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Sam Borgia
Dr. Curtis
ENGL 412-001
4 May 2015
Alyosha, the Schoolboys, and the Snegiryov Family
In his famous novel The Brothers Karamazov, Dostoevsky uses the subplot of Alyosha’s
interaction with the Snegiryov family and the schoolboys as an allegory for Christ’s love and
redemption. In this allegory, Alyosha represents Christ himself while the schoolboys are his
disciples and the Snegiryov family is the perfect object for the Messiah’s redeeming love.
Through this allegory, Dostoevsky attempts to subtly convey his political philosophy as well as
his theology.
It is important to recognize what exactly Dostoevsky’s political and theological views are
in light of how he promotes these ideas in his writing, particularly in the subplot with the
Snegiryov family. During the time that Dostoevsky was writing his novel, it was becoming
popular for the younger generation of Russians to travel to and be educated in what they deemed
to be the more intellectually advanced nations of Europe such as Germany and France. This
westernized generation would then come back to Russia and diffuse the socialist ideas that they
had learned from these more “advanced” societies because “the Russian intelligentsia, as a
‘class,’ had long felt it its duty to make Western ideas known in Russia” (Reeve 375). This new
generation of socialists seemed to think it their duty to improve society “by means of education
and social reform” (Reeve 375). Dostoevsky’s feelings on the political philosophy of socialism
were somewhat mixed. Because of socialism’s secular foundation that denies the existence of a
Creator God, Dostoevsky could not fully accept this philosophy. Therefore, “Dostoevsky

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despised [socialism] as ‘scientific,’ a bastard of the Enlightenment and the twin of rationalist
atheism; he rejected it, also, because he feared that man might barter freedom for bread” (Howe
47). It seems that he agreed with the goals of socialism but when it came to its foundation and
values, he could not be reconciled with the philosophy.
Instead Dostoevsky proposed that true Russian socialism differed from the idea of
communism that was rising in popularity. He wrote: “[The Russian people] believe that they
shall be finally saved through the universal communion in the name of Christ. This is our
Russian socialism! It is the presence in the Russian people of this sublime unifying Church idea
that you, our European gentlemen, are ridiculing” (Sandoz 656-657). Dostoevsky had more faith
in the Church to carry out the necessary social reforms than the political entity of government or
a group of political activists. Dostoevsky loved the Russian people and often portrayed the
Slavophiles in his writing favorably. According to one source, “The Slavophiles believed that the
Russian peasant commune embodied their vision of a ‘community of love’ in which absolute
truth was attained by transcending the petty tyranny of individualism through the unanimity of
all members of society” (Worobec 2-3). This belief can be interpreted as falling directly in line
with the ideals of Dostoevsky himself. Apparently, Dostoevsky managed to “‘translate’ the
political radicalism of the 1840’s, the radicalism of fraternity and utopia into Christian terms—
highly unorthodox and closer in spirit to primitive Christianity than to any church of his or our
day” (Howe 47). Dostoevsky’s idea of political and social reform was more of a grassroots
movement taken on by individuals within the Church each contributing whatever it was that they
could.
There was one component to the socialist ideas that the liberalized Russians were
spreading that Dostoevsky particularly abhorred. At the same time that they were spreading the

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political philosophy of socialism, these westernized Russians also developed a condescending
and disdainful attitude toward the traditional Russian culture with which they had been raised.
They deemed the folk culture of the peasantry as unsophisticated and unlearned. Dostoevsky, in
turn, reserved his own disdain for those of the “enlightened” generation: “Dostoevsky’s ire was
reserved for the intelligentsia, which he thought could not appreciate the masses’ simple
reverence for their czar” (McLemee). In The Brothers Karamazov, Dostoevsky portrays the
westernizers’ contemptuous view of the Russian people in the bizarre character of Smerdyakov
who remarks, “Can a Russian peasant have feelings comparably to an educated man? With such
lack of education, he can’t have any feelings at all” (Dostoevsky 225). One can clearly detect
Dostoevsky’s scorn for the younger, liberal generation of Russians by expressing their
condescension of the peasant class through the mouth of the despicable murderer Smerdyakov.
Joseph Frank, professor of Slavic languages and Dostoevsky biographer, wrote, “Dostoevsky’s
faith in the innately Christian virtues of the Russian peasantry, which he felt he could discern
even under the repellent exteriors of hardened peasant criminals…became a crucial, if highly
questionable, cornerstone of his later ideology” (qtd. in McLemee). Dostoevsky contends with
the views and ideals of the westernized, and therefore self-proclaimed “enlightened,” Russians of
his time by portraying the Russian peasantry in a more humanized way.
Dostoevsky’s subplot of Alyosha’s compassionate interaction with the peasant Snegiryov
family serves as a stark contrast to the disdainful attitude held by the westernized youth for the
“uncultured” Russian folk. Dostoevsky characterizes the Snegiryov family as the epitome of
Russian peasantry, particularly downtrodden and humiliated for the purpose of demonstrating to
his readers that the Church must act with Christ’s love for truly all people. Since Alyosha is a
clear stand-in for Jesus Christ, Dostoevsky’s portrayal of the Snegiryov family is particularly

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important as it demonstrates the family’s compelling need for a Savior. The members of the
Snegiryov family are the perfect recipients of Alyosha’s active love because, like most of the
people that Jesus encountered and redeemed, they are an impoverished, humiliated, and
spiritually broken family.
A number of factors within the composition of the family help Dostoevsky to ensure that
he portrays the Snegiryov family as particularly pitiable to his audience. The most obvious
causes of the family’s humiliation include their poverty, Dmitri’s shameful attack of the head of
the household, Captain Nikolai Ilyich Snegiryov, and the victimization of his son Ilyusha at the
hands of schoolyard bullies. Beyond these surface-level disgraces, however, the characteristic
that is most indicative of the family’s humiliated state is the fact that Arina Petrovna, the wife
and mother of the household, is afflicted by a mental disability. Although the mentally ill were
generally treated well and in a humane manner at the time in which The Brothers Karamazov is
set, it was becoming more and more difficult for peasant families to provide for their disabled
family members. The institutionalization of the mentally handicapped was on the rise during the
late 1800s and early 1900s: “Most of those institutionalized were of peasant origin, and it has
been suggested that this reflects the erosion of social support structures for peasant families
during this post-emancipation period, and also the peasantry's continuing economic hardships”
(Phillips). Not only does Arina’s disability put a strain on the family as they struggle to support
her, but the fact that she is incapable of carrying out her domestic duties as a wife undoubtedly
cripples the family even more than if Arina simply occupied the position of another crippled
daughter in addition to the hunchbacked Ninochka. The role of the wife and mother, or
bol’shukha, in a peasant household was so important that the Russian peasantry “relegated
childbearing and childrearing to a secondary role out of need” (Worobec 366). The necessity of

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both a husband and a wife carrying out the duties expected of them in a Russian peasant family is
demonstrated in a common Russian saying: “Without a husband is the same as without a head;
without a wife the same as without a brain” (Worobec 344). Arina’s disability most likely made
it difficult, if not impossible, for her to perform necessary household duties such as cooking,
cleaning, and any of the hard labor that was required to keep the household running. Therefore
these duties would have needed to be accomplished by the children, a hired hand (which would
impoverish the family even further), or Snegiryov himself.
In addition to the financial strain that Arina is on the family, Snegiryov also has shame
heaped upon him by his wife’s childlike behavior due to her mental handicap. Her behavior
because of her lack of understanding necessitates the parent-child relationship between her and
her husband as he must mediate between her and her own children. When Kolya presents the
dying Ilyusha with a little cannon in order to cheer him up, Arina embarrassingly makes a scene
by “begging like a little girl” for sole ownership of the cannon even after Snegiryov offers a
compromise of co-ownership with her son Ilyusha (Dostoevsky 547). Finally Ilyusha pleadingly
looks at Kolya and asks him if he can instead give the cannon to his mother in order to placate
her. This scene is especially poignant because Arina demonstrates how little she comprehends
about the gravity of the situation by throwing a temper tantrum like a toddler so that she can
acquire the gift given to her only son on his deathbed.
For this reason, Arina is emotionally inaccessible to her family, which is particularly
lamentable as Captain Snegiryov is left to mourn the slow loss of his son on his own. When
Alyosha first meets Snegiryov, the captain remarks, “I have only one thing left—that
Ilyushechka comes home from school and loves me…I’m quite lonely” (Dostoevsky 202). The
irony of this early confession to Alyosha is particularly bitter because it foreshadows the fact that

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the one thing in life that Snegiryov had left to live for and brought him joy in life would soon be
taken away from him, and on top of that, he would receive no support from his wife and
daughters. One scene in which Captain Snegiryov and the rest of the family are just beginning to
understand the seriousness of Ilyusha’s illness is particularly heart-rending: “Putting [Ilyusha]
back to bed, [Snegiryov] would run out to the entryway, to a dark corner, and, leaning his
forehead against the wall, would begin to weep, shaking and sobbing uncontrollably, stifling his
voice so that his sobs would not be heard by Ilyushechka” (Dostoevsky 540). Snegiryov feels so
completely alone in his grief that he feels the only solution is for him to suffer in isolation and to
cover up the pain from anyone else, especially his son.
In order to mask the pain, Snegiryov turns to making a fool of himself and constantly
cracking jokes that no one except for “the half-witted mama” found funny (Dostoevsky 540).
Captain Snegiryov’s antics, although no doubt an effort to lighten the mood and cheer up his
family as well as himself, only serve to further humiliate Ilyusha: “Though the boy tried not to
show that he found [his father’s clowning and buffoonery] unpleasant, it pained his heart to
realize that his father was socially humiliated, and he never for a moment forgot the
‘whiskbroom’ and that ‘terrible day’” (Dostoevsky 540). Thus, the Snegiryov family is
composed entirely of disgraced people: Varvara, the university student who aggressively and
proudly attempts to protect her family from shame (although, unfortunately, she does so in vain);
Ninochka, the hunchbacked and crippled daughter who feels immensely guilty for being a strain
on her family and has even claimed to be “a burden” to them who does not even deserve their
care (Dostoevsky 210); Arina, the mother who is incapable of fulfilling her matriarchal duties
and even comprehending what exactly is going on in the situations around her; Captain
Snegiryov, the father who has continually been humiliated in front of his family and is unable to

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provide for them adequately; and Ilyusha, the son who has witnessed the traumatic incident of
his father’s disgrace firsthand and finds himself victimized by his own peers when he attempts to
stand up for his father’s reputation.
In the midst of creating a most pitiful family of Russian peasants, one that the
westernized class would undoubtedly deem as a family of plebeians, Dostoevsky instead sends in
his protagonist and messianic hero Alyosha Karamazov to offer the family redemption through
carrying out the late monk Zosima’s concept of active love. In accordance with active love,
Alyosha manages to accomplish the thankless task of reconciling the schoolboys to Ilyusha as his
health steadily declines: “Though all [of the boys] were ready, like Smurov, to deny that is was
Alyosha who had reconciled and brought them together with Ilyusha, still it was so. His whole
art in this case lay in getting them together one by one, without ‘sentimental slop,’ but as if quite
unintentionally and inadvertently” (Dostoevsky 538-539). Alyosha realizes that he must subtly
persuade the boys to visit Ilyusha and make them believe that it was each of their own ideas to
see Ilyusha, otherwise Ilyusha would see through the ruse and an act meant for comfort would
instead bring the young boy further disappointment upon perceiving any sort of reluctance on the
part of his peers. Alyosha, with great humility, gladly chooses to put himself aside in reuniting
the young boys to their classmate without concern for receiving any sort of gratitude or credit for
himself.
Additionally, it should be noted that these boys had become bitter, hostile enemies of
Ilyusha prior to Alyosha’s influence on them. Although Ilyusha provoked the further attacks with
rocks from his schoolmates by stabbing his once close friend Kolya with a penknife, Alyosha is
able to help his young disciples to forgive and love Ilyusha. Alyosha’s representation of Christ
could not be more clear in this instance as he literally teaches his followers to love their enemies.

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As the representative for Christ, Alyosha’s greatest concern is the diffusion and perpetuation of
love rather than his own glorification: “The power of love cannot be underestimated for
Dostoevsky. Aside from the metaphysical components of Christian love, he alludes to a love's
pragmatic effect in creating a harmonious society and happy individuals” (Moran). The power of
love, as shown through the redemption of the Snegiryov family with the help of a single man, fits
perfectly within and clearly portrays Dostoevsky’s ideal grassroots movement for reformation
with the people of the Church as vessels and catalysts for social change and building of
community.
Dostoevsky very succinctly conveys his confidence in the effectiveness of this ideal at
the conclusion of the novel. After the exceedingly sad funeral of Ilyusha, Alyosha meets with his
disciples around the stone under which Ilyusha had wanted to be buried. Here Alyosha makes
one last speech to the boys urging them to not forget about all that they had been through
together, the love that they had shared, their friend Ilyusha, and the certainty of eternal life
through Christ. After this speech Alyosha and the boys leave, walking “hand in hand” and full of
hope as they head over to the memorial dinner to keep the mourning Snegiryov family company
at their home (Dostoevsky 776). One political scholar writes, “The scene concludes with Kolya,
Ilyusha, and the captain embracing one another as a community united by suffering, pathos, and
the Christian hope of eternity” (Trepanier). Through the actions of one individual, an entire
microcosm full of the redemptive love of God has been created.
Dostoevsky subtly yet clearly conveys to his audience his belief that social reform rests in
the hands of individuals in the Church who spread the love of God to those people who are the
most downtrodden and broken in spirit. Dostoevsky accomplishes this task by creating an
allegory for Christ Himself, His disciples, and those in need of a Savior through Alyosha, the

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schoolboys, and the Snegiryov family, respectively. Dostoevsky’s choice to redeem a thoroughly
traditional and common family of the Russian peasantry is also a defiant jab at the increasing
population of westernized Russians who were disdainful of their homeland and its people.

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Works Cited
Dostoevsky, Fyodor. The Brothers Karamazov. New York: Everyman's Library, 1990. Print.
Howe, Irving. "Dostoevsky: The Politics of Salvation." The Kenyon Review 17.1 (1955): 42-68.
JSTOR. Web. 2 May 2015.
McLemee, Scott. "Wrestling Dostoevsky." The Chronicle of Higher Education 48.36 (2002):
A18. ProQuest Central. Web. 3 May 2015.
Moran, John P. "The Roots of Terrorist Motivation: Shame, Rage, and Violence in The Brothers
Karamazov." Perspectives on Political Science 38.4 (2009): 187-96. ProQuest Central.
Web. 2 May 2015.
Phillips, Sarah D. ""There Are No Invalids in the USSR!": A Missing Soviet Chapter in the New
Disability History." Disability Studies Quarterly 29.3 (2009). Disability Studies
Quarterly. The Ohio State University Libraries. Web. 2 May 2015.
Reeve, Helen S. "Utopian Socialism in Russian Literature: 1840's-1860's." American Slavic and
East European Review 18.3 (1959): 374-93. JSTOR. Web. 2 May 2015.
Sandoz, Ellis. "Philosophical Dimensions of Dostoevsky's Politics." The Journal of Politics 40.3
(1978): 648-74. JSTOR. Web. 2 May 2015.
Trepanier, Lee. "The Politics and Experience of Active Love in The Brothers Karamazov."
Perspectives on Political Science 38.4 (2009): 197-205. ProQuest Central. Web. 2 May
2015.
Worobec, Christine Diane. Family, Community, and Land in Peasant Russia, 1860-1905. U of
Toronto School of Graduate Studies, 1984. Web. 2 May 2015.