Suggestions
Use up and down arrows to review and enter to select.Please wait while we process your payment
If you don't see it, please check your spam folder. Sometimes it can end up there.
If you don't see it, please check your spam folder. Sometimes it can end up there.
Please wait while we process your payment
By signing up you agree to our terms and privacy policy.
Don’t have an account? Subscribe now
Create Your Account
Sign up for your FREE 7-day trial
Already have an account? Log in
Your Email
Choose Your Plan
Save over 50% with a SparkNotes PLUS Annual Plan!
Purchasing SparkNotes PLUS for a group?
Get Annual Plans at a discount when you buy 2 or more!
Price
$24.99 $18.74 /subscription + tax
Subtotal $37.48 + tax
Save 25% on 2-49 accounts
Save 30% on 50-99 accounts
Want 100 or more? Contact us for a customized plan.
Your Plan
Payment Details
Payment Summary
SparkNotes Plus
You'll be billed after your free trial ends.
7-Day Free Trial
Not Applicable
Renews June 16, 2023 June 9, 2023
Discounts (applied to next billing)
DUE NOW
US $0.00
SNPLUSROCKS20 | 20% Discount
This is not a valid promo code.
Discount Code (one code per order)
SparkNotes Plus subscription is $4.99/month or $24.99/year as selected above. The free trial period is the first 7 days of your subscription. TO CANCEL YOUR SUBSCRIPTION AND AVOID BEING CHARGED, YOU MUST CANCEL BEFORE THE END OF THE FREE TRIAL PERIOD. You may cancel your subscription on your Subscription and Billing page or contact Customer Support at custserv@bn.com. Your subscription will continue automatically once the free trial period is over. Free trial is available to new customers only.
Choose Your Plan
For the next 7 days, you'll have access to awesome PLUS stuff like AP English test prep, No Fear Shakespeare translations and audio, a note-taking tool, personalized dashboard, & much more!
You’ve successfully purchased a group discount. Your group members can use the joining link below to redeem their group membership. You'll also receive an email with the link.
Members will be prompted to log in or create an account to redeem their group membership.
Thanks for creating a SparkNotes account! Continue to start your free trial.
Please wait while we process your payment
Your PLUS subscription has expired
Please wait while we process your payment
Please wait while we process your payment
After leaving Lebedev's house, Prince Myshkin goes to visit Rogozhin, whose house he very dark and dismal. Rogozhin opens the door and invites the prince inside. After remarking how similar the dark house is to Rogozhin's lifestyle, Myshkin tells him that he does not intend to interfere with his relationship with Nastassya Filippovna. If she decides to run from Rogozhin herself—which is what happened in Moscow—Myshkin will take her in. The prince does not hide his opinion that a marriage between Rogozhin and Nastassya Filippovna would result in mutual destruction. Myshkin loves her with pity and is also fond of Rogozhin himself.
Rogozhin tells Myshkin that Nastassya Filippovna has cheated on him; for this, he once beat her severely. Afterward, he refused to eat or drink until she forgave him. The prince tells Rogozhin that Rogozhin's love for Nastassya Filippovna is very close to hatred and that if the two ever got married, he would not forgive her for all the suffering she has caused him. Hence, Myshkin says he cannot understand why she is marrying Rogozhin. Rogozhin responds that she is doing so precisely because she knows that he will most likely kill her; she is really in love with Myshkin, but she feels she cannot marry him because she does not want to ruin his life.
Before Myshkin leaves, he notices a large garden knife hidden inside one of Rogozhin's books. As Rogozhin escorts the prince out, they pass by a painting by Holbein, of a Christ who has just been taken off the cross. Myshkin cannot help but stare at this painting for a long time; Rogozhin asks him if he believes in God. In response, the prince tells four stories, the fourth of which explains the essence of religion as he understands it. The story is of a young mother delighting in her newborn. The prince thinks that God feels joy in his creation much as the mother feels joy in her child. Myshkin and Rogozhin then exchange crosses, and Rogozhin takes the prince to his mother, who blesses the prince.
After Myshkin leaves Rogozhin's house, he goes to visit the Yepanchins. Not finding them at home, he leaves his card. He then decides to go to Kolya's hotel, but the boy is not there. After waiting for Kolya for several hours, Myshkin goes wandering about the city. He buys a train ticket to Pavlovsk to see Aglaya, but then suddenly changes his mind and leaves the train station. He is in a state of great agitation and emotional anxiety. His mind wanders from subject to subject. He thinks of what his epileptic fits are like. He describes them as a momentary glimpse of utter clarity before his mind is plunged into darkness.
Myshkin is then overcome with a desire to see Nastassya Filippovna. Acting contrary to what he promised Rogozhin, he goes to the house where she was staying in St. Petersburg. She is not at home, so the prince leaves his name with the maid who opens the door. As he starts walking back, he notices Rogozhin on the other side of the road, but pretends not to see him. Myshkin returns to the hotel, increasingly closer to experiencing a fit of epilepsy.
As the prince mounts the stairs, he sees Rogozhin, who is about to stab him. At that instant, however, Myshkin's body contorts as he finally experiences an epileptic attack. Rogozhin runs, and the prince falls down the stairs. Luckily, Kolya received the note Myshkin left him, and the boy comes to the hotel. Kolya recognizes the prince and makes sure he is taken to his room, where a doctor soon arrives to see him. Myshkin and Kolya then go to Lebedev's house. In three days, all of them are in Pavlovsk.
Please wait while we process your payment