The Idiot (Large Print)

Prince Myshkin, a young man in his mid-twenties and a descendant of one of the oldest Russian lines of nobility, is on a train to Saint Petersburg on a cold November morning. He is returning to Russia having spent the past four years in a Swiss clinic for treatment of a severe epileptic condition.. On the journey, Myshkin meets a young man of the merchant class, Parfyon Semyonovich Rogozhin, and is struck by his passionate intensity, particularly in relation to a woman, the dazzling society beauty Nastasya Filippovna Barashkova, with whom he is obsessed.. Rogozhin has just inherited a very large fortune due to the death of his father, and he intends to use it to pursue the object of his desire. Joining in their conversation is a civil servant named Lebedyev, a man with a profound knowledge of social trivia and gossip.. Nastasya Filippovna, the main female protagonist, is darkly beautiful, intelligent, fierce, and mocking. She is an intimidating figure to most of the other characters. Of noble birth but orphaned at age 7, she was abused by her guardian, Totsky. Her broken innocence and the social perception of disgrace produce an intensely emotional and destructive personality. The Prince is deeply moved by her beauty and her suffering, and despite feeling that she is insane, remains devoted to her. She is torn between Myshkin's compassion and Rogozhin's obsession with her.. Matthew Leigh Embleton Editions, 2023