Prince Myshkin & Nastasya Filippovna Character Analysis: The Idiot by Fyodor Dostoevsky
How Dostoevsky's "The Idiot" Expose Society's Cruelty and Double Standards

The Idiot by Fyodor Dostoevsky is a thought-provoking novel that explores the judgments society casts upon individuals - whether by feeling threatened by the kindness of an innocent man or condemning a woman as "mad" instead of offering her compassion for a life shaped by suffering. At the center of the novel is Prince Myshkin, a man whose innocence and kindness unsettle those around him, leading them to mock him as an "idiot" behind his back. His character stands in stark contrast to the greed and selfishness of the world around him. Paralleling his fate is Nastasya Filippovna, a woman consumed by anger and revenge against the very society that wronged her. A Christ-like man who is too kind and selfless for the otherwise world and a woman who is wronged by society and when she rebels she is named a “mad woman”- both of those characters are too much relevant even in today’s world. Through Myshkin and Nastasya, Dostoevsky exposes how society isolates those who refuse to "fit in."
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