The Brothers Karamazov

The Brothers Karamazov presents blasphemous, philandering Fyodor Karamazov and his sons: vacillating dishonest Dmitri, intellectual Ivan, spiritual Alexey, and illegitimate, amoral Smerdyakov. Though Dmitri appears to be his father's murderer, as the sons' contrasting characters and outlooks unfold, the matter of who is guilty--by action and by implication--transforms into consideration of the great questions of faith and reason, freedom and responsibility, of suffering and redemption, and of the author's vision for the Russian people's future salvation, themes that preoccupied Dostoevsky throughout his life.