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An Inspector Calls
Much Ado About Nothing
Othello
The Picture of Dorian Gray
The Taming of the Shrew
No Fear Shakespeare
Literature
Other Subjects
Teacher
Blog
Help
The Idiot
Fyodor Dostoevsky
Study Guide
Study Guide
Summary
Plot Overview
Summary & Analysis
Part I, Chapters 1–2
Part I, Chapters 3–4
Part I, Chapters 5–7
Part I, Chapters 8–10
Part I, Chapters 11–12
Part I, Chapters 13–14
Part I, Chapters 15–16
Part II, Chapters 1–2
Part II, Chapters 3–5
Part II, Chapters 6–9
Part II, Chapters 10–12
Part III, Chapters 1–3
Part III, Chapters 4–7
Part III, Chapters 8–10
Part IV, Chapters 1–3
Part IV, Chapters 4–6
Part IV, Chapters 7–9
Part IV, Chapters 10–12
Characters
Character List
Prince Lev Nikolayevich Myshkin
Anastassya Filippovna Barashkov
Parfyon Semyonovich Rogozhin
Main Ideas
Themes
Motifs
Symbols
Key Facts
Quotes
Important Quotes Explained
Further Study
Context
Full Book Quiz
Study Questions
Suggestions for Further Reading
Writing Help
How to Write Literary Analysis
Suggested Essay Topics
How to Cite This SparkNote
Further Study
Full Book Quiz
Further Study
Full Book Quiz
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1. Whom does Myshkin meet on the train at the beginning of the novel?
Rogozhin and Lebedev
General Yepanchin and Lebedev
Rogozhin and Nastassya Filippovna
Rogozhin and Keller
2. Where has Myshkin spent the years prior to returning to Russia and why?
He was born and raised in France because this was Pavlishchev's favorite place in the world
He spent four years in Lyon watching public executions
He spent four years in a Swiss sanitarium in an attempt to cure his idiocy
He spent four years in an Italian clinic to cure his epilepsy
3. Who was Prince Myshkin's benefactor and guardian?
Burdovsky's father
Pavlishchev
Lebedev
General Yepanchin
4. Why does Prince Myshkin immediately proceed to the Yepanchins upon arrival to St. Petersburg?
He is hoping to find a place to stay
He knows that acquaintance with the Yepanchins is likely to help his career
He is in love with Aglaya Yepanchin
He is distantly related to the General's wife
5. Who is Marie?
A girl Myshkin knew in Switzerland who was seduced and abandoned by her seducer
One of the Yepanchin daughters
A nurse at the Swiss clinic where Myshkin spent four years
Lebedev's daughter
6. What does General Yepanchin give Nastassya Filippovna as a birthday present and why?
A pair of diamond earrings because he lusts after her
A string of pearls because he lusts after her
A pair of diamond earrings because he is trying to convince her to marry Ganya
A string of pearls because he is trying to convince her to marry Ganya
7. Why is General Yepanchin glad that Myshkin can join his family for lunch?
He is excited by the thought of his new acquaintance
He is impressed by Myshkin's skills as a calligrapher
He is excited to introduce his wife's relative to everyone
Having the prince join them avoids a scandal in the family
8. What is Totsky's "worst action," according to his story at Nastassya Filippovna's party?
He stole a three-ruble note and blames the maid
He cursed at an old lady who dies
He indirectly caused a young man's death through his purchase of a bouquet of camelias
He seduced a young girl and made her his mistress
9. Why does Ganya want to marry Nastassya Filippovna?
He loves her
Totsky and General Yepanchin have promised him 75,000 rubles
The marriage to such a beautiful woman complements his vanity
He hopes to rise in his social status through this marriage
10. How much money does Rogozhin bring to Nastassya Filippovna's on the evening of her party?
40,000 rubles
75,000 rubles
85,000 rubles
100,000 rubles
11. With what does Rogozhin attempt to kill the Prince?
A pistol
A butcher knife
A rifle
A garden knife
12. With what painting of Rogozhin's is Myshkin impressed?
A portrait of Rogozhin's father
A painting of a Christ who has just been taken off the cross
A painting of a Christ on the cross
A painting of Christ with children
13. What prevents Rogozhin from killing the Prince?
An epileptic fit
His conscience
Kolya's entrance
The police
14. What poem does Aglaya recite in front of her family and the Prince in Pavlovsk?
Krylov's fable about an ass
Lermontov's "Masquerade"
Pushkin's "The Poor Knight"
Pushkin's "The Brass Horseman"
15. What detail does Aglaya change during her reading the Pushkin's poem at Lebedev's cottage?
She replaces the initials A.M.D. with N.F.B.
She replaces the words "poor knight" with "Lev Myshkin"
She calls the "poor knight" Don Quixote
She says the poem is by Tolstoy
16. How does Ganya prove that Burdovsky cannot possibly be Pavlishchev's son?
He brings in Burdovsky's mother
He reads a letter from Burdovsky's real father
He brings a picture of Burdovsky's family
He knows that Pavlishchev left the country more than a year before Burdovsky was born
17. What object outside his window in St. Petersburg does Hippolite spends so many hours staring at?
A bridge
A wall
A lamppost
A bench
18. Why does Hippolite's suicide attempt fail?
He forgets to put a firing-cap on his pistol
The prince prevents him
His shot misses
He forgets to put in the bullets
19. Why does Nastassya Filippovna speak on such friendly terms with Yevgeny Radomsky?
She loves him
She wants to ruin his reputation
They are childhood friends
His uncle has seduced her
20. Where and at what time does Aglaya arrange the meeting with the Prince?
Near a park bench at night
In Lebedev's cottage at seven o'clock in the evening
Near a park bench at seven o'clock in the morning
In the Yepanchin garden at midnight
21. What does Aglaya send to Myshkin as a sign of peace?
A letter
A hedgehog
An apple pie
A poem
22. What does Prince Myshkin break at the dinner party at the Yepanchins'?
A Venetian glass vase
A Persian teapot
A Japanese figurine
A Chinese vase
23. What prompts Aglaya to run away from the meeting with Nastassya Filippovna?
Myshkin tells Aglaya that Nastassya Filippovna is very unhappy
She remembers her sisters will be looking for her
Her mother walks in
Myshkin says he will marry Nastassya Filippovna
24. Where does Myshkin spend the night after following Rogozhin and Nastassya Filippovna to St. Petersburg?
Rogozhin's study
His hotel
A park bench
The train station
25. Who visits the Prince in Switzerland?
Prince S.
Radomsky
Lebedev
Kolya
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