Russian · Book XI — Ivan

III. Бесенок

A Little Demon

226 sentences · 338 notes

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1
When he came in to Lise, he found her half-reclining in the old chair in which she used to be wheeled about, back when she still could not walk.
Войдяhaving enteredвойти · verb, past, active, converb, perfectiveadverbial clause on застал
кtoк · prepositionpreposition marking Лизе
ЛизеLiseлиза · proper noun, dative, feminine, singularoblique complement of Войдя
онheон · pronoun, nominative, masculine, singularsubject of застал
засталfoundзастать · verb, past, indicative, active, singular, perfectivemain verb of the sentence
ееherона · pronoun, accusative, feminine, singulardirect object of застал
полулежащеюhalf-recliningполулежащий · adjectival participle, instrumental, feminine, singularpredicative complement describing ее
вinв · prepositionpreposition marking кресле
ееherона · determinerdeterminer of кресле
прежнемoldпрежний · adjective, locative, neuter, singularmodifies кресле
креслеchairкресло · noun, locative, neuter, singularoblique complement of застал
вinв · prepositionpreposition marking котором
которомwhichкоторый · pronoun, locative, masculine, singularoblique complement of возили
ееherона · pronoun, accusative, feminine, singulardirect object of возили
возилиused to wheelвозить · verb, past, indicative, active, plural, imperfectiverelative clause on кресле
когдаwhenкогда · subordinating conjunctionintroduces the clause of могла
онаsheона · pronoun, nominative, feminine, singularsubject of могла
ещеstillещё · adverbmodifies могла
неnotне · particlemodifies могла
моглаcouldмочь · verb, past, indicative, active, singular, imperfectiveadverbial clause on возили
ходитьwalkходить · verb, active, infinitive, imperfectivecomplement of могла
GrammarPerfective gerund: «having come in» «Войдя» is a perfective adverbial participle («деепричастие») from «войти» (to enter), formed with -я. It names an action completed just before the main verb «застал», and it must share that verb's subject — he enters, then he finds her. This compression of two events into one sentence is a hallmark of Dostoevsky's narration.
GrammarPredicative participle in the instrumental «полулежащею» is a present active participle of «полулежать» (to half-recline) in the instrumental, agreeing with the object «её» as a secondary predicate after «застал» — he found her [being] half-reclining. The ending -ею is the older bookish variant of modern -ей.
GrammarRelative clause with «который» «в котором» opens a relative clause modifying «кресле»; «который» agrees with that neuter noun in gender and number but takes the prepositional case its own role (after «в») demands. «Возили» is the multidirectional, habitual motion verb «возить» — she used to be wheeled about, repeatedly.
2
She made no move to meet him, but her keen, piercing gaze fastened straight upon him.
GrammarReflexive verb of motion «тронулась» is the reflexive «тронуться» (to set off, stir into motion), the -ся here marking a change of state rather than a true reflexive. With «не» it states she made no move; «навстречу» (toward, to meet) governs the dative «к нему».
Grammar«так и» + word order for intensity The particle phrase «так и» before a perfective verb conveys a sudden, vivid completion — her gaze fairly fastened upon him. Note too the bookish split «зоркий, острый ее взгляд», stacking two adjectives before the possessive «её» for rhetorical weight.
Word«впиться» — to fasten onto, dig in «впиться» literally means to sink into or dig in (as a tick or a thorn does); applied to a gaze («взгляд впился в него») it is intensely physical — her eyes bored into him. The image of a piercing, clinging look is characteristic of Lise's predatory restlessness.
3
Her eyes looked somewhat inflamed, her face a pale yellow.
GrammarZero copula and a balanced pair The second half «лицо бледно-желтое» has no verb at all: Russian drops the present-tense «есть», so the bare nominative «лицо» plus the predicate adjective simply means 'her face [was] pale-yellow', echoing the «был» of the first clause.
Word«воспалённый» — inflamed «воспалённый» means inflamed, feverish (from «воспалить», to inflame). Of eyes it suggests sickness and overwrought nerves — part of the portrait of Lise's physical and emotional disorder.
4
Alyosha was amazed at how she had changed in three days; she had even grown thinner.
GrammarReflexive verb governing a dative correlative «изумиться» (to be amazed), a -ся verb of feeling, governs the dative; here its object is the correlative «тому», which points forward to the «как»-clause — amazed at [that:] how she had changed. The reflexive «изменилась» (changed, intransitive) again shows -ся marking a change of state.
Word«похудеть» — to grow thin «похудеть» means to lose weight, grow thin. The «по-» prefix marks the perfective, completed result; «даже похудела» adds it as a final, telling detail of three days' change.
5
She did not hold out her hand to him.
GrammarGenitive of negation Under negation the direct object «руку» shifts to the genitive «руки»: «не протянула… руки». With «не» the negated object regularly leaves the accusative for the genitive — she did not hold out [any of] her hand. «Ему» is the dative indirect object.
6
He himself touched her thin, long little fingers, which lay motionless on her dress, then sat down silently across from her.
Grammar«к» + dative after «притронуться» «притронуться» (to touch lightly), a -ся verb, governs «к» plus the dative: «к… пальчикам». The adjectives «тонким, длинным» agree with that dative plural noun, making the case visible across the whole phrase.
WordDiminutive «пальчики» — little fingers «пальчики» is the affectionate diminutive of «пальцы» (fingers), with the suffix -чик-. It tenderizes Alyosha's gesture toward the sick girl — not just her fingers but her thin, fragile little fingers.
GrammarPast active participle as a modifier «лежавшим» is the past active participle of «лежать» (to lie), in the dative plural to agree with «пальчикам» — fingers that lay motionless on her dress. The participle condenses a «который»-clause ('which lay…') into a single adjective, a markedly literary move.
7
"I know you are in a hurry to get to the prison," Lise said sharply, "but Mama held you up for two hours just now, telling you all about me and about Yulia."
GrammarObject-first word order The object «вас» stands first and the subject «мама» last, framing the topic (you) and saving the new information (it was Mama who held you up, and for two whole hours) for the end. Russian's case endings let this reordering carry emphasis rather than confusion.
Word«острог» — the gaol «острог» is an old word for a prison or fortified stockade (originally a palisaded frontier fort). It carries a grimmer, more archaic ring than the neutral «тюрьма» — the place where Dmitri now awaits trial.
Grammar«про» + accusative for 'about' The colloquial «про» (about, concerning) governs the accusative — «про меня», «про Юлию» — a more conversational counterpart to «о» + prepositional. «Вам» is the dative addressee of «рассказала» (told [to] you).
8
"How did you find out?" asked Alyosha.
GrammarPerfective «узнать» — to find out «узнали» is perfective «узнать», which here means not 'recognize' but 'come to know, find out' — the perfective views it as a single completed discovery. Its imperfective pair «узнавать» would describe the ongoing process of learning.
9
"I was eavesdropping.
GrammarImperfective past for an ongoing act «подслушивала» is the imperfective past of «подслушивать» (to eavesdrop), feminine -ла agreeing with the female speaker. The imperfective frames it as a process she was engaged in — 'I was eavesdropping' — rather than a single completed event.
10
Why are you staring at me?
GrammarGenitive «чего» + reflexive «уставиться» «уставиться» (to stare fixedly), a -ся verb, governs «на» + accusative («на меня»). The opening «чего» is a colloquial genitive of «что» used adverbially for 'why / what for' — a brusque, idiomatic 'what are you staring at me for?'
11
I want to eavesdrop and I do eavesdrop, and there's nothing wrong in it.
GrammarImperfective for will and habit Both «подслушивать» (infinitive after «хочу») and «подслушиваю» (present) are imperfective, naming the activity as such — wanting to eavesdrop, and doing it. Only imperfective verbs have a present tense, so the defiant 'I do eavesdrop' must be imperfective.
Grammar«нет» + genitive of absence The existential «нет» takes the genitive of what is absent: «ничего… дурного» (nothing wrong). Note the negative concord — «ничего» pairs obligatorily with «нет», two negatives for one meaning.
12
I'm not asking your pardon."
GrammarGenitive of negation, object-first «прощенья» (pardon) stands in the genitive under the negated verb «не прошу» — and is fronted for emphasis before the verb. Fronting the negated genitive object lends the line its curt, defiant force: 'Pardon I do not ask.' «Прощенья» is the colloquial genitive of «прощение».
13
"Is something upsetting you?"
GrammarShort-form participle + instrumental of cause «расстроены» is the short-form past passive participle of «расстроить» (to upset), used predicatively — 'are [you] upset?'. The cause stands in the instrumental: «чем-то» (by something), the indefinite «что» + «-то» marking a specific but unnamed thing.
14
"On the contrary, I'm very glad.
GrammarShort adjective «рада» «рада» is the short-form feminine of «рад» (glad), which exists only as a predicate — Russian has no long form for it. Short adjectives like «рад/рада/радо/рады» state a present condition and agree only in gender and number.
15
Just now I was thinking it over again, for the thirtieth time: how good it is that I refused you and will not be your wife.
Grammar«отказать» + dative «отказать» (to refuse, turn down) governs the dative of the person refused: «я вам отказала» — I refused you. The «что»-clause reports the fact after the impersonal exclamation «как хорошо» (how good [it is]).
GrammarCompound future + instrumental predicate «не буду… женой» pairs the imperfective compound future («буду» + an understood «быть») with a predicate noun in the instrumental — «женой», not nominative «жена». After «быть» in the future, predicate nouns regularly take the instrumental.
16
You are no good as a husband: I would marry you, and then suddenly hand you a note to carry to the man I come to love after you, and you would take it and be sure to deliver it, and bring back the answer too.
Grammar«выйти за» — to marry (of a woman) «выйти замуж за кого-то» (literally 'go out [in marriage] for someone') is the idiom for a woman marrying. Here «за вас выйду» = 'I'll marry you'; «выйду» is the perfective simple future. A man, by contrast, «женится на».
Grammar«чтобы» of purpose + «который» «чтобы снести» states purpose (a note 'to carry'); «тому, которого полюблю» nests a correlative «тот» with a relative «который» in the accusative (animate, so genitive-shaped) — 'to the man whom I shall come to love'. «Полюблю» is perfective: the inceptive 'fall in love'.
GrammarChain of perfective futures «возьмёте… отнесёте… принесёте» are all perfective simple futures, stacking discrete completed acts: you'll take it, deliver it, and bring back the answer. The prefixed motion verbs «отнести/принести» (carry away / carry back) sharpen the direction of each step.
17
And you would turn forty, and still you would go on carrying notes like that for me."
GrammarDative subject of age Age is framed impersonally with the dative experiencer: «вам придёт сорок лет» — literally 'forty years will come to you', i.e. you'll turn forty. There is no nominative subject doing anything; the person stands in the dative «вам».
GrammarCompound future + multidirectional «носить» «будете… носить» is the imperfective compound future: «будете» (future of «быть») plus the imperfective infinitive «носить». «Носить» is the multidirectional carrying verb — to carry repeatedly, habitually — exactly suiting 'still go on carrying notes'.
18
She suddenly burst out laughing.
GrammarInceptive «за-» perfective «засмеялась» is perfective «засмеяться» (to burst out laughing). The prefix «за-» here is inceptive, marking the beginning of the action — she broke into laughter — and «вдруг» (suddenly) reinforces the abrupt onset. The verb is also reflexive («-ся»).
19
"There's something spiteful in you, and at the same time something simple-hearted," Alyosha smiled at her.
Grammar«в» + prepositional for an inner quality «в вас» (in you) uses «в» + the prepositional to locate a trait inside a person — 'there is something spiteful in you'. The neuter «что-то» is the indefinite 'something', a specific-but-unnamed quality, with neuter agreement on «злобное».
Word«простодушный» — simple-hearted «простодушный» (literally 'simple-souled', from «простой» + «душа») means guileless, ingenuous, open-hearted. Alyosha pairs it against «злобное» (spiteful) to catch the double nature of this 'little demon' — malice and childlike candour at once.
20
"The simple-hearted part is that I am not ashamed before you.
GrammarCorrelative «то, что…» «то, что» = 'the [thing] that…', a correlative «то» introducing a noun-clause — 'the simple-hearted part is [the fact] that…'. «Стыдиться» (to be ashamed), a -ся verb, governs the genitive of the person: «вас» here is genitive, not accusative.
21
More than that — not only am I not ashamed, I don't even want to be ashamed, precisely before you, precisely with you.
Grammar«стыдиться» governing the genitive «стыдиться» takes its object in the genitive — hence «вас» (of you), parallel to «пред вами» (before you). The repeated «именно» (precisely, exactly) hammers the focus: it is precisely Alyosha she refuses to feel shame before.
Word«пред» — bookish 'before' «пред» (+ instrumental) is the elevated, contracted form of «перед» (in front of, before), common in 19th-century and Church-Slavonic-flavoured prose. «Пред вами» reads a shade more solemn than the everyday «перед вами».
22
Alyosha, why is it that I don't respect you?
GrammarAccusative object after «уважать» «уважать» (to respect), unlike «стыдиться», is a plain transitive verb taking the accusative — «вас» (you). The contrast with the preceding genitive-governing «стыдиться» shows how much the case of «вас» depends on the verb.
23
I love you very much, but I don't respect you.
Grammar«но» — adversative coordination «но» joins two clauses of equal rank in flat opposition: I love you, but I don't respect you. Unlike the softer contrastive «а», «но» marks a genuine clash — exactly the paradox Lise is pressing on Alyosha.
24
If I respected you, I wouldn't be talking like this without shame — isn't that so?"
GrammarCounterfactual conditional with «бы» A contrary-to-fact conditional: «если б [= если бы] уважала… не говорила бы» — 'if I respected you, I wouldn't speak'. Both halves use past-tense verbs plus «бы»; «б» is the reduced form of the particle, and the verbs are subjectless because «я» is clear.
GrammarThe appeal-particle «ведь» «ведь» appeals to shared knowledge — 'after all, you know' — and the tag «ведь так?» seeks agreement ('isn't that so?'). These modal particles give Lise's speech its coaxing, self-justifying texture, untranslatable except through tone.
GrammarImperfective gerund «не стыдясь» «не стыдясь» is the imperfective present gerund of «стыдиться» (to be ashamed) — 'without being ashamed', describing the manner of the main verb. Negated with «не», a simultaneous adverbial sharing the subject 'I'.
25
"It is."
26
"And do you believe that I am not ashamed before you?"
GrammarContrastive «а» opening + «стыдиться» + genitive The sentence opens with the mild contrastive «а», hinging to a new question rather than opposing. Again «стыжусь» (1st sg. of «стыдиться») takes the genitive «вас» — 'I am not ashamed of you' — inside a «что»-clause of reported content.
27
"No, I don't believe it."
28
Lise laughed nervously again; she spoke fast, in a rush.
GrammarVerb-first inversion in narration The verb «говорила» precedes its subject «она», a common narrative inversion that throws weight onto the manner adverbs «скоро, быстро» (fast, quickly) at the end. The imperfective past paints her speech as an ongoing rush.
29
"I sent your brother Dmitri Fyodorovich some sweets at the prison.
GrammarDative recipient + partitive genitive object «вашему брату Дмитрию Фёдоровичу» is a dative recipient ('to your brother'), with the patronymic declining alongside the name. The object «конфет» is a partitive genitive plural — 'some sweets', an unspecified quantity — after «послала» (perfective 'sent').
30
Alyosha, do you know how very pretty you are!
WordDiminutive «хорошенький» — pretty «хорошенький» is the affectionate diminutive of «хороший» (good), but its settled meaning is 'pretty, cute, lovely-looking'. The expressive -еньк- suffix adds a coaxing, teasing warmth to Lise's 'how very pretty you are!'
31
I shall love you terribly for having so quickly allowed me not to love you."
GrammarCompound future of «любить» «буду любить» is the imperfective compound future — «буду» plus the imperfective infinitive «любить» — naming an ongoing future love. The adverb «ужасно» ('terribly') is colloquially intensifying: 'I shall love you terribly much'.
Grammar«за то, что» of cause + dative of «позволить» «за то, что» = 'for [the fact] that', giving the reason. «Позволить» (to allow) governs the dative of the person permitted: «позволили мне» — you allowed me. Note the embedded infinitive negation «вас не любить» (not to love you).
32
"What did you summon me here for today, Lise?"
Grammar«для чего» — genitive of purpose «для» governs the genitive, so «для чего» means 'for what, to what end' — 'what did you call me here for'. «Звали» is the imperfective past of «звать» (to call, summon), still felt as a single act here.
33
"I wanted to tell you about a certain wish of mine.
GrammarDative-subject «хотелось» «мне хотелось» is the impersonal, dative-experiencer pattern: literally 'to-me it-was-wished', i.e. I felt like / wanted to. The reflexive «хотеться» with neuter «-лось» and no nominative subject is one of Dostoevsky's favourite ways of voicing inner impulse.
34
I want someone to torment me, to marry me and then torment me, deceive me, leave me, and go away.
Grammar«чтобы» + past-form irrealis after a verb of wishing After «хочу, чтобы», the subordinate verb takes the past-tense form «истерзал» as an irrealis — Russian cannot say 'I want that someone torments…' with a present; the willed, not-yet-real outcome demands «чтобы» + past. «Кто-нибудь» is the non-specific 'anyone, someone or other'.
Word«истерзать» — to torment to pieces «истерзать» means to tear apart, torture, lacerate (intensifying «терзать», to torment). The «ис-» prefix gives an exhaustive, thoroughgoing sense — to torment utterly. Lise's craving to be «истерзан» captures the self-lacerating extremity of the 'little demon'.
GrammarChain of perfectives, prefixed motion at the end The verbs run as a string of perfective pasts — «истерзал, женился, обманул, ушёл, уехал» — each a completed step in her fantasy of abandonment. «Ушёл» (went away on foot) and «уехал» (went away by conveyance) are the «у-» prefixed motion verbs of departure.
35
I don't want to be happy!"
GrammarInstrumental predicate after «быть» After the infinitive «быть» ('to be'), a predicate adjective normally goes in the instrumental, not the nominative: «быть счастливою» ('to be happy'). The ending -ою is an older, bookish variant of modern -ой; today you would usually see «счастливой».
36
"You've come to love disorder?"
GrammarInceptive perfective «полюбить» «полюбить» (perfective of «любить») means not 'love' continuously but 'come to love, take to' — the «по-» marks the entry into the state. Alyosha asks, in effect, 'have you grown fond of disorder?' «Беспорядок» is its accusative object.
37
"Oh, I want disorder.
GrammarGenitive object after «хотеть» «хотеть» typically governs the genitive of an abstract or indefinite object: «хочу беспорядка» — 'I want [some] disorder', not accusative. The genitive frames the wanted thing as unbounded and non-specific, which suits the chaos Lise is reaching for.
38
I keep wanting to set the house on fire.
Grammar«всё» as 'keep on' + perfective infinitive Adverbial «всё» here means 'continually, keep on' — 'I keep wanting to…'. The infinitive «зажечь» (to set alight) is perfective, naming the single completed act she imagines; «хочу» supplies the recurring desire.
39
I picture myself stealing up and setting it alight on the sly — it absolutely must be on the sly.
GrammarPerfective futures + prefixed motion «подойду» (I'll come up to, «подойти») and «зажгу» (I'll set alight, «зажечь») are perfective simple futures inside her imagined scene. «Подойти» is a «под-» prefixed motion verb — to approach, draw near. The «это» is an emphatic filler: 'how I'd just creep up…'.
Word«потихоньку» — quietly, on the sly «потихоньку» (from «тихо», quietly, via the diminutive-adverbial pattern) means softly, stealthily, on the sly. Its repetition — «непременно чтобы потихоньку» (it absolutely must be on the sly) — fixes the furtive thrill of Lise's daydream.
40
They try to put it out, and it goes on burning.
GrammarTopic-marking clitic «-то» + contrastive «а» The hyphenated «-то» here is the topicalizing clitic, underscoring a known subject and setting up a contrast: «они-то… а он-то» — 'they, for their part… while it, for its part…'. The contrastive «а» hinges the two clauses against each other.
41
And I know, but I keep quiet.
GrammarFolksy coordinating «да» «да» here is the colloquial, folksy coordinator meaning 'and / but' (= «и» or «но»): 'And I know, but I keep quiet.' This «да» gives the line a homespun, almost peasant cadence, distinct from the affirmative «да» ('yes').
42
Oh, what nonsense!
Word«глупости» — nonsense, silliness «глупости» (plural of «глупость», from «глупый», stupid) is an exclamatory 'nonsense! foolishness!' — the speaker brushing her own words aside. Lise's abrupt 'Ах, глупости!' deflates the dark fantasy she has just spun.
43
And how boring it all is!"
GrammarImpersonal «скучно» «скучно» is an impersonal predicative ('[it is] boring/dreary'), with no nominative subject — the dative experiencer «мне» is left understood. This subjectless framing of mood — 'how boring it all is' — recurs constantly in Lise's restless complaints.
44
She gave a disgusted little wave of her hand.
Grammar«с» + instrumental of manner «с отвращением» (with disgust) uses «с» + the instrumental to express the manner of the action — how she waved. This adverbial 'with [an emotion]' phrasing is a standard way Russian renders English manner-adverbs.
WordDiminutive «ручка» — little hand «ручкой» is the instrumental of «ручка», the diminutive of «рука» (hand). The endearing suffix keeps Lise's gestures childlike and fragile — a 'little hand' waved in disgust — even as her words turn cruel.
45
"You live richly," Alyosha said softly.
Word«богато» — richly, but ironic Literally 'you live richly', «богато живёте» is Alyosha's quiet, double-edged remark: Lise does live in material comfort, yet he means it as gentle reproach for her luxuriating in spiritual idleness. The adverb «богато» (from «богатый», rich) carries that irony.
46
"Would it be better, then, to be poor?"
GrammarPredicate instrumental after «быть» + topic «-то» «бедной» is the instrumental predicate after «быть» — 'to be poor' (бедной = older/feminine instr. of «бедная»). The clitic «-то» on «бедной-то» topicalizes 'poor' as the point at issue: 'so is it better, then, to be poor?'
Grammar«что ль» — colloquial 'or what?' «что ль» is the reduced, colloquial «что ли», a questioning tag softening or challenging the statement — 'is it better, or what?'. It descends from the interrogative particle «ли» and lends a casual, slightly testy tone.
47
"It would."
48
"That's what your dead monk talked you into.
GrammarPostposed adjective «покойный» The adjective «покойный» (deceased, late) follows its noun «монах» — a marked, slightly weighty order: 'your monk, the late one'. «Наговорил» (perfective «наговорить») means 'talked [a lot] into [you]', the «на-» prefix giving an accumulating sense.
49
It isn't true.
50
Let me be rich and everyone else poor — I'll eat sweets and drink cream, and give none of it to anyone.
GrammarConcessive «пусть» — 'let / suppose' «пусть» here is concessive: 'let me be rich and everyone else poor' (granting it for argument's sake), not a command. The zero-copula clauses use predicative adjectives with no verb: «богата» is a short form, but «все бедные» uses the long-form adjective «бедные» predicatively (the short form would be «бедны»). «а» draws the contrast.
GrammarDative + negative concord «тем» (to those) and «никому» (to no one) are both datives of the recipient of «дам» (I'll give). «Никому… не дам» is negative concord — 'I'll give to none of them' — the ни-pronoun obligatorily doubled by «не».
51
Oh, don't say anything, don't say a word," she waved her hand, though Alyosha had not so much as opened his mouth, "you've already told me all this before, I know it all by heart.
GrammarImperfective imperative of prohibition A prohibition uses the imperfective imperative: «не говорите» (don't speak), repeated for urgency. With negation Russian strongly prefers the imperfective imperative; «ничего» adds negative concord — 'don't say anything'.
GrammarConcessive «хотя» + genitive of negation «хотя» (although) opens a concessive clause; the emphatic «и» means 'even'. The object «рта» (genitive of «рот», mouth) is in the genitive of negation under «не открывал» — 'hadn't even opened his mouth'.
Word«наизусть» — by heart «наизусть» is the fixed adverb 'by heart, from memory' (historically 'by the lips/mouth'). «Я всё наизусть знаю» — 'I know it all by heart' — captures Lise's weary boredom with Alyosha's moralizing.
52
It's boring.
GrammarOne-word impersonal predicate A complete sentence in a single impersonal word: «Скучно» — '[it is] boring'. No subject, no copula; the dative experiencer is understood. Such terse subjectless predicatives convey mood with great economy.
53
If I'm poor, I'll kill somebody — and if I'm rich, maybe I'll kill somebody too — why just sit around!
GrammarReal conditional: future + future An open (real) condition: «если» + future «буду бедная» in the protasis, perfective future «убью» (I'll kill) in the apodosis — no «бы» here, unlike the counterfactual earlier. «Кого-нибудь» is the non-specific 'somebody, anybody'.
Grammar«что» + infinitive + «-то» «что сидеть-то!» is an exasperated rhetorical exclamation — 'what's the point of just sitting around!'. The bare infinitive «сидеть» follows «что» in the sense 'why / what use is it to…', and the clitic «-то» adds peevish emphasis.
54
And you know, I want to reap, to reap rye.
GrammarObject-first repetition for emphasis She first says «жать» (to reap) bare, then repeats with the object fronted: «рожь жать» — 'rye, to reap'. Putting «рожь» (accusative of «рожь», rye) before the infinitive throws the new, concrete image into focus.
55
I'll marry you, and you become a peasant, a real peasant, and we'll keep a colt — would you like that?
GrammarImperative «станьте» + instrumental predicate «станьте» is the polite imperative of «стать» (to become), which takes its predicate noun in the instrumental: «мужиком», «настоящим мужиком» — 'become a peasant, a real peasant'. The instrumental frames the new, assumed role.
WordDouble diminutive «жеребёночек» — little colt «жеребёночек» is a double diminutive: «жеребёнок» (colt, already the young of «жеребец», stallion) plus a further -очек, making it 'a dear little colt'. The piled-up tenderness is pure Lise — childlike sentiment inside her provocations.
56
Do you know Kalganov?"
GrammarAnimate accusative = genitive «Калганова» is the accusative of the animate masculine surname «Калганов», which for animate nouns is identical to the genitive (with the -а ending), not the nominative. The object «Калганова» is fronted before the verb «знаете» in this casual question.
57
"I do."
58
"He just goes about and daydreams.
GrammarImperfective present, multidirectional «ходит» Both verbs are imperfective present, describing habitual behaviour. «Ходит» is the multidirectional «ходить» — to go about, walk around generally (not in one direction), perfectly fitting 'he just goes about'. Adverbial «всё» again means 'continually'.
59
He says: why live for real, it's better to dream.
GrammarBare infinitives weighing two options Two bare infinitives are set against each other: «зачем… жить» (why live) versus «лучше мечтать» (better to dream). Subjectless infinitive clauses like these state a generalized 'one' — anyone's choice — and are typical of aphoristic speech.
Word«взаправду» — for real «взаправду» is a colloquial, slightly childlike adverb meaning 'for real, in earnest, genuinely' (from «в» + «правда», truth). It gives Kalganov's reported question — 'why live for real' — a naive, dreamy register.
60
You can dream up the merriest things, but living is a bore.
GrammarImpersonal «можно» + superlative «самое весёлое» «можно» is the impersonal modal 'one can / it is possible', taking a bare infinitive «намечтать» (to dream up, «на-» giving an accumulative sense). «Самое весёлое» is the superlative ('the merriest things'), «самый» declining with the neuter adjective.
GrammarContrastive «а» + nominal predicate «а жить скука» balances against the first clause: 'but to live is a bore'. The infinitive «жить» serves as subject and «скука» (boredom, nom.) as a zero-copula predicate noun — 'living [is] a bore'. The contrastive «а» is the hinge.
61
And yet he himself is getting married soon — he's already declared his love to me too.
Grammar«А ведь» — and yet, after all The contrastive «а» pivots to a new, jarring thought, and «ведь» appeals to shared knowledge: 'and yet — you know it.' Lise pairs them to throw the engagement up as an objection that Alyosha already half-grasps.
Grammar«женится» — perfective present as future «Женится» is the perfective present of «жениться», so it reads as future: 'he is soon to get married.' Russian has no separate future ending here — the perfective conjugation alone carries 'will (and complete the act).'
Word«объясняться в любви» — to declare one's love A fixed 19th-century idiom: «объясниться/объясняться в любви» is to make a formal declaration of love, a courtship ritual of the period. The imperfective «объяснялся» plus «уж и мне» ('me too, already') makes it sound like one item in a careless list.
62
Do you know how to spin tops?"
Word«спускать кубарь» — to set a top spinning «Кубарь» is the old whip-top, a wooden spinning top driven by lashing it with a small whip; «кубари» is the accusative plural object here. «Спускать» is the technical verb for launching it. The childhood image sets up Lise's cruel comparison in the next lines.
Grammar«уметь» + infinitive «Уметь» ('to know how to') governs a bare imperfective infinitive — «умеете спускать», 'do you know how to set [tops] spinning.' Modal verbs of this kind take the infinitive directly, with no «что» or «бы».
63
"I do."
GrammarDropped subject in «Умею» Alyosha answers with the bare verb — the first-person ending «-ю» already says 'I,' so the pronoun «я» is dropped. Russian routinely omits subject pronouns because the verb form carries person and number.
64
"Well, he's just like a top: wind him up, set him spinning, and lash, lash, lash him with the little whip — I'll marry him and spin him my whole life long.
GrammarInfinitive chain as command Three bare infinitives — «завертеть», «спустить», «стегать» — strung together read as an excited stream of imperatives: 'wind him up, set him going, and lash.' The first two are perfective (one quick act each), the third imperfective «стегать» (durative, hence the threefold repetition).
GrammarTriple imperfective for ongoing lashing The threefold repetition of the imperfective «стегать» enacts the relentless, repeated whipping — exactly the durative, process meaning of the imperfective. A perfective here would name a single stroke; Lise wants the endless one.
Word«кнутик» — diminutive of «кнут» (whip) «Кнутик» is «кнут» (whip, knout) plus the diminutive «-ик», in the instrumental «кнутиком» ('with the little whip'). The little-sounding suffix makes the cruelty sound playful and childlike, the chilling note of the whole speech.
Grammar«выйти замуж за» — to marry (of a woman) A woman 'goes out behind a husband': «выйти замуж за» + accusative «за него». «Выйду» is the perfective future ('I'll marry him'). Note Russian has separate idioms for a man marrying («жениться на» + prepositional) and a woman («выйти замуж за» + accusative).
Grammar«буду спускать» — imperfective future The compound future «буду» + imperfective infinitive «спускать» names an ongoing, lifelong action — fitting «всю жизнь» ('my whole life'). Against the perfective «выйду» (one decisive act), this is the endless process that follows.
65
Aren't you ashamed to be sitting here with me?"
GrammarDative-subject «Вам не стыдно» An impersonal construction: there is no nominative subject; the experiencer stands in the dative «вам», and the state is the invariable «стыдно» ('[it is] shameful'). Literally 'to you [it is] not shameful' — Russian's habitual way of locating a feeling in a person.
66
"No."
67
"You're terribly cross that I'm not talking about holy things.
Grammar«что» introducing a causal/factual clause Here «что» opens the clause that gives the cause of the anger — 'you're cross that I'm not talking about holy things.' This is the plain reporting/fact «что» (contrast «чтобы» for purpose), set off by the comma.
Grammar«про святое» — substantivized neuter adjective «Святое» is the neuter adjective «святой» used as a noun, 'the holy / holy things,' after «про» (about) + accusative. «Не про то» works the same way in the next exchange ('not about that'). Russian freely turns adjectives into abstract nouns this way.
68
I don't want to be a saint.
GrammarInstrumental predicate «святою» After «быть» the predicate goes in the instrumental: «святою» (an older long-form instrumental of «святая», = modern «святой»). The instrumental frames sainthood as a role assumed rather than an inherent identity — and the archaic «-ою» ending lends a faintly bookish, solemn ring.
69
What will they do to you in the next world for the greatest sin of all?
GrammarImpersonal 3rd-person-plural «сделают» «Сделают» (perfective future, 3rd plural) with no stated subject is the agentless 'they will do' — Russian's standard way of saying 'what will be done,' leaving the doer vague. Compare English's impersonal 'they.'
70
You ought to know that exactly."
GrammarDative + short-form «известно» Another dative-experiencer frame: «вам … известно» = 'to you [it is] known,' with the short-form passive-ish adjective «известно». «Должно быть» here is modal — 'ought to be known to you.' The dative «вам» marks the one to whom the knowledge belongs.
71
"God will condemn it," Alyosha said, gazing at her intently.
GrammarInverted word order in the speech tag The adverb and verb precede the subject — «пристально вглядывался … Алеша» — a literary inversion typical of Dostoevsky's dialogue tags. The imperfective «вглядывался» paints the gazing as ongoing, a held look rather than a single glance.
72
"That's just what I want.
Grammar«вот так» — emphatic 'just so' «Вот» points and intensifies; «вот так … и хочу» = 'that's exactly what I want.' The «и» before «хочу» reinforces the focus, a common colloquial pile-up of little emphatic words in spoken Russian.
73
I'd come, and they'd condemn me, and then suddenly I'd laugh in all their faces.
GrammarChained conditional with «бы» Three irrealis clauses, each built from a past-tense verb plus «бы» (пришла, осудили, засмеялась): 'I'd come… they'd condemn me… I'd suddenly laugh.' «Бы» is mobile (here right after «я» and after «меня»), and the strung «а … а» drives the imagined scene forward.
GrammarImpersonal 'they' + concord with «и» «Осудили» (3rd plural, no subject) is the agentless 'they would condemn me'; the «и» here is emphatic ('they'd actually condemn me'), not the conjunction 'and.' Spotting emphatic «и» versus connective «и» is a frequent reading task.
Word«засмеяться в глаза» — to laugh in someone's face The prefix «за-» on «смеяться» marks the sudden onset of laughing; «в глаза» (lit. 'into the eyes') is the idiom for doing something openly to a person's face. The reflexive «-сь» is part of «смеяться», which exists only in the «-ся» form.
74
I terribly want to set the house on fire, Alyosha, our own house — you still don't believe me?"
Word«зажечь» — to set alight «Зажечь» (perfective; pair «зажигать») is to light or set on fire. Throughout this passage Lise reaches for it again and again — to 'set the house on fire,' to 'set something alight' — the perfective stressing the single, decisive act of arson she fantasizes about.
Grammar«всё» as 'still / all the while' Here «всё» is not 'everything' but the adverb 'still, all the while' — 'you still don't believe me.' «Верить» governs the dative «мне» (one believes to a person). This adverbial «всё» of persistence is common in colloquial speech.
75
"Why shouldn't I?
Grammar«же» after «почему» «Же» pressed onto the question word sharpens it into a mild challenge — 'why ever (shouldn't I)?' Alyosha is countering her assumption that he disbelieves her. These tiny particles carry tone that English must render with stress.
76
There are even children, around twelve years old, who very much want to set something on fire, and they do set it.
Grammar«лет по двенадцати» — distributive 'around twelve' «Лет» is the genitive plural of «год» used for age, and «по» + the numeral gives an approximate, distributive 'about twelve [years] each.' The whole phrase reads 'children of around twelve years.' «По» governing the numeral here is an idiomatic age expression.
GrammarRelative «которым» in the dative «Который» agrees with its antecedent «дети» in number (plural) but takes the case its own clause demands — dative «которым», because «хочется» is a dative-experiencer verb ('to whom it is wished'). The impersonal «хочется» + dative is Russia's standard 'feel like / want.'
Grammar«что-нибудь» — non-specific 'anything' The particle «-нибудь» makes «что» a non-specific 'something/anything at all' — the children don't have a particular target in mind. Contrast «что-то» (a specific but unnamed thing), the distinction Russian draws between the two indefinite series.
77
It's a kind of illness."
Grammar«вроде» + genitive «Вроде» ('a kind of, like') governs the genitive — «вроде болезни», 'like an illness.' It is one of the many quasi-prepositions that demand the genitive, joining «без», «из», «у» and the rest.
78
"That's not true, not true; let there be such children, but that's not what I mean."
Grammar«пусть» — concessive 'let there be' «Пусть» + present indicative grants the point hypothetically: 'let there be such children (granted, suppose there are).' Beyond its imperative-like 'let him do' use, «пусть» often concedes an opponent's point before the «но» that overturns it.
Grammar«я не про то» — 'that's not what I mean' An elliptical idiom: «про то» = 'about that,' negated to 'I'm not [talking] about that.' The verb of speaking is left out, as is normal in fast Russian dialogue. «То» is the demonstrative pointing back to the wrong interpretation.
79
"You take evil for good: it's a passing crisis, and perhaps your former illness is to blame for it."
Grammar«принимать за» — to take X for Y The idiom «принимать что-то за что-то» ('to take/mistake one thing for another') governs the accusative on both sides: «злое … за доброе». Both are substantivized neuter adjectives, 'evil' and 'good' as abstractions.
Word«минутный» — momentary «Минутный» is the adjective from «минута», 'lasting a minute, momentary, passing.' Alyosha diagnoses her cruelty as a 'passing crisis,' softening it into something temporary — which she will indignantly reject in the next line.
GrammarShort adjective «виновата» «Виновата» is the short (predicative) feminine form of «виноватый» ('to blame'), agreeing with feminine «болезнь». Short adjectives serve only as predicates and carry a sense of state — here, 'your former illness is to blame.'
80
"So you do despise me after all!
Grammar«таки» — 'after all, in the end' The particle «таки» (often hyphenated «вы-таки» / «таки») signals that something has turned out to be true despite expectation — 'so you do despise me after all.' Combined with opening «а», it stages a triumphant catching-out.
81
I simply don't want to do good, I want to do evil, and there's no illness in it at all."
GrammarNegative concord + genitive of negation «Нет» ('there is not') forces its noun into the genitive — «болезни», not nominative «болезнь» — the genitive of negation. With it the negative pronoun «никакой» ('no … at all'), also genitive, doubles the negation in Russian's obligatory negative concord.
Grammar«хотеть» + imperfective infinitive «Хочу делать доброе / злое» pairs «хотеть» with the imperfective «делать» ('to do, as an ongoing practice') rather than the perfective «сделать.' She wants the continual doing of evil, not one finished deed — a deliberate aspect choice.
82
"Why do evil?"
GrammarInfinitive question «Зачем делать?» A bare infinitive question — «зачем делать?» 'why do [it]?' — with no subject, asking after purpose in general. The infinitive standing alone for a deliberative or rhetorical question is idiomatic Russian.
83
"So that nothing would be left anywhere.
Grammar«чтобы» + past-form irrealis Purpose «чтобы» requires the past-tense/irrealis verb — «осталось», not a present or future. Inside it sits a triple negative («нигде ничего … не»), Russian negative concord: 'so that nothing would remain anywhere.'
GrammarGenitive subject with «осталось» «Не осталось» ('there did not remain') takes its logical subject in the genitive — «ничего» (gen. of «ничто») — exactly the genitive-of-negation pattern that governs the subject of a negated existential. The verb stands neuter singular by default.
84
Oh, how good it would be if nothing were left!
Word«кабы» — folksy 'if only' «Кабы» is a colloquial, folk-flavoured variant of «если бы» ('if, if only'), common in peasant speech and proverbs. Lise's exclamation «как бы хорошо, кабы…» ('how good it would be if only…') drops into this homely register for emotional force.
GrammarConditional exclamation with «бы» «Как бы хорошо» = 'how good it would be,' an irrealis wish built on «бы». No verb 'to be' appears — the present copula is zero — so the bare «бы» plus adverb «хорошо» carries the whole hypothetical.
85
You know, Alyosha, sometimes I think of doing a terrible lot of evil, all sorts of vile things, and I'd do them quietly for a long while, and then suddenly everyone would find out.
Grammar«наделать» + genitive of quantity The perfective «наделать» (with «на-» = 'do a whole lot of') takes its object in the genitive of quantity — «много зла», «всего скверного» ('a lot of evil, all sorts of vile things'). «Много» and the partitive sense both pull toward the genitive.
GrammarImperfective future for the long, quiet doing «Буду … делать» (compound imperfective future) suits «долго» ('for a long while') — a drawn-out, repeated action — set against the perfective «вдруг … узнают» ('suddenly everyone would find out'), a single sharp event. The aspect contrast stages the slow build and the sudden exposure.
Word«тихонько» — diminutive adverb 'quietly' «Тихонько» is «тихо» ('quietly') with the affectionate diminutive «-онько», softening it to 'ever so quietly, on the sly.' The cozy suffix on a confession of secret evil-doing is pure Lise.
86
They'd all crowd around me and point their fingers at me, and I would look back at them all.
Word«обступить» — to surround on all sides «Обступить» (perfective; «об-» = around) is to crowd around, hem in from every side. «Все меня обступят» — 'everyone will surround me' — perfective future, a single decisive moment of being encircled.
GrammarImperfective futures held in tableau Both clauses use the compound imperfective future («будут показывать», «буду смотреть») to freeze the scene into an ongoing tableau — the crowd pointing, she gazing back — rather than report finished acts. The contrastive «а» sets her stillness against their pointing.
87
That's very pleasant.
88
Why is it so pleasant, Alyosha?"
GrammarImpersonal «приятно» + zero copula «Приятно» is an invariable predicative ('[it is] pleasant'), with no nominative subject and no verb 'to be' in the present — «это … приятно» = 'this is pleasant.' The whole question hangs on these short impersonal predicatives so frequent in Russian.
89
"It just is.
Word«Так» as a one-word answer Standing alone, «так» here means 'just because / it just is' — a shrugging, reasonless answer to 'why?' This evasive «так» (no real cause given) is a common colloquial dodge, and Alyosha's is deliberately unsettling.
90
A craving to crush something good, or, as you said, to set it on fire.
GrammarAbstract noun + infinitive complement «Потребность» ('a craving, need') takes an infinitive complement: «потребность раздавить» — 'a craving to crush.' The perfective «раздавить» names the single act of crushing; «что-нибудь хорошее» ('something/anything good') is its non-specific accusative object.
Word«али» — archaic/folk 'or' «Али» is a colloquial, folk-poetic variant of «или» ('or'), heard in peasant speech, byliny, and folk song. Its appearance in Alyosha's speech tints the line with an old, popular flavour against the surrounding standard Russian.
91
That happens too."
Grammar«бывает» — habitual 'it happens' «Бывает» is the iterative/frequentative of «быть», meaning 'happens (from time to time), is the case sometimes.' Distinct from «есть» (simple 'is'), it states a recurring possibility — 'that happens too.'
92
"But it's not just that I said it — I'll actually do it."
Grammar«ведь» twice + aspect contrast «Ведь» both times appeals to shared understanding ('you see, after all'). The aspect carries the argument: imperfective past «говорила» (I was merely talking) versus perfective future «сделаю» (I will actually do-and-finish it) — saying versus the deed.
Grammar«не то что» — 'it's not [just] that' «Не то что» is a fixed concessive idiom, 'it's not that / it's not merely that.' She concedes she said it, only to insist the deed will follow — the «не то что … я и сделаю» structure sets talk against action.
93
"I believe you."
GrammarBare «Верю» — dropped subject Alyosha's one-word 'I believe [you]': the ending «-ю» marks first person, so «я» is omitted, and the dative object «тебе/вам» is understood from context. «Верить» governs the dative of the person believed.
94
"Oh, how I love you for saying: I believe you.
Grammar«за то, что» — 'for the fact that' «За» + the demonstrative «то» + «что» means 'for the fact that, because of' — 'I love you for saying.' The correlative «то» (accusative after «за») points forward to the «что»-clause that fills it out.
95
And you're not lying in the least, not in the least.
Grammar«вовсе не» — 'not in the least' «Вовсе не» strengthens the negation to 'not at all, not in the least,' and the doubling «вовсе, вовсе» intensifies it further. «Лжёте» is the present of «лгать» ('to lie'), a slightly bookish verb beside the plainer «врать».
96
But perhaps you think I'm telling you all this on purpose, just to tease you?"
GrammarVerb elided in fast speech The verb of speaking is dropped — «я вам всё это нарочно [говорю]» — leaving the dative «вам», the object «всё это», and the adverb «нарочно' ('on purpose') to carry the sense. Such verbless ellipsis is everywhere in Dostoevsky's breathless dialogue.
Grammar«чтобы» + infinitive of purpose When the purpose clause shares its subject with the main clause, «чтобы» takes a bare infinitive — «чтобы … дразнить», 'in order to tease you.' (With a different subject it would need the past-irrealis verb instead.)
97
"No, I don't think so… though perhaps there is a little of that craving too."
Grammar«немного» + genitive (partitive) «Немного» ('a little') governs the genitive — «этой потребности» ('of this craving') — a partitive quantity. «Есть» here is the existential 'there is,' so the whole reads 'there is a little of that craving.'
98
"There's a little.
GrammarTopic–comment reordering Lise echoes Alyosha but fronts «немного» ('a little') for emphasis, putting the existential «есть» last as the confirming comment — 'a little there is.' Free word order lets her place the stressed, conceded word first.
99
I will never lie to you," she said, her eyes flashing with some kind of fire.
GrammarNegative concord + perfective future «Никогда … не солгу» pairs the negative adverb «никогда» with the obligatory «не» (negative concord) and the perfective future «солгу» ('I shall [never] lie'). «Солгу» is the perfective of «лгать», a single, definitive non-lie.
Word«пред» — elevated 'before' «Пред» is the bookish/elevated form of «перед» ('before, in front of'), governing the instrumental «вами». The shorter «пред» lends a solemn, vow-like ring to her promise — fitting 'I will never lie before you.'
GrammarPast active participle «сверкнувшими» «Сверкнувшими» is the past active participle of «сверкнуть» ('to flash'), declined to agree with instrumental plural «глазами» — 'with eyes that had flashed.' The participle compresses a whole который-clause into one bookish modifier, the hallmark of Dostoevsky's narrative description.
Word«огонёк» — diminutive 'little fire / spark' «Огонёк» is «огонь» (fire) with the diminutive «-ёк», here instrumental «огоньком» — 'with a little flame/spark.' The diminutive turns the blaze in her eyes into a glint, a 'kind of fire,' suiting «каким-то».
100
What struck Alyosha most of all was her seriousness: there was now not a trace of mockery or playfulness in her face, though formerly merriment and playfulness had never deserted her even in her most "serious" moments.
GrammarAccusative object fronted, subject last The object «Алешу» (the ordinary first-declension accusative in -у, distinct from the genitive «Алёши» — the acc=gen animacy rule does not apply to -а/-я nouns in the singular) opens the sentence, while the grammatical subject «серьёзность» comes last as the new, weighty information: 'what struck Alyosha most was her seriousness.' Cases keep the roles clear despite the inversion.
Grammar«всего более» — superlative 'most of all' «Более» is the comparative 'more'; with the genitive «всего» ('than everything') it becomes a superlative, 'most of all.' The bookish «более» (vs. ordinary «больше») marks the elevated narratorial register.
Grammar«ни … не было» — genitive of negation «Не было» ('there was not') drives its subject into the genitive — «ни тени … смешливости и шутливости» — with «ни» intensifying ('not a trace at all'). The negated existential plus «ни» is one of Russian's most characteristic negation structures.
Word«смешливость», «шутливость» — abstract -ость nouns Both are abstract nouns in «-ость» (the suffix that builds nouns of quality): «смешливость» a tendency to giggle/laugh easily, «шутливость» playfulness, jokiness. The near-synonyms paired together stress how wholly the mirth has drained from Lise's face.
101
"There are moments when people love crime," Alyosha said thoughtfully.
Grammar«когда»-clause + accusative object «Когда» ('when') opens the subordinate clause; «преступление» ('crime') is the inanimate neuter accusative object of «любят», identical to the nominative. The general present «любят» states a recurring truth, not one occasion.
Word«задумчиво» — pensively «Задумчиво» ('thoughtfully, pensively') is the adverb from «задумчивый», itself from «задуматься» ('to fall into thought'). The speech tag «задумчиво проговорил Алеша» frames his line as a slow, troubled reflection, not a retort.
102
"Yes, yes!
103
You've put my own thought into words — they love it, everyone loves it and always loves it, not just in 'moments.'
GrammarPossessive «мою» fronted before object «Мою мысль» ('my thought,' feminine accusative) is moved before the verb for emphasis — 'it's my very thought you've spoken.' The possessive «мой» agrees with «мысль» in gender, number, and case (fem. acc. «мою»).
GrammarTriple imperfective for universal habit The threefold present «любят» insists on a timeless, universal habit — 'they love it, all love it, always love it.' The imperfective present is the tense of general truths, and the repetition turns Lise's claim into an incantation.
Grammar«а не то что» — 'and not merely' Contrastive «а» plus «не то что» rejects Alyosha's qualifier: 'and not just in «moments».' The quotation marks lift his own word «минуты» to throw it back at him, a small dialogic jab.
104
You know, in this it's as if everyone had once agreed to lie, and they have all been lying about it ever since.
Grammar«как будто» + «условиться» + infinitive «Как будто» ('as if') frames the unreal comparison; «условились лгать» = 'agreed to lie,' where the reflexive «условиться» (perfective, exists only in «-ся») takes an infinitive complement. 'As if everyone had once agreed to lie.'
Grammar«с тех пор» + present 'have been lying' «С тех пор» ('since then') + the imperfective present «лгут» expresses an action begun in the past and still ongoing — Russian uses the present where English needs 'have been lying.' The imperfective carries the continuing duration.
105
Everyone says they hate what is bad, but secretly they all love it."
GrammarReflexive «себя» in «про себя» «Про себя» ('to oneself, secretly') uses the reflexive pronoun «себя», which points back to the clause subject «все' regardless of person. The contrastive «а» sets public «ненавидят» against private «любят» — what they say versus what they feel.
Word«дурное» — substantivized 'what is bad' «Дурное» is the neuter adjective «дурной» ('bad, wicked') used as an abstract noun, 'that which is bad.' The bookish «дурной» (vs. plain «плохой») heightens the moral register of Lise's pronouncement.
106
"And are you still reading bad books, as before?"
Grammar«всё по-прежнему» — 'still, as before' «Всё» (adverbial 'still') reinforced by «по-прежнему» ('as before') asks whether the habit persists — 'are you still reading…' «Читаете» is the imperfective present of habitual reading. «По-» + «прежний» builds the manner adverb.
107
"I am.
108
Mama reads them and hides them under her pillow, and I steal them."
Grammar«под подушку» — accusative of motion «Под подушку» takes the accusative because the books are moved to under the pillow (motion-toward); the locative 'under the pillow' would be «под подушкой» (instrumental). «Под» governing two cases by motion vs. rest is a core preposition rule.
Word«красть» — to steal «Краду» is the present of «красть» ('to steal'), an irregular consonant-stem verb (краду, крадёшь…). Lise's blunt 'and I steal them' caps the little confession of stolen forbidden reading.
109
"Aren't you ashamed to be destroying yourself?"
Grammar«вам не совестно» — dative + «совестно» Another dative-experiencer impersonal: «вам … совестно» = 'to you [it is] shameful, [your] conscience [is troubled].' «Совестно» (from «совесть», conscience) is the invariable predicative; «как … не совестно» rebukes — 'aren't you ashamed?'
Grammar«себя» as full object pronoun «Разрушать себя» ('to destroy oneself') uses the reflexive pronoun «себя» as a true accusative object — distinct from the verbal clitic «-ся». The imperfective «разрушать» frames it as an ongoing process of self-destruction, not a single act.
110
"I want to destroy myself.
Grammar«хотеть» + reflexive object She throws his own words back: «хочу себя разрушать» — 'I want to destroy myself.' «Себя» refers to the subject «я»; the imperfective infinitive «разрушать» keeps it a continuing, willed process.
111
There's a boy here who lay down under the rails while the carriages rolled over him.
GrammarLocative «под рельсами» / «над ним» + instrumental Both «под» (under the rails) and «над» (over him) here express rest/position, so they govern the instrumental — «рельсами», «ним». «Пролежал» (perfective, «про-» = 'through a span of time') means 'lay [there the whole while]'; imperfective «ехали» paints the carriages rolling over.
112
Lucky fellow!
Word«счастливец» — 'lucky fellow' «Счастливец» is a masculine agent noun from «счастье/счастливый», 'a fortunate man, lucky devil' (the «-ец» suffix names a person by a trait). Exclaimed over a boy who nearly died, the word is grimly perverse — exactly Lise's point.
113
Listen, now they're trying your brother for killing his father, and everyone loves that he killed his father."
GrammarImpersonal «судят» + «за то, что» «Судят» (3rd plural, no subject) is the agentless 'they are trying [him]'; «вашего брата» is the animate-masculine accusative (= genitive form). «За то, что он отца убил» = 'for the fact that he killed his father,' the «за то, что» = 'because/for' construction again.
114
"They love that he killed his father?"
Grammar«что» = 'the fact that' as object Alyosha echoes her: «любят, что … убил» — 'they love [the fact] that he killed.' The «что»-clause functions as the object of «любят». «Отца» is the animate accusative (= genitive «отца») of «отец», 'father.'
115
"They love it, everyone loves it!
116
Everyone says it's terrible, but secretly they love it terribly.
Grammar«но» + reflexive «про себя» echoed The structure mirrors s105: public «говорят, что … ужасно» against private «про себя … любят», hinged on «но». «Про себя» ('secretly, inwardly') again uses the reflexive «себя» pointing to «все».
117
I'm the first to love it."
Grammar«первая» — feminine predicate adjective «Первая» ('the first') is feminine, agreeing with Lise's «я» — 'I [a girl] am the first to love it.' Russian marks the speaker's gender on such predicate words, where English cannot; the long-form adjective stands in apposition to the subject.
118
"There is some truth in what you say about everyone," Alyosha said softly.
Grammar«несколько» + genitive (partitive) «Несколько» here means 'some, a certain amount of' and governs the genitive «правды» ('of truth') — a partitive quantity. So «есть несколько правды» = 'there is some truth.' Quantity words pull the counted noun into the genitive.
GrammarInverted speech tag «проговорил … Алеша» Verb-before-subject inversion in the tag, with «тихо» ('softly') wedged between — typical of Dostoevsky's reporting clauses. «Проговорил» (perfective, «про-») marks the utterance as a completed, deliberate saying.
119
"Oh, what ideas you have!" Lise shrieked in delight, "and from a monk, no less!
Word«взвизгнуть» — to give a shriek «Взвизгнула» is the perfective of «взвизгнуть» ('to shriek, squeal out'), the prefix «вз-» marking a sudden upward burst of sound. It captures Lise's delighted, almost hysterical outburst — «в восторге», 'in rapture.'
GrammarEmphatic clitic «-то» The hyphenated «-то» on «монаха» highlights the astonishing topic — 'and from a monk, of all people!' This is the emphatic «-то» (distinct from indefinite «что-то»), throwing the irony onto the very word it attaches to.
120
You wouldn't believe how I respect you, Alyosha, for never lying."
Grammar«не поверите, как» — 'you wouldn't believe how' «Не поверите» (perfective future, polite plural) plus the exclamatory «как» ('how [much]') yields 'you wouldn't believe how I respect you.' The «как»-clause is exclamatory, not a true question, intensifying the degree of her respect.
Grammar«за то, что» + negative concord The reason-clause «за то, что …» ('for the fact that') closes the chapter on «вы никогда не лжёте» — 'you never lie,' with «никогда … не» the obligatory negative concord. The imperfective present «лжёте» states it as an enduring trait of his character.
121
Oh, let me tell you one funny dream of mine: sometimes I dream of devils — it's as if it's night, I'm in my room with a candle, and suddenly there are devils everywhere, in every corner, and under the table, and they're opening the doors, and behind those doors there's a whole crowd of them, and they want to come in and seize me.
GrammarDream as an impersonal experience «снятся» (from «сниться», to be dreamt) makes the dream the grammatical subject and the dreamer a dative experiencer: literally «to me devils are dreamt». Russian frames inner states this way, with the person in the dative («мне») rather than as an active subject.
Grammar«хочется» + dative: the urge that comes over you «им хочется» (to them it is wanted) is the impersonal-reflexive twin of «хотеть»: the devils stand in the dative and the wanting happens to them rather than being willed. It softens desire into something involuntary — a recurring colour in Lise's feverish narration.
Word«свечка» — the little candle «свечка» is the affectionate diminutive of «свеча» (candle). The suffix here is not really about size but about the homely, intimate register of a girl describing her own bedroom by candlelight.
Grammar«будто» — the dream's 'as if' «будто» (as if, as though) opens the imagined scene without any copula: «будто ночь» is simply 'as if [it were] night'. Russian needs no verb 'to be' in the present, so the bare noun «ночь» carries the whole clause.
GrammarSubjectless 'they' open the doors «отворяют» (3rd pl., 'they open') has no stated subject — the devils are understood. This indefinite-personal use of the bare plural verb is the normal Russian way to say 'someone/they do X' without naming an agent.
122
And they're already coming closer, already reaching for me.
GrammarImperfective present for the dream's onrush Both «подходят» (approach) and «хватают» (grab) are imperfective presents, viewing the action as a process unfolding before her eyes. The repeated «уж» (= «уже», already) presses the sense that it is happening right now, closer and closer.
123
But suddenly I cross myself, and they all draw back, frightened — only they don't go away entirely; they stand at the doors and in the corners, waiting.
GrammarPerfective 'future' for a vivid habitual moment «перекрещусь» is a perfective present-form, which normally reads as future, but inside this repeated dream it gives a sudden, completed flash — 'I [just] cross myself'. Pairing «вдруг» (suddenly) with the perfective captures the single decisive instant against the imperfective swirl around it.
GrammarVerbless 'they all [shrink] back' «они все назад» has no verb at all — the adverb «назад» (back) alone carries the motion. This clipped, verbless construction mimics the breathless speed of the dream, leaving the listener to supply 'draw back'.
Grammar«бояться»: a verb that only lives in «-ся» «боятся» (they are afraid) comes from «бояться», one of the verbs that exists only in the reflexive «-ся» form, with no plain counterpart. The fear it names also governs the genitive of what is feared.
124
And then suddenly I get a terrible urge to start cursing God out loud, and so I begin to curse him, and all at once they come at me in a crowd again, so delighted, and there they are seizing me once more — and suddenly I cross myself again, and they all draw back.
GrammarDative + perfective «захочется»: the urge that seizes her «мне захочется» (a desire will come over me) is again impersonal-dative: the wanting is something that befalls Lise, not something she chooses. The perfective «захочется» marks the abrupt onset of the urge, reinforced by «вдруг».
Word«бранить» — to revile, to scold «бранить» is a bookish, somewhat archaic verb meaning to abuse or revile with words. 'To curse/revile God' («бога бранить») is deliberately strong and blasphemous — heavier than ordinary «ругать».
GrammarEmphatic «-то» and instrumental «толпой» The clitic «-то» on «они-то» spotlights the devils as the focus ('they, now—'). «толпой» is the instrumental of «толпа» (crowd) used adverbially, 'in a crowd / in a throng', a common way to express manner of motion.
Grammar«так и» — 'they just [go and]…' «так и» before a perfective verb («обрадуются», will rejoice) is an emphatic idiom conveying that the action bursts out fully and unmistakably — 'they're simply delighted'. It recurs throughout her excited speech.
125
It's terribly thrilling, it takes your breath away.
Word«дух замирает» — the breath/spirit stops A fixed expression: «дух» (breath, spirit) + «замирает» (freezes, dies down) = 'it takes one's breath away', the thrill of a held breath. The impersonal phrasing leaves no subject — the sensation simply happens.
GrammarImpersonal predicate «весело» «весело» is a neuter short-form/adverb used as an impersonal predicate, 'it is merry / thrilling'. Russian builds such evaluations with no subject, the state existing in the air — here intensified by «ужасно» (terribly), itself used positively.
126
"I've had that very same dream too," Alyosha said suddenly.
Grammar«бывал»: iterative imperfective for 'used to happen' «бывал» is the frequentative past of «быть» — not 'was' once but 'used to be, would recur'. The «у меня» possessive frame ('I had…') plus this iterative imperfective says the very dream came to Alyosha repeatedly.
Grammar«этот самый» — 'that very same' «самый» after a demonstrative intensifies it to 'the very, the selfsame'. «этот самый сон» = 'that very dream', stressing the uncanny identity of the two dreams that so astonishes Lise.
127
"Really?" Lise cried out in astonishment. "Listen, Alyosha, don't laugh, this is terribly important: can it really be that two different people have one and the same dream?"
Word«Неужто» — 'really?!' «Неужто» is a colloquial, slightly old-fashioned variant of «неужели», an exclamation of incredulous surprise ('Surely not?! Really?'). It carries more astonished disbelief than a plain «правда?».
Grammar«чтоб» + irrealis: 'can it be that…?' «чтоб» (a clipped «чтобы») here introduces a clause of doubted possibility, governing the past-form «был» as an irrealis. «разве» frames the whole as an incredulous rhetorical question — 'is it really possible that two different people should have one and the same dream?'
GrammarGenitive after «два» «двух разных» is the genitive form demanded by the numeral «два» once a preposition («у») governs the phrase. The numeral pulls the whole expression into the case its slot requires — here genitive after «у».
GrammarNegated imperative of «смеяться» «не смейтесь» is the polite/plural imperative of the «-ся» verb «смеяться» (to laugh), with «-те» for the formal 'you'. Negated imperatives in Russian normally take the imperfective, presenting the prohibition as a general 'don't [be] laughing'.
128
"It seems it can."
Grammar«верно» as 'probably', «можно» as impersonal 'one can' Here «верно» is a parenthetical 'probably / I suppose', not 'correctly'. «можно» is the impersonal modal 'it is possible / one may', completing an utterly subjectless reply — 'I suppose it's possible'.
129
"Alyosha, I'm telling you, this is terribly important," Lise went on, in some now-excessive astonishment. "It's not the dream that matters, but that you could have had this very same dream, just as I did.
Grammar«какой-то» — 'some kind of' «каком-то» (instr./prep. of «какой-то») softens the noun to 'some sort of, a kind of', the «-то» marking a real but unspecified quality. The narrator hedges Lise's astonishment as 'some now-excessive astonishment', vague and unsettling.
Grammar«не… а…»: corrective negation The frame «не X, а Y» ('not X, but [rather] Y') corrects rather than merely negates: 'it's not the dream that matters, but that…'. The contrastive «а» pivots from the rejected term to the asserted one, with «то, что» nominalizing the whole clause.
GrammarShort adjective «важен» «важен» is the predicative short form of «важный» (important). Short adjectives serve only as predicates and carry a crisp, assertive ring — 'is important' — favoured in such emphatic 19th-century speech.
130
You never lie to me — don't lie now either: is it true?
GrammarNegative concord and a negated imperative «никогда… не лжете» shows obligatory negative concord — 'never' still needs the verbal «не». Then «не лгите» is the polite negated imperative of «лгать» (to lie), 'don't lie [now] either'. The shift from statement to command is sharpened by «и теперь» ('now too').
131
You're not laughing?"
132
"It's true."
133
Lise was terribly struck by something and fell silent for half a minute.
GrammarInstrumental of cause/agent + short passive participle «поражена» is the short-form past passive participle of «поразить» (to strike), 'was struck', and «чем-то» (instrumental of «что-то») names what struck her — 'struck by something'. The instrumental is the regular case for the agent or means with a passive.
Word«примолкнуть» and «полминутку» «примолкла» (perfective of «примолкнуть») means to fall briefly silent, the prefix «при-» giving a momentary, slight quieting. «полминутку» is a cosy diminutive of «полминуты» (half a minute) — 'for a wee half-minute'.
134
"Alyosha, come to me, come to me more often," she said suddenly, in a pleading voice.
GrammarMultidirectional «ходить» for habitual visiting Lise uses «ходите» (imperative of multidirectional «ходить»), not unidirectional «идти», because she means repeated, habitual visits — 'keep coming to me, come often'. The choice of motion verb encodes 'again and again', underscored by «чаще» (more often).
GrammarPresent active participle «молящий» «молящим» is the instrumental of «молящий», the present active participle of «молить» (to plead, beseech) — literally 'with a pleading/imploring voice'. The participle compresses 'a voice that pleads' into a single bookish modifier.
135
"I'll always come to you, all my life," Alyosha answered firmly.
GrammarCompound future + prefixed motion verb «буду приходить» is the imperfective compound future: «буду» plus the imperfective infinitive «приходить» (to come, arrive). «приходить» is the imperfective of the prefixed motion pair «приходить/прийти»; the imperfective with «всю жизнь» ('all my life') marks the coming as recurring, not a single arrival.
136
"You see, it's only to you that I say this," Lise began again.
GrammarAppealing particle «ведь» and dative «одному вам» «ведь» appeals to shared understanding — 'you see / after all'. «одному вам» is dative ('to you alone'), with «одному» agreeing with «вам»; the indirect object of «говорю» takes the dative, and the word order fronts the exclusivity.
137
I say it to myself, and then also to you.
GrammarReflexive «себе» as dative addressee «себе» is the dative of the reflexive pronoun «себя», pointing back to the speaking subject — 'I say it to myself'. «одной» agrees with the implied feminine «себе», 'to myself alone'. «себя» has no nominative and serves any person.
138
To you alone, in the whole world.
GrammarPrepositional «в целом мире» «в целом мире» (in the whole world) is the prepositional case after locative «в», with «целом» agreeing with «мире». The fragment has no verb — it simply extends the previous sentence's «вам говорю», a hallmark of Lise's breathless, accreting speech.
139
And I tell it to you more willingly than to myself.
GrammarComparative «охотнее» + «чем» «охотнее» is the comparative of the adverb «охотно» (willingly) — 'more willingly'. The compared term follows «чем» in its own case: «самой себе» is the dative reflexive 'than to my very self', «самой» intensifying «себе».
140
And I'm not in the least ashamed before you.
Grammar«стыдиться» + genitive of the person «стыжусь» (from reflexive «стыдиться», to be ashamed) governs the genitive of whom one is ashamed before: «вас» here is genitive, 'I am not ashamed of/before you'. The «-ся» verb plus genitive object is the regular pattern for this emotion.
141
Alyosha, why am I not in the least ashamed before you, not at all?
GrammarEmphatic repetition of «совсем» The repeated «совсем» ('at all'), trailing after the clause, intensifies the negation by negative-concord logic — 'not ashamed at all, at all'. The dangling echo conveys her insistent, almost compulsive self-questioning.
142
Alyosha, is it true that the Jews steal children at Passover and cut their throats?"
GrammarInterrogative particle «ли» «правда ли, что…» uses the enclitic «ли» to form a neutral yes/no question by fronting the focused word «правда» — 'is it true that…?'. This «ли» construction is more formal and literary than a mere questioning intonation.
143
"I don't know."
144
"I have a book here — I was reading about some trial somewhere, and how a Jew first cut off all the little fingers on both hands of a four-year-old boy, and then crucified him against the wall, nailed him up with nails and crucified him, and afterward, at the trial, said that the boy had died quickly, within four hours.
WordDiminutives that sharpen the horror «пальчики» (little fingers, from «палец») and «ручках» (little hands, from «рука») are tender diminutives. Applied to the tortured child they make the cruelty unbearable — the affectionate suffixes collide with the violence, a deliberately sickening effect.
WordArchaic «чрез» for «через» «чрез» is the bookish/archaic, non-pleophonic form of «через» (through, after [of time]) — 'within four hours'. The contracted form lends the sentence a literary, slightly old-fashioned cadence typical of 19th-century prose.
GrammarStacked indefinites «какой-то где-то» «какой-то» (some [trial] or other) and «где-то» (somewhere) heap up the «-то» indefinites to mark referents that are real but vague and unverified — exactly the hazy provenance of the lurid story Lise has half-read.
GrammarPerfective chain narrating sequential acts The string of perfective pasts — «обрезал» (cut off), «распял» (crucified), «прибил» (nailed) — advances the atrocity step by step, each verb a single completed event. The cold, sequential perfectives give the account its relentless, list-like horror.
145
Quickly, indeed!
WordExclamatory «эка» «Эка» is a colloquial, expressive exclamation of mock-wonder or scorn — 'My, how…! / What a…!'. «Эка скоро!» drips with Lise's chilling sarcasm: 'Quickly, indeed!' Its folksy register marks the cruelty of her relish.
146
He says: the boy moaned, kept moaning, while the other one stood there and gazed at him in admiration.
GrammarImperfective «стонал» + «всё» for drawn-out duration «стонал» (was moaning) is imperfective past for ongoing process, and «всё» here means 'kept on, all the while' — 'moaned, kept moaning'. The imperfective with «всё» stretches the agony out in time, against the perfective acts that caused it.
Word«любоваться» — to gaze with admiration «любоваться» (+ instrumental, or на + acc.) means to feast one's eyes on, to admire with pleasure. Used of the torturer gazing at the moaning child, the verb's normally aesthetic delight becomes monstrous.
147
That's good!"
148
"Good?"
149
"Good.
150
Sometimes I think it was I myself who crucified him.
GrammarCleft «это… я сама» and emphatic «сама» «это… я сама распяла» fronts «это» as a cleft ('it was I who…') and adds the intensive «сама» (I myself, feminine) to stake Lise personally to the crime. «распяла» is the feminine past of «распять», its «-ла» ending agreeing with her gender.
151
He hangs there moaning, and I sit down across from him and eat pineapple compote.
GrammarPerfective future «сяду» beside compound future «буду есть» «сяду» is the simple perfective future of «сесть» — one completed act of sitting down — while «буду есть» is the imperfective compound future of «есть», an ongoing eating. Lise pictures sitting down once, then leisurely going on eating: the two aspects split the scene into event and duration.
Grammar«против» + genitive «против» (opposite, against) governs the genitive: «против него» = 'across from him'. The third-person pronoun takes its «н-» prefix after the preposition, as always with «он/она/они».
152
I love pineapple compote.
Word«компот» — stewed-fruit compote «компот» is a drink of fruit stewed in syrup; «ананасный» (pineapple-, the adjective from «ананас») marks it as an exotic, expensive luxury in 1870s Russia. The dainty treat eaten before the crucified child is the grotesque heart of Lise's fantasy.
153
Do you like it?"
154
Alyosha was silent and looked at her.
GrammarTwin imperfectives for held stillness «молчал» (was silent) and «смотрел» (was looking) are both imperfective pasts, painting a sustained state rather than events — Alyosha simply goes on saying nothing and watching. The imperfective is the natural aspect for such background description.
155
Her sallow, yellowish face suddenly twisted, her eyes blazed up.
GrammarPerfective «-ся» verbs of sudden change «исказилось» (became distorted) and «загорелись» (blazed up) are perfective «-ся» verbs marking abrupt change of state — the middle/inchoative use of «-ся». With «вдруг» they snap the transformation into a single visible instant.
Word«бледно-жёлтое» — sickly sallow The compound colour «бледно-жёлтое» (pale-yellow, sallow) signals illness and decay on Lise's face. Such hyphenated colour compounds are a standard Russian device, here loaded with the sense of a body wasting in fever.
156
"You know, when I read about that Jew, I shook with tears the whole night through.
GrammarTemporal «как… то…» with aspect contrast «как прочла» uses perfective «прочла» (the feminine past of «прочесть», 'once I had read'), the «то» resuming the main clause. Then imperfective «тряслась» (kept shaking) stretches across «всю ночь» (the whole night) — a completed cause, a durative effect.
Word«трястись в слезах» — to shake with weeping «трястись» (to shake, tremble, a «-ся» verb) plus «в слезах» (in tears) gives a vivid physical image of convulsive weeping. The phrase conveys whole-body trembling, not mere crying.
157
I picture the little child screaming and moaning (after all, four-year-old boys do understand), and meanwhile that thought about the compote just won't leave me.
GrammarAppealing «ведь» in a parenthesis «ведь» ('after all, you know') invokes shared knowledge to justify her horror — 'four-year-olds do understand, you know'. The particle gives the aside the texture of urgent, confiding speech.
Word«ребёночек» — the dear little child «ребёночек» is a doubly-tender diminutive of «ребёнок» (child). The pitying, caressing suffix heightens the pathos of the imagined victim — and the perversity of pairing it with her compote.
Grammar«не отставать» — the thought 'won't leave' «не отстаёт» (from «отставать», to fall behind / let go) with «не» means the thought 'won't leave me alone'. The imperfective present renders it as a persisting, ongoing nuisance that dogs her.
158
In the morning I sent a letter to a certain man, asking him to come to me ''without fail''.
Grammar«чтобы» + past form for a willed outcome «чтобы… пришёл» (so that he should come) uses «чтобы» with the past-tense form as an irrealis of purpose/command — the wished-for, not the factual. This is the standard way to report a request: 'I sent a letter [asking] that he come'.
Word«непременно» — without fail «непременно» means 'certainly, without fail, by all means'. Set in quotation marks in the text, it reproduces the very word Lise underlined in her letter, conveying her insistent, imperious demand.
159
He came, and I suddenly told him all about the boy and about the compote, told him ''everything'', ''everything'', and said that "it's good".
GrammarContrastive «а» pivoting the scene «а» here is the mild contrastive 'and/but', shifting from his arrival to her own action — 'he came, and [for my part] I suddenly told him…'. This topic-pivoting «а» is a constant, near-untranslatable hinge in Russian narration.
160
He suddenly burst out laughing and said that it really was good.
Word«в самом деле» — really, indeed «в самом деле» is a fixed adverbial phrase, 'really, in fact, indeed'. It marks the man's chilling endorsement as genuine assent, not irony — 'it really was good'.
161
Then he got up and left.
GrammarPerfective sequence; prefixed «ушёл» «встал» (got up) and «ушёл» (left) are two perfective pasts narrating consecutive completed acts. «ушёл» is the perfective of the prefixed motion pair «уходить/уйти», where the prefix «у-» (away) supplies direction and makes the unidirectional member perfective.
162
He sat there only five minutes.
Grammar«всего» + genitive plural after «пять» «всего» here means 'only, in all'. «пять минут» shows the numeral «пять» governing the genitive plural «минут» (from «минута») — five and above always take the genitive plural of what is counted.
163
Did he despise me, despise me?
GrammarInversion and repetition for an anxious question Fronting the verb «презирал» (did he despise) and repeating it brackets the anxious question — Russian's free word order lets the verb carry the emotional weight to the front. «меня» is the accusative direct object of «презирать».
164
Tell me, tell me, Alyosha, did he despise me or not?" — she straightened up on the couch, her eyes flashing.
GrammarPerfective gerund «засверкав» «засверкав» is the perfective past gerund (деепричастие) of «засверкать» (to start flashing), 'having begun to flash / flashing'. It attaches an attendant action to «выпрямилась» (straightened up), sharing her as subject — 'she straightened up, her eyes flashing'. «глазами» is instrumental, the eyes as the means of the flashing.
165
"Tell me," Alyosha said in agitation, "did you yourself summon him, this man?"
GrammarRight-dislocation with «этого человека» The pronoun «его» (acc.) is first, then clarified by the dislocated «этого человека» ('this man') at the end — a colloquial right-dislocation that adds urgent specification. Both are accusative of the animate object, so «этого человека» takes the genitive-shaped animate accusative.
Word«волнение» — agitation, emotion «волнение» (from «волна», wave) means agitation, a stirring or churning of feeling. «в волнении» = 'in agitation', a favourite Dostoevskian state — the inner sea in turmoil.
166
"I did."
GrammarIntensive «сама» as a whole answer A single word «Сама» (I myself, feminine) answers the question — 'I did, myself'. The intensive pronoun «сам/сама/само» can stand alone to affirm that the subject acted in person, here owning her summons of the man.
167
"You sent him a letter?"
GrammarTopic-fronted object «письмо» «Письмо» (the letter) leads as topic, with «ему» (dative, 'to him') the recipient and «послали» the verb — 'the letter — you sent [it] to him?'. Free word order lets the known object sit first while the question's focus falls on the verb.
168
"A letter."
169
"Precisely to ask him about this, about the child?"
Grammar«про» + accusative for 'about' «про» (colloquial 'about, concerning') governs the accusative: «про это» (about this), «про ребёнка» (about the child, animate accusative shaped like the genitive «ребёнка»). «Собственно» means 'precisely, properly speaking', narrowing the question.
170
"No, not at all about that, not at all.
GrammarReinforced negation with «совсем» «совсем не» ('not at all') flatly negates, and the trailing echo «совсем» redoubles it — 'not at all about that, not at all'. The repetition mirrors Lise's emphatic, agitated speech, where negation is piled up for force.
171
But the moment he came in, I asked him about it straightaway.
Grammar«как» = 'as soon as'; emphatic «и» Here «как» with the perfective «вошёл» (came in) means 'the moment / as soon as he entered'. «сейчас» means 'at once, straightaway', and the «и» before «спросила» is emphatic ('I went right ahead and asked'), not 'and'.
172
He answered, laughed, got up and left."
GrammarFour perfectives, four quick acts The unbroken chain of perfective pasts — «ответил, засмеялся, встал, ушёл» — clicks off four completed actions in rapid succession, conveying how curt and dismissive his visit was. Perfective sequence is the engine of Russian event-narration.
173
"That man treated you honorably," Alyosha said quietly.
Grammar«поступить с» + instrumental «поступить с кем-то» means 'to act toward / treat someone', with the person in the instrumental after «с» — «с вами» ('with/toward you'). «честно» (honourably) is the adverb. The perfective «поступил» frames his conduct as a single completed judgement.
174
"But did he despise me?
GrammarPivoting «А» plus fronted object «А» opens with a contrastive turn ('but…'), and «меня» (accusative) is fronted before the verb «презирал» to put the anxious focus on herself — 'but [me] — did he despise me?'. The case ending, not position, keeps «меня» clearly the object.
175
Was he laughing at me?"
176
"No, because he himself may perhaps believe in the pineapple compote.
Grammar«верить» + dative «верить» (to believe [in], trust) governs the dative: «ананасному компоту» is dative, 'believes the pineapple compote'. The dative here is the thing trusted; «верить в» + accusative would instead mean 'believe in' as faith. Alyosha's choice gives an eerie, literal trust in the fantasy.
GrammarIntensive «сам» and parenthetical «может» «сам» (he himself) emphasizes that the man personally holds this belief. «может» is a clipped «может быть», 'perhaps', dropped in as a hedging parenthetical — a very speech-like touch.
177
He too is very ill now, Lise.
GrammarShort adjective «болен» «болен» is the predicative short form of «больной» (ill), masculine — 'he is ill'. Short adjectives mark a state and can only predicate; «болен» specifically conveys 'is sick (right now)', the temporary-state flavour the short form often carries.
178
"Yes, he believes in it!" Lise's eyes flashed.
GrammarInchoative «за-» and instrumental «глазами» «засверкала» (began to flash/sparkle) carries the inchoative prefix «за-», marking the onset of the flashing. «глазами» (instrumental of «глаза») gives the eyes as the means — 'Lise's eyes flashed'. Verb-then-subject order is the normal pattern in such narrative dialogue tags.
179
"He despises no one," Alyosha went on.
GrammarNegative concord with «никого» «никого не презирает» pairs the negative pronoun «никого» (genitive/accusative of «никто», no one) with the verbal «не» — Russian's obligatory double negation. «никого» is the animate object of «презирать», 'he despises no one'.
180
He simply believes no one.
Grammar«никому не верит» — dative in negative concord «верить» governs the dative, so its negative object is «никому» (dative of «никто», no one), still requiring the verbal «не» — 'he believes no one'. The balanced echo of the previous line («никого… никому») turns the contrast — despise vs. believe — on a single case difference.
181
And if he believes no one, then of course he despises them too."
Grammar«Коль» for «если» «Коль» (also «коли») is an old, folksy-bookish conditional conjunction equivalent to «если» ('if'). It opens a hypothetical and belongs to the elevated/colloquial-archaic layer Dostoevsky uses to colour speech.
GrammarNegation «не» «Не» negates the verb it stands before («не верит» — 'does not believe'). Note the imperfective «верит» (present tense), which states a general, habitual attitude rather than one act of belief.
GrammarCorrelative «коль… то…» and additive «и» The «то» answers the conditional «коль», the standard 'if… then…' correlative frame. The «и» here is not 'and' but the additive particle 'also/too' («и презирает» — 'despises [them] as well').
182
"So me as well?
Word«Стало быть» — 'so, therefore' A fixed conversational connective meaning 'so then / it follows that', literally 'it became to be'. It draws an inference from what was just said and is a hallmark of 19th-century spoken Russian.
GrammarAccusative «меня» with additive «и» «Меня» is the accusative/genitive of «я», the object of the elided «презирает» ('despises'). The particle «и» again means 'too' — 'me as well?'
183
Me?"
184
"You as well."
GrammarPolite «вас» and additive «И» «Вас» is the accusative of polite «вы»; Alyosha and Lise still address each other with formal «вы». The fronted «И» carries 'you too', echoing her «и меня» — a clipped answer with the verb left understood.
185
"That's good," Lise said, grinding it out somehow.
Word«проскрежетать» — to grind out From «скрежет» ('a grating, gnashing'), «проскрежетать» means to utter while grinding the teeth — a harsh, almost animal sound. The perfective prefix «про-» marks a single completed burst of speech.
186
When he went out and laughed, I felt that it's good to be despised.
GrammarPerfective chain after «когда» «Вышел» and «засмеялся» are both perfective past, narrating two completed events in sequence ('came out and laughed'). The «за-» on «засмеялся» is inceptive — 'broke into laughter'.
GrammarImpersonal «хорошо» + infinitive An impersonal predicate: the invariable «хорошо» ('it is good') governs the infinitive «быть», with no nominative subject — 'to be in contempt is good'. «В презрении» is prepositional, naming the state one is in.
187
Both the boy with the cut-off fingers is good, and to be despised is good…"
WordDiminutive «пальчик» «Пальчики» is the diminutive of «пальцы» ('fingers'). Recalling an earlier story of a boy whose fingers were cut off, the tender suffix sharpens the pathos and the morbidity of Lise's fixation.
GrammarPast passive participle «отрезанными» «Отрезанными» is the instrumental plural of the past passive participle of «отрезать» ('to cut off') — 'with cut-off fingers'. It agrees with «пальчиками» (governed by «с», 'with') and condenses a whole relative clause into one adjective.
188
And she laughed in Alyosha's face, somehow spitefully and feverishly.
GrammarDative «Алеше» — laughing in his face «Алеше» is dative; «засмеяться кому в глаза» literally 'to laugh into someone's eyes', i.e. straight in his face. The dative marks the person to whom the laughter is directed.
Word«воспалённо» — feverishly An adverb from «воспалённый» ('inflamed, feverish', from «воспаление», inflammation). It paints Lise's laughter as something inflamed and sick — physical illness blurred into spiritual fever, a favourite Dostoevskian register.
189
"You know, Alyosha, you know, I'd like… Alyosha, save me!" she sprang up suddenly from the couch, threw herself at him, and clutched him tightly in her arms.
GrammarConditional «бы» softening a wish «Бы» plus the past-form «хотела» yields the conditional 'I would like' — politer and more tentative than a bare «хочу». The unfinished clause leaves the longing hanging.
GrammarImperative «спасите» Perfective imperative of «спасти» ('to save'), with the polite/plural «-те» matching the «вы» she uses to Alyosha. Perfective here asks for a single decisive act of rescue.
GrammarPerfective verb chain of sudden action Three perfective past verbs in a rush — 'sprang up, threw herself, clutched' — each a single completed jolt, driving the narrative forward against the background. «Бросилась» and «вскочила» carry the reflexive «-ся/-сь».
190
"Save me," she almost moaned.
Word«простонать» — to moan out From «стон» ('a moan'); the «про-» prefix gives a single completed utterance 'moaned out'. Paired with «почти» ('almost'), it stages the cry as half-spoken, half-groaned.
191
As if I'd ever tell anyone in the world what I've told you?
GrammarParticle «разве» — incredulous question «Разве» opens a rhetorical question expecting the answer 'no, of course not' ('As if I'd ever…'). It conveys disbelief or indignation that the thing could even be supposed.
GrammarIndefinite «-нибудь» — anyone at all «Кому-нибудь» is the dative of «кто-нибудь», the non-specific 'anyone at all'. The «-нибудь» series (versus «-то») marks a referent that is open, unspecified — fitting the rhetorical 'as if I'd tell just anybody'.
GrammarObject clause «что» and dropped «я» «Что» here is the relative/object 'what' (= 'that which'), and the subject «я» is dropped because «говорила» (feminine past) already shows the speaker. «Вам» is the dative indirect object, 'to you'.
192
And yet it was the truth, the truth, the truth that I was telling!
Grammar«А ведь» — 'and yet, after all' The contrastive «а» plus the appeal-particle «ведь» ('after all, you know') together mean 'and yet'. «Ведь» invokes shared knowledge — she insists Alyosha knows it really was the truth.
GrammarAccusative object + insistent repetition «Правду» is the accusative of «правда» ('truth'), the object of «говорила» ('was telling'). The threefold repetition and the imperfective verb stress the act of telling as it unfolded, with feverish emphasis.
193
I'll kill myself, because everything is loathsome to me!
GrammarReflexive «себя» — 'kill myself' «Убью» is the perfective future of «убить» ('to kill'); «себя» is the reflexive pronoun (no nominative form) pointing back to the subject — 'I will kill myself'. The perfective frames it as one final, decisive act.
GrammarDative-experiencer «мне… гадко» A classic impersonal construction: dative «мне» as experiencer, the invariable «гадко» ('it is loathsome') as predicate, no nominative subject — 'everything is loathsome to me'. «Всё» ('everything') is the neuter that the state is about.
194
I don't want to live, because everything is loathsome to me!
GrammarNegated «не хочу» + infinitive «Не» negates «хочу» ('I want'), which governs the imperfective infinitive «жить» ('to live'). The imperfective is the natural choice for living as an ongoing process.
195
Everything is loathsome to me, everything!"
GrammarRepeated impersonal cry The same dative-experiencer frame («мне… гадко») hammered through three sentences (s193–195). The relentless repetition with no finite verb is Dostoevsky rendering hysteria through pure impersonal grammar.
196
"Alyosha, why don't you love me at all, at all!" she finished in a frenzy.
Grammar«совсем не» — 'not at all' «Совсем не любите» = 'do not love at all', with «совсем» ('entirely') intensifying the negation «не». «Меня» is accusative object; «вы любите» keeps the polite form even at the peak of her plea.
Word«исступление» — frenzy A bookish noun for a state of frenzied transport, ecstasy bordering on madness — from ис- + ступить ('to step out [of oneself]'), i.e. being beside oneself (the homograph «иступить» 'to blunt' is unrelated). «В исступлении» ('in a frenzy') is a recurring Dostoevskian gauge of a soul at its breaking point.
197
"No, I do love you!" Alyosha answered ardently.
GrammarDropped «я» before «люблю» «Люблю» ('I love') stands alone: the ending already marks first person, so the pronoun «я» is dropped. The bare verb after the emphatic «Нет» makes Alyosha's affirmation quick and unhedged.
198
"And will you weep over me, will you?"
GrammarCompound future «будете плакать» The imperfective compound future: «будете» (future of «быть») + the imperfective infinitive «плакать» ('to weep') — 'will you weep'. Imperfective frames the weeping as a lasting, repeated grief, not one act.
Grammar«обо мне» — prepositional after «о» «О» ('about, over') governs the prepositional case, here «мне». The form «обо» (with a vowel) appears before certain pronouns for ease of sound — 'weep over me'.
199
"I will."
Grammar«Буду» answering the future A one-word reply: «буду» ('I will [do]'), the bare future of «быть» standing in for the whole 'I will weep'. Russian answers a compound-future question by echoing just the auxiliary.
200
"Not because I refused to be your wife, but simply weep over me, just simply?"
GrammarPredicate instrumental «женой» After «быть» the predicate noun «жена» ('wife') goes into the instrumental, «женой» — 'to be your wife'. «Вашею» is the older bookish instrumental ending of «ваша» (modern «вашей»), a 19th-century literary touch.
GrammarContrastive «не… а» with «за то, что» «Не за то, что… а просто…» sets up 'not for the reason that…, but simply…'. «За то, что» is a causal frame ('for the fact that'), and «а» pivots to the true reason — weep simply, not as a reward.
201
"I will."
202
"Thank you!
203
It's only your tears that I need.
Grammar«надо» + genitive object, dative subject Impersonal «надо» ('is needed') takes the dative experiencer «мне» and here a genitive object «ваших слёз» ('your tears') — 'I need only your tears'. The genitive marks the needed thing as a partial, sought-after quantity.
204
As for all the rest, let them punish me and trample me underfoot, all of them, all of them, not excluding ''anyone''!
Grammar«пусть» + verb — third-person 'let them' «Пусть» plus a present/future verb forms the third-person imperative 'let them…': «пусть казнят… раздавят» — 'let them punish and crush'. «Казнят» is imperfective (ongoing punishing), «раздавят» perfective (one crushing act).
GrammarGerund «исключая» + negative «никого» «Исключая» is the imperfective gerund («деепричастие») of «исключать» ('to exclude') — 'excluding'. With «не… никого» it shows negative concord: 'not excluding anyone', literally 'not excluding no one'.
205
Because I love no one.
GrammarDouble negation «не… никого» Russian negative concord: the verb keeps «не» even with the negative pronoun «никого» (gen./acc. of «никто») — 'I love no one', literally 'I do not love nobody'. Both negatives are obligatory. («Никого» is the inherent gen./acc. object form of «никто», not a genitive triggered by negation.)
206
Do you hear — no-one-at-all!
WordSyllabified «никого» for emphasis The hyphens break «никого» ('no one') into stressed syllables — Dostoevsky's way of writing Lise spelling the word out, slow and venomous. «Слышите» ('do you hear') drives the deliberate cruelty home.
207
On the contrary, I hate them!
GrammarDropped subject «ненавижу» «Ненавижу» ('I hate') stands without «я» — the present-tense ending carries the first person. «Напротив» ('on the contrary') swings from not-loving to active hatred in a single bare verb.
208
Go now, Alyosha, it's time for you to go to your brother!" she suddenly tore herself away from him.
GrammarImperative «ступайте» — 'be off' «Ступайте» is the polite/plural imperative of «ступать» ('to step, go') — a slightly old-fashioned, brisk 'go now / be off'. Its repetition across s208–211 conveys Lise hustling Alyosha out.
GrammarImpersonal «пора» + dative «Пора» ('it is time') is an impersonal predicate taking the dative experiencer «вам» — 'it's time for you'. «К брату» is dative governed by «к» ('to'), marking the goal of motion.
Word«оторваться» — to tear oneself away Reflexive «оторваться» ('to tear oneself off/away'), perfective, with «-сь». The violent verb (literally 'rip away') turns even her release of him into something abrupt and wrenching.
209
"But how will you be left like this?" Alyosha said, almost in alarm.
GrammarParticle «же» intensifying the question «Же» after «как» sharpens the question into anxious wonder — 'but how will you…?'. «Останетесь» is the perfective future of reflexive «остаться» ('to remain/be left'), asking about her single resulting state.
210
"Go to your brother, the prison will be locked up, go, here's your hat!
GrammarImpersonal-plural «запрут» «Запрут» is the perfective future, third-person plural of «запереть» ('to lock'), used with no stated subject — 'they'll lock it up', i.e. the prison will be locked. This agentless plural is Russian's everyday passive-like dodge.
211
Kiss Mitya for me, go, go!"
GrammarImperative «поцелуйте» + animate accusative Perfective imperative of «поцеловать» ('to kiss'). «Митю» is the regular first-declension accusative singular of «Митя» (nom. Митя, gen. Мити, acc. Митю); all -я nouns take -ю in the accusative singular, unrelated to animacy syncretism.
212
And she all but shoved Alyosha out the door by force.
Word«выпихнуть» — to shove out A blunt, physical verb: «вы-» ('out') + «пихнуть» ('to shove'), perfective — 'shoved out' in one motion. «С силой почти» ('almost by force') underlines the near-violence of the expulsion.
213
He looked on in grievous bewilderment, when suddenly he felt in his right hand a letter, a tiny little note, tightly folded and sealed.
GrammarDemonstrative «Тот» as 'he' «Тот» ('that one') is used here to track the referent and switch focus back to Alyosha — a bookish narrative device, 'the latter / he'. It declines like a demonstrative but functions as a pronoun.
Grammar«как вдруг» — 'when suddenly' «Как вдруг» abruptly breaks a background state («смотрел», imperfective 'was looking') with a sudden perfective event («почувствовал», 'felt'). The aspect contrast stages the shock of finding the note.
GrammarPast passive participles «сложенное… запечатанное» Two short-of-attribute past passive participles agreeing with «письмецо» (neuter): «сложенное» ('folded', from «сложить») and «запечатанное» ('sealed', from «запечатать'). They pack the note's whole making into adjectives.
WordDiminutive «письмецо» «Письмецо» is the diminutive of «письмо» ('letter'), reinforced by «маленькое» ('little'). The doubled smallness — 'a tiny little note' — makes the sealed object feel furtive and precious.
214
He glanced at it and instantly read the address: To Ivan Fyodorovich Karamazov.
GrammarPerfective «прочёл» — read through «Прочёл» is the perfective past of «прочесть/прочитать» ('to read [through]'), here a single instantaneous act — 'instantly read'. The «про-» marks the reading carried to completion.
215
He quickly looked at Lise.
GrammarPerfective «поглядел» + accusative «на Лизу» «Поглядел» (perfective, 'glanced/looked') with «на» governing the accusative «Лизу» — direction of the gaze 'at Lise'. The «по-» gives a brief, single look.
216
Her face had become almost menacing.
Grammar«сделалось» + short adjective «грозно» Reflexive «сделалось» ('became') with the short-form predicate adjective «грозно» ('menacing'), agreeing with neuter «лицо». The bookish short form states a quality entered into as a result.
GrammarPossessive «её» — frozen form «Её» ('her') is the invariable third-person possessive (a frozen genitive), so it never agrees with «лицо». Word order «лицо её» (noun first) lends a slightly literary, weighty cadence.
217
"Deliver it, be sure to deliver it!" she commanded, frenzied, trembling all over — "today, this very moment!
GrammarImperative «передайте» — deliver it Perfective imperative of «передать» ('to hand over, deliver'), doubled with «непременно» ('without fail') for insistence. The polite «-те» keeps the formal register even as she commands.
GrammarGerund «сотрясаясь» — trembling all over «Сотрясаясь» is the imperfective gerund («деепричастие») of reflexive «сотрясаться» ('to be shaken') — a simultaneous attendant action, 'trembling all over' as she commands. «Вся» ('all of her') intensifies it.
218
Otherwise I'll poison myself!
GrammarReflexive future «отравлюсь» «Отравлюсь» is the perfective future of «отравиться» ('to poison oneself'), the «-сь» making it reflexive — 'I'll poison myself'. «Иначе» ('otherwise') frames it as the threatened consequence.
219
That's the very reason I called you!"
GrammarCorrelative «затем… (чтобы)» and emphatic «и» «Затем» ('for that purpose') points forward to the reason — 'that's the very reason I called you'. The «и» here emphasises ('the very'), and «звала» is imperfective past, the act of summoning.
220
And she quickly slammed the door shut.
GrammarPerfective «захлопнула» + accusative «дверь» «Захлопнула» (perfective, 'slammed shut') with the inanimate accusative «дверь» ('door', identical to its nominative). «Быстро» ('quickly') matches the single, sharp completed act.
221
The latch clicked.
Word«щеколда» and «щёлкнуть» «Щеколда» is a door latch; «щёлкнуть» ('to click', a single semelfactive in «-ну-») captures one sharp snap of the latch. The terse subject-verb sentence makes the click ring out.
222
Alyosha put the letter in his pocket and went straight for the stairs, without stopping in to see Madame Khokhlakova — having even forgotten about her.
GrammarPrefixed motion «пошёл» «Пошёл» is the perfective of «пойти», the prefixed («по-») perfective partner of «идти» — 'set off, headed'. It marks the single inception of going, against the imperfective «идти» of motion in progress.
GrammarTwo gerunds: «заходя» and «забыв» «Не заходя» is the imperfective gerund ('without stopping in'), a simultaneous negated action; «забыв» is the perfective past gerund of «забыть» ('having forgotten'). The pair compresses his manner of leaving into adverbial clauses sharing his subject.
223
And Lise, the moment Alyosha had withdrawn, at once turned back the latch, opened the door a crack, slipped her finger into the gap, and, slamming the door shut, crushed it with all her might.
Grammar«только что» + perfective «удалился» «Только что» ('the moment that, just as') with perfective «удалился» ('had withdrawn', reflexive) sets a completed prior event before the main action. The verb-then-subject order («удалился Алеша») is a natural literary inversion.
GrammarPerfective chain with a gerund A string of perfective verbs narrates each completed step — 'turned back, opened a crack, slipped in', then «придавила» ('crushed'). «Захлопнув» is the perfective past gerund ('having slammed'), folding one step into the next.
GrammarReflexive possessive «свой» «Свой палец» ('her [own] finger') uses the reflexive possessive «свой», which always refers to the clause's subject — here Lise. It removes any doubt that the finger is her own.
Word«капельку» — a tiny bit Literally 'a little drop' (diminutive of «капля», 'drop'), «капельку» is used adverbially for 'a tiny bit', 'just a crack'. The dainty word against the brutal act sharpens the horror of Lise's self-mutilation.
224
Some ten seconds later, having freed her hand, she walked quietly and slowly to her chair, sat down, holding herself bolt upright, and began to stare fixedly at her blackened little finger and at the blood that had welled up from under the nail.
GrammarPerfective gerund «высвободив» «Высвободив» is the perfective past gerund of «высвободить» ('to free, extract') — 'having freed her hand', a completed prior action before she walks. It shares the subject (Lise) with the main verbs.
GrammarGerund «выпрямившись» — bolt upright Another perfective gerund of reflexive «выпрямиться» ('to straighten up'), 'having drawn herself up'; «вся» ('all of her') intensifies the rigid posture. Dostoevsky layers gerund upon gerund to choreograph her eerie composure.
WordPast active participle «почерневший» «Почерневший» ('that had blackened') is the past active participle of «почернеть», agreeing with «пальчик». Built from a который-clause ('the little finger that had gone black'), it is the bookish way to attach a whole event as a modifier.
GrammarPast active participle «выдавившуюся» «Выдавившуюся» (reflexive past active participle of «выдавиться», 'to be squeezed out') modifies «кровь» in the accusative — 'the blood that had welled up'. «Из-под» ('from under') governs the genitive «ногтя» ('the nail').
225
Her lips were trembling, and she whispered to herself very, very quickly:
GrammarImperfective «дрожали» — ongoing trembling «Дрожали» (imperfective past, plural agreeing with «губы», 'lips') describes a continuous background state — the lips 'were trembling'. Imperfective sustains the image while the next clause adds the whispering.
Word«про себя» — to oneself The fixed phrase «про себя» means 'to oneself, inwardly' (with «про» + the reflexive «себя»). She whispers «шептала» the words under her breath, not aloud — a private self-accusation.
226
"Vile, vile, vile, vile!"
Word«подлый» — vile, base «Подлая» is the feminine short/long form of «подлый» ('base, vile, contemptible'), Lise turning the word on herself ('[I am] vile'). The fourfold repetition makes it a self-lacerating refrain that closes the chapter.

The particulars

The text: Братья Карамазовы, Fyodor Dostoevsky. Book XI — Ivan.
Words: Every word of the text, by letter.
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