Some of the letters are shaped quite differently from those
now in use. It was the writing current then, and employed
by public writers generally. I copied this from one of
them, and you can see how good it is. Look at the well-
rounded a and d. I have tried to translate the French
character into the Russian lettersa difficult thing to do, but
I think I have succeeded fairly. Here is a fine sentence,
written in a good, original hand—’Zeal triumphs over all.’
That is the script of the Russian War Office. That is how
official documents addressed to important personages
should be written. The letters are round, the type black,
and the style somewhat remarkable. A stylist would not
allow these ornaments, or attempts at flourishes—just look
at these unfinished tails!—but it has distinction and really
depicts the soul of the writer. He would like to give play
to his imagination, and follow the inspiration of his genius,
but a soldier is only at ease in the guard-room, and the
pen stops half-way, a slave to discipline. How delightful!
The first time I met an example of this handwriting, I was
positively astonished, and where do you think I chanced
to find it? In Switzerland, of all places! Now that is an The Idiot
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ordinary English hand. It can hardly be improved, it is so
refined and exquisite—almost perfection. This is an
example of another kind, a mixture of styles. The copy
was given me by a French commercial traveller. It is
founded on the English, but the downstrokes are a little
blacker, and more marked. Notice that the oval has some
slight modification—it is more rounded. This writing
allows for flourishes; now a flourish is a dangerous thing!
Its use requires such taste, but, if successful, what a
distinction it gives to the whole! It results in an
incomparable type—one to fall in love with!’
‘Dear me! How you have gone into all the refinements
and details of the question! Why, my dear fellow, you are
not a caligraphist, you are an artist! Eh, Gania ?’
‘Wonderful!’ said Gania. ‘And he knows it too,’ he
added, with a sarcastic smile.
‘You may smile,—but there’s a career in this,’ said the
general. ‘You don’t know what a great personage I shall
show this to, prince. Why, you can command a situation
at thirty-five roubles per month to start with. However,
it’s half-past twelve,’ he concluded, looking at his watch;
‘so to business, prince, for I must be setting to work and
shall not see you again today. Sit down a minute. I have
told you that I cannot receive you myself very often, but I The Idiot
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should like to be of some assistance to you, some small
assistance, of a kind that would give you satisfaction. I shall
find you a place in one of the State departments, an easy
place—but you will require to be accurate. Now, as to
your plans—in the house, or rather in the family of Gania
here—my young friend, whom I hope you will know
better—his mother and sister have prepared two or three
rooms for lodgers, and let them to highly recommended
young fellows, with board and attendance. I am sure Nina
Alexandrovna will take you in on my recommendation.
There you will be comfortable and well taken care of; for
I do not think, prince, that you are the sort of man to be
left to the mercy of Fate in a town like Petersburg. Nina
Alexandrovna, Gania’s mother, and Varvara
Alexandrovna, are ladies for whom I have the highest
possible esteem and respect. Nina Alexandrovna is the
wife of General Ardalion Alexandrovitch, my old brother
in arms, with whom, I regret to say, on account of certain
circumstances, I am no longer acquainted. I give you all
this information, prince, in order to make it clear to you
that I am personally recommending you to this family, and
that in so doing, I am more or less taking upon myself to
answer for you. The terms are most reasonable, and I trust
that your salary will very shortly prove amply sufficient for The Idiot
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your expenditure. Of course pocket-money is a necessity,
if only a little; do not be angry, prince, if I strongly
recommend you to avoid carrying money in your pocket.
But as your purse is quite empty at the present moment,
you must allow me to press these twenty-five roubles
upon your acceptance, as something to begin with. Of
course we will settle this little matter another time, and if
you are the upright, honest man you look, I anticipate
very little trouble between us on that score. Taking so
much interest in you as you may perceive I do, I am not
without my object, and you shall know it in good time.
You see, I am perfectly candid with you. I hope, Gania,
you have nothing to say against the prince’s taking up his
abode in your house?’
‘Oh, on the contrary! my mother will be very glad,’
said Gania, courteously and kindly.
‘I think only one of your rooms is engaged as yet, is it
not? That fellow Ferd-Ferd—‘
‘Ferdishenko.’
‘Yes—I don’t like that Ferdishenko. I can’t understand
why Nastasia Philipovna encourages him so. Is he really
her cousin, as he says?’
‘Oh dear no, it’s all a joke. No more cousin than I am.’
‘Well, what do you think of the arrangement, prince?’ The Idiot
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‘Thank you, general; you have behaved very kindly to
me; all the more so since I did not ask you to help me. I
don’t say that out of pride. I certainly did not know where
to lay my head tonight. Rogojin asked me to come to his
house, of course, but—‘
‘Rogojin? No, no, my good fellow. I should strongly
recommend you, paternally,—or, if you prefer it, as a
friend,—to forget all about Rogojin, and, in fact, to stick
to the family into which you are about to enter.’
‘Thank you,’ began the prince; ‘and since you are so
very kind there is just one matter which I—‘
‘You must really excuse me,’ interrupted the general,
‘but I positively haven’t another moment now. I shall just
tell Elizabetha Prokofievna about you, and if she wishes to
receive you at once—as I shall advise her—I strongly
recommend you to ingratiate yourself with her at the first
opportunity, for my wife may be of the greatest service to
you in many ways. If she cannot receive you now, you
must be content to wait till another time. Meanwhile you,
Gania, just look over these accounts, will you? We
mustn’t forget to finish off that matter—‘
The general left the room, and the prince never
succeeded in broaching the business which he had on
hand, though he had endeavoured to do so four times. The Idiot
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Gania lit a cigarette and offered one to the prince. The
latter accepted the offer, but did not talk, being unwilling
to disturb Gania’s work. He commenced to examine the
study and its contents. But Gania hardly so much as
glanced at the papers lying before him; he was absent and
thoughtful, and his smile and general appearance struck
the prince still more disagreeably now that the two were
left alone together.
Suddenly Gania approached our hero who was at the
moment standing over Nastasia Philipovna’s portrait,
gazing at it.
‘Do you admire that sort of woman, prince?’ he asked,
looking intently at him. He seemed to have some special
object in the question.
‘It’s a wonderful face,’ said the prince, ‘and I feel sure
that her destiny is not by any means an ordinary,
uneventful one. Her face is smiling enough, but she must
have suffered terribly— hasn’t she? Her eyes show it—
those two bones there, the little points under her eyes, just
where the cheek begins. It’s a proud face too, terribly
proud! And I—I can’t say whether she is good and kind,
or not. Oh, if she be but good! That would make all well!’ The Idiot
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‘And would you marry a woman like that, now?’
continued Gania, never taking his excited eyes off the
prince’s face.
‘I cannot marry at all,’ said the latter. ‘I am an invalid.’
‘Would Rogojin marry her, do you think?’
‘Why not? Certainly he would, I should think. He
would marry her tomorrow!—marry her tomorrow and
murder her in a week!’
Hardly had the prince uttered the last word when
Gania gave such a fearful shudder that the prince almost
cried out.
‘What’s the matter?’ said he, seizing Gania’s hand.
‘Your highness! His excellency begs your presence in
her excellency’s apartments!’ announced the footman,
appearing at the door.
The prince immediately followed the man out of the
room. The Idiot
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IV
ALL three of the Miss Epanchins were fine, healthy
girls, well- grown, with good shoulders and busts, and
strong—almost masculine—hands; and, of course, with all
the above attributes, they enjoyed capital appetites, of
which they were not in the least ashamed.
Elizabetha Prokofievna sometimes informed the girls
that they were a little too candid in this matter, but in
spite of their outward deference to their mother these
three young women, in solemn conclave, had long agreed
to modify the unquestioning obedience which they had
been in the habit of according to her; and Mrs. General
Epanchin had judged it better to say nothing about it,
though, of course, she was well aware of the fact.
It is true that her nature sometimes rebelled against
these dictates of reason, and that she grew yearly more
capricious and impatient; but having a respectful and well-
disciplined husband under her thumb at all times, she
found it possible, as a rule, to empty any little
accumulations of spleen upon his head, and therefore the
harmony of the family was kept duly balanced, and things
went as smoothly as family matters can. The Idiot
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Mrs. Epanchin had a fair appetite herself, and generally
took her share of the capital mid-day lunch which was
always served for the girls, and which was nearly as good
as a dinner. The young ladies used to have a cup of coffee
each before this meal, at ten o’clock, while still in bed.
This was a favourite and unalterable arrangement with
them. At half-past twelve, the table was laid in the small
dining-room, and occasionally the general himself
appeared at the family gathering, if he had time.
Besides tea and coffee, cheese, honey, butter, pan-cakes
of various kinds (the lady of the house loved these best),
cutlets, and so on, there was generally strong beef soup,
and other substantial delicacies.
On the particular morning on which our story has
opened, the family had assembled in the dining-room, and
were waiting the general’s appearance, the latter having
promised to come this day. If he had been one moment
late, he would have been sent for at once; but he turned
up punctually.
As he came forward to wish his wife good-morning
and kiss her hands, as his custom was, he observed
something in her look which boded ill. He thought he
knew the reason, and had expected it, but still, he was not
altogether comfortable. His daughters advanced to kiss The Idiot
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him, too, and though they did not look exactly angry,
there was something strange in their expression as well.
The general was, owing to certain circumstances, a
little inclined to be too suspicious at home, and needlessly
nervous; but, as an experienced father and husband, he
judged it better to take measures at once to protect himself
from any dangers there might be in the air.
However, I hope I shall not interfere with the proper
sequence of my narrative too much, if I diverge for a
moment at this point, in order to explain the mutual
relations between General Epanchin’s family and others
acting a part in this history, at the time when we take up
the thread of their destiny. I have already stated that the
general, though he was a man of lowly origin, and of poor
education, was, for all that, an experienced and talented
husband and father. Among other things, he considered it
undesirable to hurry his daughters to the matrimonial altar
and to worry them too much with assurances of his
paternal wishes for their happiness, as is the custom among
parents of many grown-up daughters. He even succeeded
in ranging his wife on his side on this question, though he
found the feat very difficult to accomplish, because
unnatural; but the general’s arguments were conclusive,
and founded upon obvious facts. The general considered The Idiot
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that the girls’ taste and good sense should be allowed to
develop and mature deliberately, and that the parents’ duty
should merely be to keep watch, in order that no strange
or undesirable choice be made; but that the selection once
effected, both father and mother were bound from that
moment to enter heart and soul into the cause, and to see
that the matter progressed without hindrance until the
altar should be happily reached.
Besides this, it was clear that the Epanchins’ position
gained each year, with geometrical accuracy, both as to
financial solidity and social weight; and, therefore, the
longer the girls waited, the better was their chance of
making a brilliant match.
But again, amidst the incontrovertible facts just
recorded, one more, equally significant, rose up to
confront the family; and this was, that the eldest daughter,
Alexandra, had imperceptibly arrived at her twenty-fifth
birthday. Almost at the same moment, Afanasy Ivanovitch
Totski, a man of immense wealth, high connections, and
good standing, announced his intention of marrying.
Afanasy Ivanovitch was a gentleman of fifty-five years of
age, artistically gifted, and of most refined tastes. He
wished to marry well, and, moreover, he was a keen
admirer and judge of beauty. The Idiot
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Now, since Totski had, of late, been upon terms of
great cordiality with Epanchin, which excellent relations
were intensified by the fact that they were, so to speak,
