Poor Парфен

To me, the most fascinating part of the first few chapters of Part II was that it felt like a plunge into the mind of an epileptic (at least as Dostoyevsky, an epileptic himself, perceives this disorder). The confusion in Myshkin’s mind, the shifting weather, the ominous meeting with Rogozhin (I'll call him Parfen sometimes), and the spying eyes… The whole setup creates a very powerful atmosphere that is quite palpable.

The opening of Part II re-introduces the by-now-familiar faces in a new light, for example we see Lebedev in his home (which is surprisingly nice and cozy). Together with the time lapse Katia mentioned, this new look at the characters creates the sense that the second half of the novel will be quite different from the first. Indeed, the entire first part took place over the course of one afternoon, it would be hard to keep up this pace. The slow “epileptic” afternoon appears to be the inverse of Part I.

The meeting between Parfen and Myshkin takes center stage in the course of this afternoon. And what a meeting it is: full of suspicious glances, repressed anger and resentment and most of all jealousy, topped with a new closeness between Rogozhin and Myshkin (as Katia mentioned, they became close in Moscow, though we are left only to guess how this happened). Strangely enough, this closeness makes their interaction feel more dangerous, maybe because Myshkin enters Rogozhin’s house and his world, thereby making himself extra vulnerable.

The author gives us plenty of clues to be wary of the meeting: at the very beginning of chapter III he says, “Визит этот был для него, впрочем, в некотором отношении рискованным. Он затруднялся и колебался.” Then, he guesses which is Rogozhin’s house among all the others in the street, but feels apprehensive, “он чувствовал, что ему почему-то будет особенно неприятно, если он угадал.” As readers, we can guess that the house is gloomy and so must its inhabitants be. 

There are numerous details of the tension in Rogozhin throughout their entire meeting, they add up to us readers feeling like Rogozhin is in a desperate state, perhaps as emotionally and psychologically unbalanced as Nastasya Filippovna. It is emphasized that she keeps coming back to him, but we should not overlook that he keeps running back to her, too. He may be her undoing, but what about him? She can be no better for his fate. Why is this happening to him? Is it just her beauty and physical passion for her? It must be something more, because surely there are better ways of dealing with physical passion. The more we learn about their relationship, the stranger it seems. There is anger, maybe even hatred, and humiliation coupled with the more positive feelings of respect and submission, and maybe even hope for the future. And, of course, fear and desperation runs through everything.What a cocktail. 

I would probably go on for too long if I delve into every intriguing detail of the meeting. For now I’ll limit myself to a couple curiosities:

-          Rogozhin says to Myshkin, “Я твоему голосу верю, как с тобой сижу.” It is as if Myshkin’s voice is hypnotizing.

-     When Myshkin is questioning Lebedev about NF, Lebedev describes her as “Искательна [...] Как бы всё ищет чего-то, как бы потеряла что-то.” Later, Myshkin is absentmindedly wandering around St. Petersburg when we come across the following passage: “Несколько времени спустя, на улице, он вдруг как бы что-то припомнил, как бы что-то внезапно сообразил, очень странное, что-то уж долго его беспокоившее. Ему вдруг пришлось сознательно поймать себя на одном занятии, уже давно продолжавшемся, но которого он всё не замечал до самой этой минуты: вот уже несколько часов, еще даже в "Весах", кажется даже и до "Весов", он нет-нет и вдруг начинал как бы искать чего-то кругом себя. И забудет, даже надолго, на полчаса, и вдруг опять оглянется с беспокойством и ищет кругом.” It is like he and NF are connected, and I think Rogozhin mentioned the same thing too—they are in tune. But I wonder why? After all, partially Myshkin’s paranoia is not unfounded—Rogozhin is following him and spying on him. Maybe it is Rogozhin’s behavior towards both of them that unites them and gives them similar disoriented feelings.

When Rogozhin tries to kill Myshkin… I feel sorry for Parfen. The poor guy is really lost, and he seems to have no one to turn to. Myshkin has plenty of admirers and ready-friends, so does NF. But what about Parfen, all alone in the world except for Myshkin—his only friend and his most bitter rival?