Knowledge & references

Prince Myshkin

Prince Lev Nikolayevich Myshkin (pre-reform Russian: Левъ Николаевичъ Мышкинъ; post-reform Russian: Лев Николаевич Мышкин, romanized: Lev Nikoláyevich Mýshkin) is the main protagonist of Fyodor Dostoevsky's 1869 novel The Idiot. Dostoevsky wanted to create a character that was "entirely positive... with an absolutely beautiful nature", someone who is truly "Christian". According to Joseph Frank, the character of Prince Myshkin approaches "the extremest incarnation of the Christian ideal of love that humanity can reach in its present form, but he is torn apart by the conflict between the contradictory imperatives of his apocalyptic aspirations and his earthly limitations." At the beginning of The Idiot, Prince Myshkin has been in Switzerland for the last four years, at a sanatorium for treatment of his epilepsy. At age 26, having recovered his health, and in possession of a legal document suggesting entitlement to a significant inheritance, he returns to Russia. In St. Petersburg, his purity and guilelessness lead many to the false conclusion that he is an "idiot". In fact, he possesses an incisive intellect, deep emotional intelligence, and a wisdom that surpasses all the other characters in the novel.