The Mystery of the Crime in Skotoprigonyevsk (Plot Analysis of The Brothers Karamazov from the Perspective of Literature Studies, Psychology and Psychiatry)

Abstract

In this article, by focusing on the two main protagonists, Mitya Karamazov and Pavel Smerdyakov, we would like to analyze the murder of Fyodor Karamazov, which is the crucial event in the novel The Brothers Karamazov. Although the majority of previous reports have claimed that the actual murder was Smerdyakov, we also analyze the possibility that Mitya could be the murderer. In order to reach this goal, we have conducted analysis of these two characters from the perspective of literature studies, psychology and psychiatry. Although we agree with Freud’s opinion [1] that it is not important who killed the father, but who wanted to kill him, we hope that our findings will allow us to formulate conclusions that will be helpful in new interpretations of this masterpiece. In addition, our study is the first to use the interdisciplinary approach with variety of instruments coming from the fields of medicine and humanities.