The Brothers Karamazov · Chapter
VI: "I Am Coming, Too!" explained
Mitya races to Mokroe to see Grushenka one last time, resolved to efface himself before her and her first love.
What happens
Mitya races to Mokroe to see Grushenka one last time, resolved to efface himself before her and her first love. He arrives at the inn, learns she is there with a Polish officer and others, and prepares to observe them secretly, driven by a mix of ecstatic self-sacrifice and despair.
Themes in this chapter
Love and Self-Sacrifice
Mitya's resolve to efface himself before Grushenka and her first love, embracing self-sacrifice and devotion even as he plans his own punishment.
Suffering and Redemption
Mitya's inner turmoil, his written sentence of death, and his longing for a final, redemptive act of love before the dawn.
Characters to notice
- Dmitri Karamazov
Speeds to Mokroe in a feverish state, torn between love and self-destruction, determined to see Grushenka and then punish himself.
- Grushenka
Present at the inn with a Polish officer and others; Mitya yearns to see her and learns she is sitting quietly.
- Trifon Borissovitch
The innkeeper who greets Mitya obsequiously, eager to profit from his visit, and provides information about the guests.
- Andrey
The driver who races Mitya to Mokroe, remaining silent and obedient, and is paid for his service.
- Pyotr Fomitch Kalganov
Mentioned as a young gentleman relative of Miüsov, present at the inn with Grushenka and the Pole.
- Maximov
A gentleman traveling with Kalganov, also at the inn.
Key passages
“I will efface myself!”
I will make myself nothing, disappear from her life.
Mitya's ecstatic declaration of self-abnegation before Grushenka.
“I punish myself”
I am the one who condemns and sentences myself.
Mitya's written resolve to take his own life as a form of self-judgment.