The Brothers Karamazov Characters
Every major character in The Brothers Karamazov by Fyodor Dostoyevsky, with a portrait, who they are and the chapters they appear in.
Dmitri Fyodorovich KaramazovProtagonist · 69 chaptersEldest Karamazov son, stormy officer driven by passion, jealousy, honor, and desperate attempts to atone and win Grushenka.
Alexei Fyodorovich KaramazovMajor character · 68 chaptersYoung novice monk (Alyosha) whose compassion and faith mediate family conflicts and inspire others toward goodness.
Fyodor Pavlovich KaramazovAntagonist · 53 chaptersA dissolute, greedy provincial landowner whose lechery, mockery, and neglect ignite the Karamazov family’s conflicts.
Ivan Fyodorovich KaramazovMajor character · 53 chaptersThe intellectual middle Karamazov brother: a skeptical thinker whose ideas and crises drive the novel’s moral conflicts.
Katerina IvanovnaMajor character · 36 chaptersA proud, highborn woman torn between duty to Dmitri and a complex, abiding bond with Ivan; she acts from honor, pride, and self-sacrifice.
Pavel Fyodorovich SmerdyakovMajor character · 36 chaptersTaciturn household servant, rumored illegitimate son of Fyodor Pavlovich, epileptic, calculating and unsettlingly rational.
Agrafena Alexandrovna SvetlovaMajor character · 34 chaptersA magnetic, mercurial woman—Grushenka (Agrafena Alexandrovna Svetlova)—whose charm, past wounds, and shifting loyalties drive rivalries and trial testimony.
Grigory VasilievichMajor character · 28 chaptersThe long-serving, devout household servant who raised Smerdyakov and tries to keep order amid the Karamazovs’ chaos.
Father ZosimaMajor character · 21 chaptersA beloved Orthodox starets whose compassion, teaching, and death shape Alyosha and the moral center of the novel.
RakitinMinor character · 19 chaptersA cynical former seminarian turned gossiping would‑be journalist who flatters, pries, and manipulates around the Karamazovs.
Lise KhokhlakovMajor character · 18 chaptersThe invalid, capricious daughter of Madame Hohlakov and a flirtatious, volatile youthful love interest of Alyosha Karamazov.
Marfa IgnatievnaMinor character · 16 chaptersGrigory’s wife and long‑serving housekeeper who raised and nurses the foundling Smerdyakov in the Karamazov household.
Captain SnegiryovMajor character · 13 chaptersA dismissed army captain living in poverty whose pride and desperate love for his sick son expose humiliation and dignity.- GGrushenkaMajor character · 13 chaptersA passionate, enigmatic woman who captivates Dmitri and becomes the focus of jealousy, scandal, and a dramatic courtroom display.
Ippolit KirillovichAntagonist · 12 chaptersThe zealous district prosecutor who frames Dmitri as the moral and social culprit and delivers impassioned, psychological speeches against him.
Father PaissyMajor character · 11 chaptersAn austere, scholarly monk and devoted follower of Elder Zosima who offers steady spiritual counsel and doctrinal rigor.
FetyukovichMajor character · 11 chaptersCelebrated St. Petersburg defense attorney who defends Dmitri Karamazov at the trial with rhetorical finesse and strategic cross‑examination.- MMaximovMinor character · 11 chaptersA sentimental, grateful dependent of Grushenka who drifts between servility, clumsy loyalty and comic pathos.
- FFenyaMinor character · 10 chaptersA young servant in Grushenka’s household who brings messages and bears witness to crises around Dmitri’s violence and arrest.
Ilyusha SnegiryovMinor character · 10 chaptersThe sick, proud son of Captain Snegiryov whose illness and death draw Alyosha and the schoolboys into a moral lesson about compassion and honor.
Pyotr Alexandrovich MiusovMinor character · 10 chaptersA wealthy, Westernized landowner and distant Karamazov relative who visits the monastery as a fashionable skeptic and social foil.
Kolya KrasotkinMajor character · 9 chaptersA precocious, self-assured schoolboy whose wit, leadership, and concealed tenderness shape the boys' circle around Ilusha and Alyosha.- MMarya KondratyevnaMinor character · 9 chaptersThe daughter of the household who tends to Smerdyakov and runs to raise the alarm after the attack; a quick, practical witness.
- NNikolay ParfenovitchMajor character · 9 chaptersThe investigating magistrate who conducts Dmitri’s inquest, enforcing procedure while trying to show officious kindness.
- KKalganovMinor character · 8 chaptersA local admirer and companion of Grushenka who appears among the party crowd and mourns Dmitri's downfall.
Kuzma SamsonovMinor character · 8 chaptersA wealthy, cautious local merchant and former protector of Grushenka who manipulates supplicants to protect his interests.- MMadame HohlakovMinor character · 8 chaptersAn anxious, decorative Moscow matron and mother of Lise, prone to gossip, theatrical worry, and protective efforts for her daughter.
Sofya IvanovnaMajor character · 8 chaptersTalkative, status-conscious town patroness, mother of Lise Khokhlakov and a social hub who provides comic and social context.- TTrifon BorissovitchMinor character · 8 chaptersA visiting Polish gentleman at Grushenka’s revels who later testifies about Dmitri’s boast of three thousand roubles.
- DDoctor HerzenstubeMinor character · 6 chaptersA pious, obstinate local physician called to treat Ilusha and Smerdyakov and to testify at Dmitri’s trial.
- FFather IosifMinor character · 6 chaptersA moderate, steady monk at the monastery who listens, intervenes in debates, and helps maintain order around Elder Zossima.
- NNinaMinor character · 6 chaptersThe Snegiryov household's gentle, hunchbacked daughter who tends the sick boy and bears the family's grief.
- PPerezvonMinor character · 6 chaptersKolya Krasotkin’s shaggy, clever dog who performs tricks and brings momentary comfort to the sick Ilusha.
Adelaida Ivanovna MiusovaMinor character · 3 chaptersFyodor Pavlovich’s first wife from the Miusov family; mother of Dmitri whose flight and death destabilize the Karamazovs.
Father FerapontMinor character · 3 chaptersA reclusive hermit-monk, severe ascetic and visionary who challenges the monastery's understanding of sanctity.
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