The Karamazov Brothers
(Fyodor Dostoevsky)

Active versus contemplative love

One of the starets’s key points was that love, to be effective, had to be actively involved in the world. Love that was merely contemplative was too internal, when its real purpose was to rise to the challenges the world presented and to teach and transform at the same time. But to love effectively, you have to discard judgmentalism, because that only fosters shame, pride, and dishonesty, which act as blocks to spiritual progress. Besides, God, being love, does not want remorse but joy—the true joy that comes with the recognition of a person’s real being and purpose.

The notion of active love is most clearly expressed both by the starets’s way of dealing with people—as well as Alyosha’s and the abbot’s—and by his injunction to love all creation, no matter how small or sinful. For to love like this would begin to mirror divine love, and in doing so, the plan (or “mystery”) of God would gradually unfold and strengthen the individual’s own ability to love.

Therefore, when confronted by sin, you should always choose humility and love over force; for humility and love were the ultimate power. But this was no easy task and required constant watchfulness and untiring dedication. It meant understanding the unity of things and asking forgiveness of the whole and all its creatures, knowing that the smallest careless act could adversely influence some unknown innocent and would certainly affect the whole. 

The interconnectedness of actions

Related to the need for active love is the interconnectedness of all actions, past and present. As Ivan observes, blame is out of the question when we realize that our actions are all too often reactions to another previous action, perhaps even one that happened long ago. The potential negative repercussions of this are only too obvious in how the characters act and react in response to each other, often with disastrous results in the end. But lurking behind the disaster is a message of hope: that to reverse the process, all that’s needed is the will to love, universally and unconditionally.  

Active universal love as an agent for change

To love universally and unconditionally does not translate into discarding morality and permitting everything. Rather, it means to dig more deeply and honestly into the moral code and the spiritual demands of God that it implies, while being open to life at the same time. Alyosha exemplifies this principle in his commitment to active love, showing that by taking new steps in a new direction, even the worst circumstances can be reversed. Again, this does not mean that there are never any casualties in life’s often unpredictable journey. This particular story has many examples of this. But some of the characters—most notably, Dmitry and Ilyusha—are also symbols of the principle that even the most tragic outcomes can be the impetus for growth in love and truth.  

Suffering and salvation

One of the things that deeply troubled Ivan was the senselessness of much of the suffering he saw, especially in children, who seemed to be suffering for the sins of their forefathers and not because of any guilt on their part. This is an old Biblical tenet, which Ivan knew, and intellectually he could grasp it as part of a greater alchemy that would finally resolve into the heaven of harmony and love. But emotionally it was beyond his ability to accept the connection between suffering and salvation. Here Dmitry picks up where Ivan leaves off: Dmitry does come to understand this idea actively and emotionally, in part because of his past misdeeds and consequent remorse and in part because of his compassionate response to the freezing infant (or so-called “bairn”) in his dream. While Ivan’s mind and heart grapple with the idea, Dmitry wholeheartedly embraces it as the precursor to salvation and joy, an impetus for awakening. Finally, Alyosha, the exemplification of Christly love among the brothers, acts as the facilitator of the spiritual transformation of the whole through mercy, compassion, and non-judgment.

The theme does not mean that suffering is the cause of salvation—i.e., suffering alone cannot save; rather, it is a part of the human experience that, approached in the right spirit, can propel us towards salvation. And the more individuals progress spiritually—as shown by the change in Dmitry—the more open and expansive they become, accepting their neighbors’ suffering as their own. 

Paradise within—but not without your neighbor

The notion of paradise within and accessible to all is both the flip side of the previous theme and the next step in the process of spiritual progress. According to the mysterious visitor who came to see Zinovy (Zosima’s given name before he became the starets), paradise was hidden within each person and instantly available for those who wanted it. But first, there had to be a mental change for paradise to become an external reality. That meant dispensing with self-isolation and reestablishing universal brotherhood and unity. But that change had to take place within each individual, and the current widespread preference was for isolation in the form of material well-being, power, etc. Ironically, it was all in the name of fully experiencing life, when in truth this approach led only to death. Still, it was just a matter of time before heaven would come to earth, but in the meantime, all should ideally practice brotherhood to keep the idea alive. That included admitting personal responsibility not only for your own sins but also for your neighbors’.  

The Russian soul: embracing extremes

In his speech at Dmitry’s trial, the prosecutor points out that the Russian soul is capable of embracing life’s extremes, and the Karamazovs—especially Dmitry—represented Russia in miniature. In Dmitry, this quality shows in an active way: the passionate, chaotic sinner who suddenly awakens to a more joyful, compassionate awareness despite the suffering he knows he must undergo. He even welcomes that suffering, knowing that it will lead him to peace and happiness. In Ivan, the same quality appears in more intellectual form through his “everything is permitted” philosophy, which nevertheless gets him into trouble because he has left God out of the equation. Even Alyosha admits to the dual promptings of human passion and spiritual love, but in him, as with the starets, it manifests as universal love—an enlarged capacity for tolerance, mercy, and faith in the better promptings of humanity. 

No true change without God: spiritual brotherhood rather than outward equality

The capacity of the Russian soul to embrace extremes had unfortunately led to widespread corruption of the people. At fault to some extent were the new ideas that promised a utopian outcome without God. According to the starets, the hope of Russia lay in the conscience of the poor and simple, whereas the higher classes, having discarded religion in favor of science, had lost touch with morality and denied that sin or crime even existed. The repercussions of these beliefs were already manifesting in Europe, where the people felt justified in rising up against the rich. But in the future, the humility and compassion of the poor would inspire the true shame of the rich.

The starets emphasized that real brotherhood and equality would come from Christianity and no other way. For without spiritual brotherhood, love, and sharing—the outcome of faith in God—any striving towards equality would degenerate into mutual destruction because of its outward, material focus and because it began in bloodshed. Although he does not mention them directly, the starets appears to be referring first, to the new ideas such as socialism and liberalism, embodied in Ivan, Miusov, Rakitin, and other characters; and second, to the wave of revolutions that took place in Europe during the century and decades before Dostoevsky’s death in 1881, one year after finishing The Karamazov Brothers. 

Importance of truthfulness

With things being as connected as they are, truth is especially important. The truth is repeatedly perverted by numerous characters throughout the novel until that perversion finally comes to its climax during the trial. There’s even a chapter for that section called “Truth Perverted,” and the disastrous results of a long series of lies, misperceptions, and careless observations are finally evident in Dmitry’s wrong conviction. But the source of this outcome began long ago with Fyodor Pavlovich, who regularly told lies, and it later took its worst expression in his bastard son Smerdyakov, who ultimately committed suicide. Those characters who could rise above their dishonesty found love and joy, even if only in their beginning phases. But to access truth requires humility, caring, and forgiveness, with no room for shame or pride. 

The perils of pride

The problem of pride is most clearly illustrated in Katerina Ivanovna and Ivan, who drive each other crazy because of their inability to admit their love for each other. The relinquishment of pride would enable people to move beyond both shame and blame to love and joy, realizing that all things are interconnected and therefore that no single person or group is responsible for a particular outcome. Kolya Krasotkin was another whose pride prevented him from a simpler, more truthful expression, but he was young and honest enough to begin moving in that direction, unlike Rakitin, who had succumbed too much to worldliness.  

Thy brother’s keeper

Assuming responsibility for the whole ideally springs from the understanding of the unity of everything. It means being fastidious about your own actions, both deliberate and accidental. And if you see no immediate reward or even lose everything and everyone, it means knowing that your faithfulness and goodness will still bear fruit. But again, that goodness is everyone’s goodness, and everyone else’s sins are our own. Although this philosophy finds its most perfect expression in the better monks and Alyosha, some of the more worldly characters also begin to realize it by the end of the novel. Grushenka openly blamed herself for Dmitry’s choices, and Katerina Ivanovna finally began to recognize the effect of her manipulations on Ivan’s sanity and health as well as Dmitry’s fate. 

The “holy fool”

The “holy fool” is only called a fool because he or she does not operate by the laws of the world but of heaven. Because God’s rules are the opposite of the world’s rules, those who live in accordance with them are deemed foolish by the more savvy and selfish among mankind. Those who transcend to the state of holy fool live not only for themselves but for the whole and will often happily sacrifice their own needs for the sake of others. In effect, they see no difference between themselves and others, and what might seem like a terrible sacrifice to the worldly mind gives joy to the “fool” because it proceeds from love. Alyosha and the starets are the prime examples of this archetype, but Dmitry also shows the seeds of it towards the end.