awful things to the prince that he laughed no more, but
grew dreadfully pale, especially when she said that she
should not remain in the house with him, and that he
ought to be ashamed of coming to their house at all,
especially at night, ‘AFTER ALL THAT HAD
HAPPENED.’
So saying, she had left the room, banging the door after
her, and the prince went off, looking as though he were
on his way to a funeral, in spite of all their attempts at
consolation.
Suddenly, a quarter of an hour after the prince’s
departure, Aglaya had rushed out of her room in such a
hurry that she had not even wiped her eyes, which were The Idiot
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full of tears. She came back because Colia had brought a
hedgehog. Everybody came in to see the hedgehog. In
answer to their questions Colia explained that the
hedgehog was not his, and that he had left another boy,
Kostia Lebedeff, waiting for him outside. Kostia was too
shy to come in, because he was carrying a hatchet; they
had bought the hedgehog and the hatchet from a peasant
whom they had met on the road. He had offered to sell
them the hedgehog, and they had paid fifty copecks for it;
and the hatchet had so taken their fancy that they had
made up their minds to buy it of their own accord. On
hearing this, Aglaya urged Colia to sell her the hedgehog;
she even called him ‘dear Colia,’ in trying to coax him.
He refused for a long time, but at last he could hold out
no more, and went to fetch Kostia Lebedeff. The latter
appeared, carrying his hatchet, and covered with
confusion. Then it came out that the hedgehog was not
theirs, but the property of a schoolmate, one Petroff, who
had given them some money to buy Schlosser’s History
for him, from another schoolfellow who at that moment
was driven to raising money by the sale of his books. Colia
and Kostia were about to make this purchase for their
friend when chance brought the hedgehog to their notice,
and they had succumbed to the temptation of buying it. The Idiot
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They were now taking Petroff the hedgehog and hatchet
which they had bought with his money, instead of
Schiosser’s History. But Aglaya so entreated them that at
last they consented to sell her the hedgehog. As soon as
she had got possession of it, she put it in a wicker basket
with Colia’s help, and covered it with a napkin. Then she
said to Colia: ‘Go and take this hedgehog to the prince
from me, and ask him to accept it as a token of my
profound respect.’ Colia joyfully promised to do the
errand, but he demanded explanations. ‘What does the
hedgehog mean? What is the meaning of such a present?’
Aglaya replied that it was none of his business. ‘ I am sure
that there is some allegory about it,’ Colia persisted.
Aglaya grew angry, and called him ‘a silly boy.’ ‘If I did
not respect all women in your person,’ replied Colia, ‘and
if my own principles would permit it, I would soon prove
to you, that I know how to answer such an insult!’ But, in
the end, Colia went off with the hedgehog in great
delight, followed by Kostia Lebedeff. Aglaya’s annoyance
was soon over, and seeing that Colia was swinging the
hedgehog’s basket violently to and fro, she called out to
him from the verandah, as if they had never quarrelled:
‘Colia, dear, please take care not to drop him!’ Colia
appeared to have no grudge against her, either, for he The Idiot
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stopped, and answered most cordially: ‘No, I will not drop
him! Don’t be afraid, Aglaya Ivanovna!’ After which he
went on his way. Aglaya burst out laughing and ran up to
her room, highly delighted. Her good spirits lasted the
whole day.
All this filled poor Lizabetha’s mind with chaotic
confusion. What on earth did it all mean? The most
disturbing feature was the hedgehog. What was the
symbolic signification of a hedgehog? What did they
understand by it? What underlay it? Was it a cryptic
message?
Poor General Epanchin ‘put his foot in it’ by answering
the above questions in his own way. He said there was no
cryptic message at all. As for the hedgehog, it was just a
hedgehog, which meant nothing—unless, indeed, it was a
pledge of friendship,—the sign of forgetting of offences
and so on. At all events, it was a joke, and, of course, a
most pardonable and innocent one.
We may as well remark that the general had guessed
perfectly accurately.
The prince, returning home from the interview with
Aglaya, had sat gloomy and depressed for half an hour. He
was almost in despair when Colia arrived with the
hedgehog. The Idiot
945 of 1149
Then the sky cleared in a moment. The prince seemed
to arise from the dead; he asked Colia all about it, made
him repeat the story over and over again, and laughed and
shook hands with the boys in his delight.
It seemed clear to the prince that Aglaya forgave him,
and that he might go there again this very evening; and in
his eyes that was not only the main thing, but everything
in the world.
‘What children we are still, Colia!’ he cried at last,
enthusiastically,—‘and how delightful it is that we can be
children still!’
‘Simply—my dear prince,—simply she is in love with
you,—that’s the whole of the secret!’ replied Colia, with
authority.
The prince blushed, but this time he said nothing.
Colia burst out laughing and clapped his hands. A minute
later the prince laughed too, and from this moment until
the evening he looked at his watch every other minute to
see how much time he had to wait before evening came.
But the situation was becoming rapidly critical.
Mrs. Epanchin could bear her suspense no longer, and
in spite of the opposition of husband and daughters, she
sent for Aglaya, determined to get a straightforward
answer out of her, once for all. The Idiot
946 of 1149
‘Otherwise,’ she observed hysterically, ‘I shall die
before evening.’
It was only now that everyone realized to what a
ridiculous dead- lock the whole matter had been brought.
Excepting feigned surprise, indignation, laughter, and
jeering—both at the prince and at everyone who asked
her questions,—nothing could be got out of Aglaya.
Lizabetha Prokofievna went to bed and only rose again
in time for tea, when the prince might be expected.
She awaited him in trembling agitation; and when he at
last arrived she nearly went off into hysterics.
Muishkin himself came in very timidly. He seemed to
feel his way, and looked in each person’s eyes in a
questioning way,—for Aglaya was absent, which fact
alarmed him at once.
This evening there were no strangers present—no one
but the immediate members of the family. Prince S. was
still in town, occupied with the affairs of Evgenie
Pavlovitch’s uncle.
‘I wish at least HE would come and say something!’
complained poor Lizabetha Prokofievna.
The general sat still with a most preoccupied air. The
sisters were looking very serious and did not speak a word, The Idiot
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and Lizabetha Prokofievna did not know how to
commence the conversation.
At length she plunged into an energetic and hostile
criticism of railways, and glared at the prince defiantly.
Alas Aglaya still did not come—and the prince was
quite lost. He had the greatest difficulty in expressing his
opinion that railways were most useful institutions,—and
in the middle of his speech Adelaida laughed, which threw
him into a still worse state of confusion.
At this moment in marched Aglaya, as calm and
collected as could be. She gave the prince a ceremonious
bow and solemnly took up a prominent position near the
big round table. She looked at the prince questioningly.
All present realized that the moment for the settlement
of perplexities had arrived.
‘Did you get my hedgehog?’ she inquired, firmly and
almost angrily.
Yes, I got it,’ said the prince, blushing.
‘Tell us now, at once, what you made of the present? I
must have you answer this question for mother’s sake; she
needs pacifying, and so do all the rest of the family!’
‘Look here, Aglaya—’ began the general.
‘This—this is going beyond all limits!’ said Lizabetha
Prokofievna, suddenly alarmed. The Idiot
948 of 1149
‘It is not in the least beyond all limits, mamma!’ said
her daughter, firmly. ‘I sent the prince a hedgehog this
morning, and I wish to hear his opinion of it. Go on,
prince.’
‘What—what sort of opinion, Aglaya Ivanovna?’
‘About the hedgehog.’
‘That is—I suppose you wish to know how I received
the hedgehog, Aglaya Ivanovna,—or, I should say, how I
regarded your sending him to me? In that case, I may tell
you—in a word—that I—in fact—‘
He paused, breathless.
‘Come—you haven’t told us much!’ said Aglaya, after
waiting some five seconds. ‘Very well, I am ready to drop
the hedgehog, if you like; but I am anxious to be able to
clear up this accumulation of misunderstandings. Allow
me to ask you, prince,—I wish to hear from you,
personally—are you making me an offer, or not?’
‘Gracious heavens!’ exclaimed Lizabetha Prokofievna.
The prince started. The general stiffened in his chair; the
sisters frowned.
‘Don’t deceive me now, prince—tell the truth. All
these people persecute me with astounding questions—
about you. Is there any ground for all these questions, or
not? Come!’ The Idiot
949 of 1149
‘I have not asked you to marry me yet, Aglaya
Ivanovna,’ said the prince, becoming suddenly animated;
‘but you know yourself how much I love you and trust
you.’
‘No—I asked you this—answer this! Do you intend to
ask for my band, or not?’
‘Yes—I do ask for it!’ said the prince, more dead than
alive now.
There was a general stir in the room.
‘No—no—my dear girl,’ began the general. ‘You
cannot proceed like this, Aglaya, if that’s how the matter
stands. It’s impossible. Prince, forgive it, my dear fellow,
but—Lizabetha Prokofievna!’—he appealed to his spouse
for help—‘you must really—‘
‘Not I—not I! I retire from all responsibility,’ said
Lizabetha Prokofievna, with a wave of the hand.
‘Allow me to speak, please, mamma,’ said Aglaya. ‘I
think I ought to have something to say in the matter. An
important moment of my destiny is about to be
decided’—(this is how Aglaya expressed herself)—‘and I
wish to find out how the matter stands, for my own sake,
though I am glad you are all here. Allow me to ask you,
prince, since you cherish those intentions, how you
consider that you will provide for my happiness?’ The Idiot
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‘I—I don’t quite know how to answer your question,
Aglaya Ivanovna. What is there to say to such a question?
And—and must I answer?’
‘I think you are rather overwhelmed and out of breath.
Have a little rest, and try to recover yourself. Take a glass
of water, or—but they’ll give you some tea directly.’
‘I love you, Aglaya Ivanovna,—I love you very much. I
love only you—and—please don’t jest about it, for I do
love you very much.’
‘Well, this matter is important. We are not children—
we must look into it thoroughly. Now then, kindly tell
me—what does your fortune consist of?’
‘No—Aglaya—come, enough of this, you mustn’t
behave like this,’ said her father, in dismay.
‘It’s disgraceful,’ said Lizabetha Prokofievna in a loud
whisper.
‘She’s mad—quite!’ said Alexandra.
‘Fortune—money—do you mean?’ asked the prince in
some surprise.
‘Just so.’
‘I have now—let’s see—I have a hundred and thirty-
five thousand roubles,’ said the prince, blushing violently.
‘Is that all, really?’ said Aglaya, candidly, without the
slightest show of confusion. ‘However, it’s not so bad, The Idiot
951 of 1149
especially if managed with economy. Do you intend to
serve?’
‘I—I intended to try for a certificate as private tutor.’
‘Very good. That would increase our income nicely.
Have you any intention of being a Kammer-junker?’
‘A Kammer-junker? I had not thought of it, but—‘
But here the two sisters could restrain themselves no
longer, and both of them burst into irrepressible laughter.
Adelaida had long since detected in Aglaya’s features
the gathering signs of an approaching storm of laughter,
which she restrained with amazing self-control.
Aglaya looked menacingly at her laughing sisters, but
could not contain herself any longer, and the next minute
she too had burst into an irrepressible, and almost
hysterical, fit of mirth. At length she jumped up, and ran
out of the room.
‘I knew it was all a joke!’ cried Adelaida. ‘I felt it ever
since—since the hedgehog.’
‘No, no! I cannot allow this,—this is a little too much,’
cried Lizabetha Prokofievna, exploding with rage, and she
rose from her seat and followed Aglaya out of the room as
quickly as she could.
The two sisters hurriedly went after her. The Idiot
952 of 1149
The prince and the general were the only two persons
left in the room.
‘It’s—it’s really—now could you have imagined
anything like it, Lef Nicolaievitch?’ cried the general. He
was evidently so much agitated that he hardly knew what
he wished to say. ‘Seriously now, seriously I mean—‘
‘I only see that Aglaya Ivanovna is laughing at me,’ said
the poor prince, sadly.
‘Wait a bit, my boy, I’ll just go—you stay here, you
know. But do just explain, if you can, Lef Nicolaievitch,
how in the world has all this come about? And what does
it all mean? You must understand, my dear fellow; I am a
father, you see, and I ought to be allowed to understand
the matter—do explain, I beg you!’
‘I love Aglaya Ivanovna—she knows it,—and I think
she must have long known it.’
The general shrugged his shoulders.
‘Strange—it’s strange,’ he said, ‘and you love her very
much?’
‘Yes, very much.’
‘Well—it’s all most strange to me. That is—my dear
