitting way to birth the evil the would grow in his cold heart... Then he grew up a servant, being looked down upon his whole life, ashamed of his birth, all while envying the other brothers. It's no wonder he became the person he is...

Well, that's one of the sources of the beauty of the novel, it's purposefully set-up so that each of us will identify with different characters in different ways depending upon our own personality, inclinations, motivations, desires, etc. — John Doe

It’s so interesting how everyone relates to different characters in different ways, and I’m just musing about the things that really grabbed onto my heart and stuck in my memory. Personally, my soul wrestles most between Alyosha and Ivan, the desire to get out of my head and act from my heart, but often feeling tormented by my intellect as a force that pulls me away from my heart, and away from God... I want to believe so badly, but the "devil" is always there to pull me away and make me doubt my faith... As nihilism runs rampant in our modern culture, and science claims to refute all religious ideas; it's incredibly difficult to find something to believe in... It's almost prophetic the way FD presents the clash of religion and science, and the profound psychological effect it has on both individuals and the collective... Maybe one day I’ll find peace with it all, but what’s the rush? We’re all living out and writing our own stories. I’ll never have it all figured out, but maybe that’s the beauty of it. Maybe this struggle is the essence of life. If all was perfect and there was no suffering, would we even exist??

Alright I need to stop, but it was really fun to reflect on this through writing. If anyone actually reads this freakin essay, thank you, and I’d love to hear your thoughts!<3

PS I actually listened to the book on Audible (didn't read), and wow the narrator Constantine Gregory was absolutely amazing!! He subtly changed his voice for every character and created a listening experience that felt akin to acting. It turns out he also narrates Crime & Punishment, so I'm listening to that now. I figured I'd mention it because it was so well done!