Chapter VIII
We are introduced to Gavrila's thirteen-your-old brother, Kolya, and his sister Varvara Adralionovna, who was known to be hot-tempered, whom Ganya sometimes feared. Ivan Petrovich Ptitsyn, a visitor of theirs and Ganya's friend, also feared it.
We meet a dirty, red-haired man named only Ferdyshchenko, who lives in the room beside the Prince's.
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| Dostoevsky in 1863 |
General Ivolgin stops by the Prince's door, and claims he has a long history with the Prince's parents. The Prince listened with a "certain mistrust." General speaks of a "tragedy in the house", a marriage prepared between his son Ganya and Nastasya Filippovna, which he doesn't seem to approve of, and it strains his relationship with Ganya...they aren't speaking.
So there are General Epanchin and General Ardalion Ivolgin living here, it seems.
Prince says his father died on trial, but not sure why he was on trial.
As the conversation steers more toward marriage, Ganya gets more and more upset.
The doorbell rings, and it's none other than Nastasya Filippovna! Dostoevsky really timed this well, at the height of the drama. Prince recognizes her immediately. The first thing she does is complain, though. The Prince cannot open his mouth and drops her coat. She calls him an idiot, naturally. Poor Prince. Varya is annoyed at her brother's rudeness and stares at him. Prince steps into the room and announces Nastasya Filippovna!
Here's an article about her which I don't have time to read, and would wait until I finish the novel, too: http://community.middlebury.edu/~beyer/courses/previous/ru351/studentpapers/Women.shtml
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| Polina Suslova in 1867 |
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