feat_summary_path: finished_summaries/sparknotes/The Brothers Karamazov/section_11_part_9.txt
feat_book_id: The Brothers Karamazov.book 9.chapter 9
feat_summary_id: book 9, chapter 9
feat_summary: {"name": "book 9, Chapter 9", "url": "https://web.archive.org/web/20210305110438/https://www.sparknotes.com/lit/brothersk/section12/", "summary": "Mitya Is Taken Away Grushenka is called in to testify. Dmitri swears to her that he did not kill his father, and she believes him. But the officers nevertheless decide to keep him in prison to await a trial. Dmitri says good-bye to Grushenka, asking her to forgive him for everything he has done. Grushenka delivers an impassioned promise to love and remain loyal to Dmitri forever.", "analysis": "Book IX: The Preliminary Investigation, Chapters 1-9 This book is devoted to a description of the circumstantial evidence that makes Dmitri appear guilty of Fyodor Pavlovich's murder. The question of whether Dmitri is guilty symbolically represents the greater question of whether human nature is fundamentally good or sinful, so the legal proceedings against Dmitri represent the trial of the human spirit. Just as Book V, especially in the Grand Inquisitor chapter, presents the novel's indictment of God, Book IX begins its indictment of humanity. This book recounts Dmitri's past in detail, and the stories of his innumerable sins are retold, as though to summarize the moral failings that lie at the heart of the case. Dmitri has lied to everyone, stolen from and cheated Katerina, turned to violence against Grigory, and been unable to control his passions for Grushenka. In short, he has committed the most common and universal sins of mankind. Dmitri's bizarre, almost gleeful reaction to this list of sins reveals the seeds of his redemption. In Zosima's anecdote of the murder in Book VI, Dostoevsky has drawn our attention to a peculiar psychological phenomenon: the desire of a guilty man to confess his guilt. The murderer in this anecdote had gotten away with his crime, but he could never find happiness because he was desperate to confess his guilt. As Zosima indicates in his argument with Ivan over ecclesiastical courts in Book II, conscience is the sternest judge of all. Even a criminal who has gotten away with his crime can be judged by his conscience. Like the murderer in Zosima's anecdote, Dmitri has a conscience that judges him harshly, and also like the murderer, Dmitri is guilty, not of the charge of killing his father, but of all the lies, acts of violence, and other sins of his past. Like the murderer, part of Dmitri longs for his crimes to be known and judged, so he can find redemption in the suffering of his punishment. Dmitri's glee throughout this passage is due in part to Grushenka's declaration of love for him. But he also experiences relief to be in the hands of the police and to hear his crimes discussed openly and critically. This review of his past sins may seem like a damning indictment of humanity, but it is actually the first step in Dmitri's transformation from a tormented and sinful man into a faithful and loving one"}
text: Chapter IX. They Carry Mitya Away
  
  
  When the protocol had been signed, Nikolay Parfenovitch turned solemnly to
  the prisoner and read him the "Committal," setting forth, that in such a
  year, on such a day, in such a place, the investigating lawyer of such-
  and-such a district court, having examined so-and-so (to wit, Mitya)
  accused of this and of that (all the charges were carefully written out)
  and having considered that the accused, not pleading guilty to the charges
  made against him, had brought forward nothing in his defense, while the
  witnesses, so-and-so, and so-and-so, and the circumstances such-and-such
  testify against him, acting in accordance with such-and-such articles of
  the Statute Book, and so on, has ruled, that, in order to preclude so-and-
  so (Mitya) from all means of evading pursuit and judgment he be detained
  in such-and-such a prison, which he hereby notifies to the accused and
  communicates a copy of this same "Committal" to the deputy prosecutor, and
  so on, and so on.
  
  In brief, Mitya was informed that he was, from that moment, a prisoner,
  and that he would be driven at once to the town, and there shut up in a
  very unpleasant place. Mitya listened attentively, and only shrugged his
  shoulders.
  
  "Well, gentlemen, I don't blame you. I'm ready.... I understand that
  there's nothing else for you to do."
  
  Nikolay Parfenovitch informed him gently that he would be escorted at once
  by the rural police officer, Mavriky Mavrikyevitch, who happened to be on
  the spot....
  
  "Stay," Mitya interrupted, suddenly, and impelled by uncontrollable
  feeling he pronounced, addressing all in the room:
  
  "Gentlemen, we're all cruel, we're all monsters, we all make men weep, and
  mothers, and babes at the breast, but of all, let it be settled here, now,
  of all I am the lowest reptile! I've sworn to amend, and every day I've
  done the same filthy things. I understand now that such men as I need a
  blow, a blow of destiny to catch them as with a noose, and bind them by a
  force from without. Never, never should I have risen of myself! But the
  thunderbolt has fallen. I accept the torture of accusation, and my public
  shame, I want to suffer and by suffering I shall be purified. Perhaps I
  shall be purified, gentlemen? But listen, for the last time, I am not
  guilty of my father's blood. I accept my punishment, not because I killed
  him, but because I meant to kill him, and perhaps I really might have
  killed him. Still I mean to fight it out with you. I warn you of that.
  I'll fight it out with you to the end, and then God will decide. Good-by,
  gentlemen, don't be vexed with me for having shouted at you during the
  examination. Oh, I was still such a fool then.... In another minute I
  shall be a prisoner, but now, for the last time, as a free man, Dmitri
  Karamazov offers you his hand. Saying good-by to you, I say it to all
  men."
  
  His voice quivered and he stretched out his hand, but Nikolay
  Parfenovitch, who happened to stand nearest to him, with a sudden, almost
  nervous movement, hid his hands behind his back. Mitya instantly noticed
  this, and started. He let his outstretched hand fall at once.
  
  "The preliminary inquiry is not yet over," Nikolay Parfenovitch faltered,
  somewhat embarrassed. "We will continue it in the town, and I, for my
  part, of course, am ready to wish you all success ... in your defense....
  As a matter of fact, Dmitri Fyodorovitch, I've always been disposed to
  regard you as, so to speak, more unfortunate than guilty. All of us here,
  if I may make bold to speak for all, we are all ready to recognize that
  you are, at bottom, a young man of honor, but, alas, one who has been
  carried away by certain passions to a somewhat excessive degree...."
  
  Nikolay Parfenovitch's little figure was positively majestic by the time
  he had finished speaking. It struck Mitya that in another minute this
  "boy" would take his arm, lead him to another corner, and renew their
  conversation about "girls." But many quite irrelevant and inappropriate
  thoughts sometimes occur even to a prisoner when he is being led out to
  execution.
  
  "Gentlemen, you are good, you are humane, may I see _her_ to say 'good-by'
  for the last time?" asked Mitya.
  
  "Certainly, but considering ... in fact, now it's impossible except in the
  presence of--"
  
  "Oh, well, if it must be so, it must!"
  
  Grushenka was brought in, but the farewell was brief, and of few words,
  and did not at all satisfy Nikolay Parfenovitch. Grushenka made a deep bow
  to Mitya.
  
  "I have told you I am yours, and I will be yours. I will follow you for
  ever, wherever they may send you. Farewell; you are guiltless, though
  you've been your own undoing."
  
  Her lips quivered, tears flowed from her eyes.
  
  "Forgive me, Grusha, for my love, for ruining you, too, with my love."
  
  Mitya would have said something more, but he broke off and went out. He
  was at once surrounded by men who kept a constant watch on him. At the
  bottom of the steps to which he had driven up with such a dash the day
  before with Andrey's three horses, two carts stood in readiness. Mavriky
  Mavrikyevitch, a sturdy, thick-set man with a wrinkled face, was annoyed
  about something, some sudden irregularity. He was shouting angrily. He
  asked Mitya to get into the cart with somewhat excessive surliness.
  
  "When I stood him drinks in the tavern, the man had quite a different
  face," thought Mitya, as he got in. At the gates there was a crowd of
  people, peasants, women and drivers. Trifon Borissovitch came down the
  steps too. All stared at Mitya.
  
  "Forgive me at parting, good people!" Mitya shouted suddenly from the
  cart.
  
  "Forgive us too!" he heard two or three voices.
  
  "Good-by to you, too, Trifon Borissovitch!"
  
  But Trifon Borissovitch did not even turn round. He was, perhaps, too
  busy. He, too, was shouting and fussing about something. It appeared that
  everything was not yet ready in the second cart, in which two constables
  were to accompany Mavriky Mavrikyevitch. The peasant who had been ordered
  to drive the second cart was pulling on his smock, stoutly maintaining
  that it was not his turn to go, but Akim's. But Akim was not to be seen.
  They ran to look for him. The peasant persisted and besought them to wait.
  
  "You see what our peasants are, Mavriky Mavrikyevitch. They've no shame!"
  exclaimed Trifon Borissovitch. "Akim gave you twenty-five copecks the day
  before yesterday. You've drunk it all and now you cry out. I'm simply
  surprised at your good-nature, with our low peasants, Mavriky
  Mavrikyevitch, that's all I can say."
  
  "But what do we want a second cart for?" Mitya put in. "Let's start with
  the one, Mavriky Mavrikyevitch. I won't be unruly, I won't run away from
  you, old fellow. What do we want an escort for?"
  
  "I'll trouble you, sir, to learn how to speak to me if you've never been
  taught. I'm not 'old fellow' to you, and you can keep your advice for
  another time!" Mavriky Mavrikyevitch snapped out savagely, as though glad
  to vent his wrath.
  
  Mitya was reduced to silence. He flushed all over. A moment later he felt
  suddenly very cold. The rain had ceased, but the dull sky was still
  overcast with clouds, and a keen wind was blowing straight in his face.
  
  "I've taken a chill," thought Mitya, twitching his shoulders.
  
  At last Mavriky Mavrikyevitch, too, got into the cart, sat down heavily,
  and, as though without noticing it, squeezed Mitya into the corner. It is
  true that he was out of humor and greatly disliked the task that had been
  laid upon him.
  
  "Good-by, Trifon Borissovitch!" Mitya shouted again, and felt himself,
  that he had not called out this time from good-nature, but involuntarily,
  from resentment.
  
  But Trifon Borissovitch stood proudly, with both hands behind his back,
  and staring straight at Mitya with a stern and angry face, he made no
  reply.
  
  "Good-by, Dmitri Fyodorovitch, good-by!" he heard all at once the voice of
  Kalganov, who had suddenly darted out. Running up to the cart he held out
  his hand to Mitya. He had no cap on.
  
  Mitya had time to seize and press his hand.
  
  "Good-by, dear fellow! I shan't forget your generosity," he cried warmly.
  
  But the cart moved and their hands parted. The bell began ringing and
  Mitya was driven off.
  
  Kalganov ran back, sat down in a corner, bent his head, hid his face in
  his hands, and burst out crying. For a long while he sat like that, crying
  as though he were a little boy instead of a young man of twenty. Oh, he
  believed almost without doubt in Mitya's guilt.
  
  "What are these people? What can men be after this?" he exclaimed
  incoherently, in bitter despondency, almost despair. At that moment he had
  no desire to live.
  
  "Is it worth it? Is it worth it?" exclaimed the boy in his grief.
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
feat_summary_name: book 9, Chapter 9
target: Mitya Is Taken Away Grushenka is called in to testify. Dmitri swears to her that he did not kill his father, and she believes him. But the officers nevertheless decide to keep him in prison to await a trial. Dmitri says good-bye to Grushenka, asking her to forgive him for everything he has done. Grushenka delivers an impassioned promise to love and remain loyal to Dmitri forever.
feat_summary_analysis: Book IX: The Preliminary Investigation, Chapters 1-9 This book is devoted to a description of the circumstantial evidence that makes Dmitri appear guilty of Fyodor Pavlovich's murder. The question of whether Dmitri is guilty symbolically represents the greater question of whether human nature is fundamentally good or sinful, so the legal proceedings against Dmitri represent the trial of the human spirit. Just as Book V, especially in the Grand Inquisitor chapter, presents the novel's indictment of God, Book IX begins its indictment of humanity. This book recounts Dmitri's past in detail, and the stories of his innumerable sins are retold, as though to summarize the moral failings that lie at the heart of the case. Dmitri has lied to everyone, stolen from and cheated Katerina, turned to violence against Grigory, and been unable to control his passions for Grushenka. In short, he has committed the most common and universal sins of mankind. Dmitri's bizarre, almost gleeful reaction to this list of sins reveals the seeds of his redemption. In Zosima's anecdote of the murder in Book VI, Dostoevsky has drawn our attention to a peculiar psychological phenomenon: the desire of a guilty man to confess his guilt. The murderer in this anecdote had gotten away with his crime, but he could never find happiness because he was desperate to confess his guilt. As Zosima indicates in his argument with Ivan over ecclesiastical courts in Book II, conscience is the sternest judge of all. Even a criminal who has gotten away with his crime can be judged by his conscience. Like the murderer in Zosima's anecdote, Dmitri has a conscience that judges him harshly, and also like the murderer, Dmitri is guilty, not of the charge of killing his father, but of all the lies, acts of violence, and other sins of his past. Like the murderer, part of Dmitri longs for his crimes to be known and judged, so he can find redemption in the suffering of his punishment. Dmitri's glee throughout this passage is due in part to Grushenka's declaration of love for him. But he also experiences relief to be in the hands of the police and to hear his crimes discussed openly and critically. This review of his past sins may seem like a damning indictment of humanity, but it is actually the first step in Dmitri's transformation from a tormented and sinful man into a faithful and loving one