The Brothers Karamazov Literary Devices

Definition of Irony

Irony is a literary device or event in which how things seem to be is in fact very different from how they actually are. If this seems like a loose definition... read full definition

Irony is a literary device or event in which how things seem to be is in fact very different from how they actually are. If this... read full definition

Irony is a literary device or event in which how things seem to be is in fact very different from how... read full definition

Explanation and Analysis—Ophelia:

The narrator alludes to Ophelia, a character in William Shakespeare’s Hamlet, while reflecting upon the young women of the previous, “romantic generation”:

I once knew a young lady still of the last “romantic” generation who, after several years of enigmatic love for a certain gentleman [...] ended up, after inventing all sorts of insurmountable obstacles, by throwing herself on a stormy night into a rather deep and swift river from a high bank somewhat resembling a cliff, and perished there decidedly by her own caprice, only because she wanted to be like Shakespeare’s Ophelia. Even then, if the cliff, chosen and cherished from long ago, had not been so picturesque, if it had been merely a flat, prosaic bank, the suicide might not have taken place at all.

Noting Fyodor’s various unappealing characteristics, the narrator has been speculating as to why Fyodor's first wife, the wealthy and beautiful Adelaida Ivanovna, agreed to marry him. The young women of that earlier generation, the narrator suggests, were “romantic” in their inclinations, and were heavily inspired by idealized romantic literature.

One “young lady,” for example, committed suicide “only because she wanted to be like Shakespeare’s Ophelia,” alluding to a tragic character in Hamlet, who drowns, either accidentally or intentionally, after the murder of her father by her own lover, Prince Hamlet. The narrator notes, with a clear sense of irony, that she might not have killed herself if the scenery had not “been so picturesque,” as the beauty of the landscape ultimately strengthened those emotional passions that led to her suicide.

Explanation and Analysis—Pleased by Misfortune:

Dostoevsky employs situational irony in his characterization of Fyodor Karamazov, who takes pleasure in his own feelings of shame and embarrassment. Describing Fyodor’s response to his first wife’s abandonment of him, Dostoevsky writes that:

In the intermissions, he drove over most of the province, tearfully complaining to all and sundry that Adelaida had abandoned him, going into details that any husband ought to have been too ashamed to reveal about his married life. The thing was that he seemed to enjoy and even feel flattered by playing the ludicrous role of the offended husband, embroidering on and embellishing the details of the offense. “One would think you had been promoted, Fyodor Pavlovich,” the scoffers used to say, “you’re so pleased despite all your woes!”

Rather than hiding the embarrassing details about his failed marriage, Fyodor himself spreads the story across the province. Here, Dostoevsky emphasizes the ironic nature of Fyodor’s characteristic desire to present himself in an unflattering manner to others, noting that most men “ought to have been too ashamed” to share such a story. Fyodor, however, “seemed to enjoy or even feel flattered” by his own shame due to his unusual combination of arrogance and self-hatred. Those who look down on Fyodor sarcastically note that he acts as if he “had been promoted,” as he is so “pleased” by his own misfortunes.

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Explanation and Analysis—Resenting the Wronged:

After a disastrous meeting with Zosima the elder, during which he acts in a buffoonish manner and slanders his eldest son, Fyodor decides to skip the planned dinner and return home, before changing his mind and deciding to stay. The narrator uses situational irony in depicting Fyodor’s thoughts at this critical moment:

At the same moment he suddenly remembered being asked once before, at some point: “Why do you hate so-and-so so much?” And he had replied then, in a fit of his buffoonish impudence: “I’ll tell you why: he never did anything to me, it’s true, but I once did him a most shameless and nasty turn, and the moment I did it, I immediately hated him for it.” Remembering it now, he sniggered softly and maliciously, in a moment’s hesitation. His eyes gleamed, and his lips even trembled. “Since I’ve started it, I may as well finish it,” he decided suddenly.

Fyodor often behaves in a foolish and disrespectful manner, mistreating people who have done him no wrong. Ironically, Fyodor dislikes someone even more when they do not deserve his abuse, treating them even more poorly for that reason. His thoughts here suggest that Fyodor feels ashamed of his “nasty” conduct towards others, but he then resents those whom he has wronged for arousing his own feelings of shame. This ironic predicament underscores the complex psychological motivations that drive his boorish behavior.

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Explanation and Analysis—Not Smerdyakov!:

In a passage suffused with dramatic irony, Dmitri rejects the possibility that Fyodor was murdered by Smerdyakov:

“I don’t know who or what person, the hand of heaven or Satan, but … not Smerdyakov!” Mitya snapped out resolutely. “But why do you maintain so firmly and with such insistence that he is not the one?” “From conviction. Not from impression. Because Smerdyakov is a man of the most abject nature and a coward. Not just a coward, but a conjunction of all cowardice in the world taken together, walking on two legs. He was born of a chicken [...] He’s a sickly, epileptic, feebleminded chicken, who could be thrashed by an eight-year-old boy."

After Dmitri is arrested as a suspect in his father’s murder, Nikolai Parfenovich claims that Smerdyakov is also being investigated as a suspect. Fyodor mockingly dismisses this possibility, characterizing Smerdyakov, in hyperbolic terms, as not only a coward but “a conjunction of all cowardice in the world taken together, walking on two legs.” Dmitri, like the other members of his family, underestimates Smerdyakov. However, Smerdyakov is indeed the murderer, a fact known to the reader but not to Dmitri. There is a dark sense of comedy in this scene, as Dmitri further implicates himself in his mockery of the true killer.

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Explanation and Analysis—Bullying:

Dostoevsky uses situational irony in his depiction of Kolya, who is, for a period of time, bullied at school precisely because of his mother’s attempts to prevent bullying:

When Kolya started going to school and then to our high school, his mother [...] threw herself into acquaintances with his teachers and their wives, was sweet even to Kolya’s schoolboy friends, fawning on them so that they would not touch Kolya, would not make fun of him or beat him. She went so far that the boys indeed began to make fun of him because of her and began teasing him for being a mama’s boy. But the lad knew how to stand up for himself.

Kolya’s mother is a loving but overly-protective woman whose husband, Kolya’s father, died at a very young age. Hoping to do her best for Kolya, she ingratiates herself with “his teachers and their wives” and, similarly, is “sweet even to Kolya’s schoolboy friends” in order to prevent bullying. Ironically, however, her attempts backfire, as the boys begin to “make fun of him because of her,” mocking him as a “mama’s boy.” Here, her attempts to care for her son have unexpected and ironic consequences. However, the narrator adds that Kolya is a strong and confident boy, who quickly becomes a leader at the school despite the initial teasing.

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The Brothers Karamazov

Fyodor Dostoevsky

The Brothers Karamazov: Irony 5 key examples