The Brothers Karamazov · Chapter
IX: The Galloping Troika. The End of the Prosecutor's Speech explained
The prosecutor Ippolit Kirillovitch concludes his speech, portraying Dmitri Karamazov as a desperate, conscience-stricken criminal who, after murdering his father, plans suicide and a final feast to honor Grushenka and her new lover.
What happens
The prosecutor Ippolit Kirillovitch concludes his speech, portraying Dmitri Karamazov as a desperate, conscience-stricken criminal who, after murdering his father, plans suicide and a final feast to honor Grushenka and her new lover. He describes Dmitri's jealousy, his sudden respect for Grushenka's love, and his subsequent torment upon learning she loves him. The prosecutor argues that nature and conscience bring their own vengeance, and that earthly justice is essential for the criminal's soul. The chapter ends with audience reactions and the anticipation of Fetyukovitch's defense.
Themes in this chapter
Justice and Injustice
The prosecutor argues that earthly justice alleviates the torment of conscience and is essential for the criminal's soul, while also highlighting the inadequacy of human judgment.
Love and Self-Sacrifice
Dmitri's love for Grushenka leads him to contemplate suicide and self-punishment, sacrificing himself for her happiness.
Suffering and Redemption
The prosecutor describes Dmitri's moral suffering and the potential for redemption through accepting punishment.
Characters to notice
- Dmitri Karamazov
Portrayed as a desperate, conscience-stricken criminal who plans suicide and a final feast after his father's murder.
- Grushenka
Referred to as the object of Dmitri's love, who rejects her first lover and promises Dmitri a new life.
- Ippolit Kirillovitch
The prosecutor delivering the concluding speech, using historical method and vivid imagery to condemn Dmitri.
- Pyotr Ilyitch Perhotin
Mentioned as the friend with whom Dmitri left his pistols in pledge.
- Fetyukovitch
Anticipated as the defense counsel who will speak next.
Key passages
“Karamazov, who had been frantically jealous of everyone, collapsed, so to speak, and effaced himself at once before this first lover.”
Dmitri, once intensely jealous, immediately submitted and withdrew in the presence of Grushenka's first lover.
Highlights Dmitri's sudden resignation and respect for Grushenka's choice.
“He suddenly evinces an irresistible desire for justice, a respect for woman and a recognition of her right to love.”
He shows an overwhelming need for fairness, honoring women and acknowledging their freedom to love.
The prosecutor notes Dmitri's unexpected moral turn despite his crime.
“The pistol will settle everything, the pistol is the only way out! But beyond — I don’t know whether Karamazov wondered at that moment ‘What lies beyond,’ and whether Karamazov could, like Hamlet, wonder ‘What lies beyond.’ No, gentlemen of the jury, they have their Hamlets, but we still have our Karamazovs!”
The pistol is the sole solution, but unlike Hamlet, Dmitri likely didn't ponder the afterlife; Russia has its own unique, reckless characters like the Karamazovs.
Contrasts Russian and Western literary archetypes, emphasizing Dmitri's impulsive nature.
“One may say with certainty, gentlemen of the jury, that outraged nature and the criminal heart bring their own vengeance more completely than any earthly justice.”
Nature and the guilty conscience exact a harsher revenge than any human court could.
The prosecutor argues that inner torment surpasses external punishment.
