Brothers Karamazov, The, is a long novel written by the Russian author Fyodor Dostoevsky. It was Dostoevsky’s last novel and is considered a masterpiece of world literature. The Brothers Karamazov was published in serial form in a Russian magazine in 1879 and 1880.
The main story centers on the evil Fyodor Karamazov and his four sons—Dmitry, Ivan, Alyosha, and Smerdyakov—who live in a Russian town. Fyodor and Dmitry are rivals for the love of a local young woman named Grushenka. Following violent quarrels between Fyodor and Dmitry over Grushenka and a dispute over Dmitry’s inheritance, Fyodor is murdered. Dmitry is arrested for the crime and eventually convicted, though Smerdyakov is the actual killer. The novel portrays the effect of Fyodor’s death on each of his four sons.
Although The Brothers Karamazov is a crime novel, it is also a complex psychological work. Dostoevsky probes religious and ethical themes about God, free will, morality, faith, and reason. In addition, Dostoevsky explores intellectual and political ideas that were changing Russian society during the 1800’s.
The most famous section of The Brothers Karamazov is “The Grand Inquisitor,” a parable that Ivan tells to Alyosha. The parable narrates how Jesus returns to Earth at Seville, Spain, and is arrested by an investigator of the Spanish Inquisition. A churchman known as the Grand Inquisitor explains how Christ has failed humanity by trying to free human beings.
