Before reading the novel “Humiliated and Insulted,” one might instinctively assume from the title that its events will revolve around the realms of poverty and want, similar to some of Dostoevsky’s works. However, it is surprising to find that the characters in this novel are nearly well-off. The main conflict lies between a prince and a simple landowner of noble descent. Yet, I later realized that not all humiliation is poverty; there is humiliation of dignity, which is something we can never tolerate.
The novel features a small number of characters compared to other works by Dostoevsky. Besides the protagonist, there are the Ekhminiev family, the prince’s family, and some servants and secondary characters. In the life of the protagonist, Ivan Petrovich, there are two stories that mirror each other. The first story is that of the old man Smith, who goes mad towards the end of his life and refuses to forgive his runaway daughter, thus destroying his family and abandoning his granddaughter.
We see that this story is already concluded, serving as a lesson or warning for the second story, which unfolds in the present. This second story revolves around the Ekhminiev family and their runaway daughter Natasha, who brought shame upon her parents by fleeing with her lover. Natasha quickly realizes the consequences of her actions and that her brother Alyosha is unsuitable for love and a stable marriage. Ultimately, the question remains: Will her father forgive her and reunite the family, or will he repeat the fate of old Smith and leave his daughter to the streets?
In my view, Dostoevsky does not urge anyone to endure all humiliation and insult with utter graciousness; rather, he believes that a person should always act according to their conscience and seek what is good or a solution to the problem, rather than avoiding it simply out of a sense of injury.
The broader meaning is the individual’s ability to forgive and to do good even in the worst circumstances, so that their spirit remains pure regardless of the situation. This, from his perspective, is the only way to achieve the specter of a happy life in the future.
Another theme addressed in the novel is that money remains the cause of all these events, rather than youthful folly and haste. The character of Prince Valkovsky — a symbol of evil — moves and plots for wealth, caring little for deception, theft, and the humiliation of others to amass money and live the best possible life. Here we return to the specter of poverty and money’s dominance over souls.
Summary of the Novel
The events are narrated from the perspective of Ivan Petrovich, an ambitious writer aged twenty-four. While searching for a new apartment, he encounters a strange old man with a dog on the streets of St. Petersburg. This man sits rigidly every day, staring randomly at passersby.
One day, someone becomes enraged at the poor man, who leaves in fright, dying near the sidewalk. Upon arriving at the stranger’s home, Ivan learns that the man’s name is Smith, and he decides to move into his vacant room.
In the next chapter, we learn that Ivan Petrovich grew up orphaned from childhood in the family of Nikolai Ekhminiev, a simple nobleman managing the expansive lands of Prince Pyotr Alexandrovich Valkovsky. The protagonist has a friendship and love for Nikolai’s daughter Natasha, who is three years younger than him. However, he went to St. Petersburg to study and did not see the Ekhminiev family for several years until they moved to the capital due to a quarrel with Valkovsky, although he sent his son Alyosha, who is nineteen years old, to learn from him. However, the prince believed some rumors about the Ekhminiev family’s desire to marry their daughter to his young son, prompting Valkovsky to accuse the honest and naive old man of theft and initiate a lawsuit.
Ivan Petrovich becomes a daily guest in the Ekhminiev family home, where he is welcomed back into the fold. The love between him and Natasha grows stronger, and they discuss marriage, albeit postponing it for a while.
Alyosha begins visiting the Ekhminiev family again. The prince becomes angry at these repeated visits, desiring to marry his son for financial gain, forbidding him from seeing Natasha. The lovers have no choice but to escape together to confront their families with the truth.
The lovers rent an apartment and decide to marry soon, but their relationship becomes complicated due to Alyosha’s unusual character. This handsome and graceful young man is merely a child in naivety, self-neglect, innocence, and fidelity, yet also in selfishness, recklessness, irresponsibility, and weakness. He loves Natasha immensely but continuously betrays her, making no effort to support her financially, often leaving her alone and prolonging her suffering. Alyosha, swayed and weak-willed, succumbs to his father’s influence, who wishes to marry him off to a wealthy woman. To achieve this, it is necessary to separate his son from Natasha, so the young man is deprived of financial support. This becomes a serious test for the two young lovers, but Natasha is prepared to live and work modestly. Simultaneously, she fears because the bride that the prince found for Alyosha, Katya, is a beautiful, innocent, and naive girl, much like Alyosha.
Ivan Petrovich constantly remains by Natasha’s side as a loyal friend and supporter, always offering her care and comfort despite her rejection of his love.
Smith’s grandson, Ivan, receives a visit from a thirteen-year-old girl named Nelly. Ivan is touched by the poor girl’s appearance and her torn clothes, and he follows her, later discovering that Nelly’s mother has recently died, and the girl has fallen into the hands of a madam. The protagonist meets an old school friend, Maslobuiv, a private detective, and with his help, he abducts Nelly from the woman and brings her to his home. However, the sick girl, suffering from epilepsy, faces significant trust issues, rejecting care or kindness but eventually begins to bond with Ivan Petrovich.
Six months pass since Natasha’s flight, and she learns that the prince is trying to prevent her marriage through deceit, attempting to bring Alyosha closer to Katya in every way possible.
Nelly’s orphaned story intersects with Natasha’s escapade when Ivan discovers that the prince is using Maslobuiv’s services for matters related to Nelly and her deceased mother. Through insinuations, Maslobuiv narrates the prince’s story with the old Smith. Prince Valkovsky intended to seize Smith’s money, seducing his daughter and prompting her to elope and steal from her father. The bankrupt old man cursed his daughter. The prince soon abandoned the girl, with little Nelly in his arms. After wandering for a long time, the sick mother, along with Nelly, returned to St. Petersburg, hoping that the girl’s father would learn of her fate. In despair, she wrote to her scoundrel husband multiple times, overcoming her pride. Valkovsky himself grew fearful of documents related to the legal marriage, which Nelly’s mother might have kept.
Ivan Petrovich and the prince go to dinner at a restaurant. During their conversation, Valkovsky lets his mask slip; he contemptuously mocks Ekhminiev’s naivety and nobility, speaking sarcastically about Natasha’s virtues, revealing his business plans regarding Alyosha and Katya, and laughing at Ivan Petrovich’s feelings for Natasha. He even offers her money in exchange for marrying him. This morally corrupt person believes in the doctrine of “Love yourself,” using others for his own benefit. The prince takes pleasure in playing on the noble sentiments of his victims, valuing only money and pleasures. He wants Ivan Petrovich to prepare Natasha for her impending separation from Alyosha, as his goal is to remain a loving and noble father in his son’s eyes “to obtain Katya’s wealth in the future.”
Alyosha becomes torn between two girls, confused about whom he loves more, despite the fact that Katya suits him better by nature. Ultimately, Natasha gives way to Katya and decides to sever ties with the naive Alyosha forever.
Valkovsky offers Natasha money for an affair with a corrupt old man. Ivan Petrovich arrives in time, strikes him, and expels him. But how can the old man Ekhminiev be convinced to forgive his beloved daughter who humiliated him? Besides the other wrongs, the prince has just won a lawsuit, stealing all of the miserable father’s small fortune.
The Ekhminiev family has long been planning to adopt an orphaned girl. They settle on Nelly, but she refuses to live with “cruel” people like her grandfather Smith, who never forgave her mother during her lifetime. In a bid to persuade Nelly to tell Ekhminiev the story of her mother, Ivan Petrovich hopes to touch the old man’s heart. His plan indeed succeeds, and the family is soon reunited, with Nelly becoming “the beloved of the entire household.”
In the end, we learn that the old man Ekhminiev has gained a position in the Perm region. Natasha is saddened by all that has transpired. Additionally, Nelly’s serious heart illness worries the family, and she sadly passes away.
Before her death, the legitimate daughter of Prince Valkovsky does not forgive her treacherous father. The depressed Natasha regrets her separation from Ivan Petrovich; she feels she has destroyed their potential happiness together.
The narrator, Ivan Petrovich, gathers these reflections a year after the described events and finds himself alone in a hospital, awaiting his fate.
A Closer Look at the Characters of the Novel
At the outset of the novel, all characters may seem angelic in their forgiving nature; the protagonist forgives his runaway lover and becomes her friend, the fiancée reconciles with the idea of having a mistress, and the mother simply forgives her daughter and awaits her return home! The novel is filled with peaceful ideas and noble friendships, but are the characters truly logical?
Initially, we can consider the narrator, Ivan Petrovich. The protagonist exists primarily as an information bearer; he is not a significant participant in the events, rather akin to a witness. In the first part, we see Ivan’s love for Natasha, but she responds by fleeing to another lover, and he continues to play the role of the supportive friend to the family, being close to Natasha, visiting her father, and comforting her mother, while he himself grapples with his own problems, personal life, and illness. Strangely, we really see nothing of Ivan Petrovich’s life; we do not know about his writing, his work, or even his friends, which indicates a significant level of self-neglect. Thus, the narrator spends an entire year with no events other than the constant mockery from the family about his delays, without even asking about his deteriorating health.
Another example of psychological issues is the child Nelly. This girl embodies a state of complete self-neglect similar to that of the protagonist Ivan Petrovich, due to the cruelty, beating, and humiliation she endured from her caregiver.
All these influences caused the girl to grow up without knowing love; thus, she utterly rejects it and does not believe in its existence or in the idea of forgiveness. She even removes her new clothes because she feels unworthy of them and refuses to live without working as a servant. Nelly’s example is a product of cruelty and unforgiveness, resulting in a strange child who fears strangers and does not believe in human emotions.
The remaining characters revolve solely around selfishness — and selfishness alone — no matter how hard they strive to present forms of love, concern, and care.
Though Prince Valkovsky is the clearest character in his intent to acquire wealth, he still resorts to claiming he is acting in his son’s interest, wishing him the best life in terms of comfort and riches. In contrast, he removes his son from a great love story and manipulates him into courting another girl. He also litigates the innocent, steals, and abandons lovers without regard for their feelings or the feelings of their offspring or family members. Despite his eloquence, the writer has placed the burden of evil firmly on this character.
However, I believe the other characters also exhibit selfishness, even if the writer does not explicitly reveal their intentions.
The second selfish character is the prince’s son Alexei Valkovsky, known as Alyosha. Alyosha’s character, despite being a blend of humor, seriousness, devotion, and betrayal, has been consistent from the start. He does not deceive us in portraying his character; rather, he has been shown to us from the beginning as a reckless boy who lacks agency and independent thoughts. He either becomes affectionate when in love or easily ignores and follows other people. Alyosha’s actions stem not solely from selfishness but also from his naivety and lack of intellect; he elopes with his lover but is unwilling to assume responsibility or marry her while simultaneously displaying deep affection and attachment to her. He does not secure a job to support himself, betrays her, yet suddenly returns to grovel at her feet. It is hard to blame Alyosha, as his character resembles an irresponsible child who cannot be held accountable for his actions. It is this character trait that leads us to blame the other characters for believing him.
The last selfish character is Natasha, the daughter of old Ekhminiev. Natasha escapes for her happiness but ignores many people close to her, especially her father, who was accused of fabricating a love story and theft, and her mother, who has only her daughter in life, along with Ivan Petrovich, who was on the verge of marrying her. Natasha believes they have no right to feel insulted and that the most important thing is completing her love story, even seeking everyone’s blessing with pride, while disregarding the hurt she has caused in their hearts.
Perhaps the writer did not state this outright, but Natasha is a character who has been spoiled, starting from her parents’ immense, unconditional love, as well as the love of Ivan and Alyosha. This may have led her to believe that everyone should provide her with unconditional support and love, giving birth to a spoiled, irresponsible character who could very well be the reason for all this suffering. Natasha could have prevented this fiasco from the start, but she chose the more difficult path, believing that the other characters should repair the damage caused by her actions.
Narrative Techniques
The writer employed a clever method in narrating the work, enabling us to understand the characters and their motivations. Firstly, the novel relies on tracking the fluctuating thoughts of the characters; we follow them from the onset of the crisis, observing the events’ impact on their acceptance or rejection, and their long-term reactions, allowing readers to fully uncover the characters and their motivations.
The second idea is the parallel storytelling of old Smith’s story alongside that of the Ekhminiev family. This parallelism makes the ideas and meanings clear without ambiguity; one story serves as a lesson for the other, though not overtly from the very first line. Indeed, we engaged with the Smith narrative as a separate event until the final part of the work, where it became a significant influencing factor in the characters’ decisions.
Ultimately, “Humiliated and Insulted,” even if not among the most famous works of the author, is undoubtedly an excellent novel overall. It exemplifies the skill in transforming a recurring story about reckless youth into an important book for understanding motivations and ideas.
