The Idiot

The Idiot is Fyodor Dostoevsky's novel about Prince Lev Myshkin, who returns to Russia after treatment abroad and meets a society quick to mistake openness for foolishness. His compassion draws him toward people burdened by shame, pride, and distrust. Relationships involving Nastasya Filippovna, Rogozhin, and the Epanchin family turn kindness into a difficult test rather than an easy solution. The novel asks what happens when a desire to help cannot overcome the injuries and jealousies around it. Myshkin's vulnerability gives its portrayal of goodness both moral seriousness and tragic limits.