Part One
Chapters XIII-XVI

Finally at Nastasya Filippovna's party, we can reach the high point of Part One. Everyone is present at the party, and Ganya is frozen in a silent, pensive state. Nastasya is not annoyed at the Prince for coming uninvited, and is actually gracious towards him. But he is dumbfounded by her beauty and whispers to her weakly: "Everything in you is perfection...forgive me..." but Nastasya laughs it off. Even the Prince cannot remain unaffected by her personality.

The group teases the Prince about his clothes and affection for Nastasya, and begins to drink. Nastasya's fever requires her to wear a mantilla, and Fedyshchenko, the most despicable attendee, urges that they play a parlor game where everyone tells a story about the worst thing they've ever done. Nobody liked the idea, but they went with it anyway.

Ferd's story involves stealing a 3 rouble note and lying about it, and getting a sick sense of pleasure at the maid who had been blamed for the crime.
Epanchin's story involves accusing a maid of stealing a rooster and not being able to compensate for his outburst before the woman dies.
Afanasy Ivanovich's story involved stealing camelias or something, it was stupid.

Suddenly, Nastasya offers Prince an unprompted proposition: should she get married or not? she claims to do what the Prince will say. Weakly, he says that no, she shouldn't marry Ganya for money. This dumbfounds the whole crowd, and me too, as the reader.

She rationalizes her behavior by saying, "The prince is this for me, that I believe in him as the first truly devoted man in my whole life. He believed in me from the first glance, and I trust him."
Suddenly, Rogozhin and his crowd enter, the man himself donning a new silk scarf, a diamond pin, and a diamond ring. He is wearing his wealth.
The Prince admits he would marry Nastasya just as she is, with nothing. "I'll take you as an honest woman, N.F., not as Rogozhin's kind." His speech is longer, but heartwarming. It's then revealed that he will inherit a lot of money, more than Rogozhin.

Nastasya claims to be a Princess herself, suddenly, and says, "You're too late, Rogozhin! Take your packet away, I'm marrying the prince, and I'm richer than you are!"

To mess with Ganya and make up for all the torment he's put her through, Nastasya takes Rogozhin's 100K roubles and tosses it into the fire. He can take it, burning his hands, and can keep it. Ganya does nothing, to the chagrin of everyone else and poor Ferdyshchenko. When she realizes his honor is more important than his want of money, she decides to take the money out of the fire and leave it with his fainted body as a reward. Everyone keeps referring to Nastasya as queen, strangely enough.

The General calls her a lost woman, a madwoman. Rogozhin and Nastasya leave for a resort, it seems, and the rest leave too.
End of Part One.