The Brothers Karamazov Part 3, Book VII
Book VII - Alyosha
Father Paisy watches over the arrangement of the final rites and he observes Alyosha crying uncontrollably. He fails to console him and returns to the preparations with teary eyes. A putrid smell begins to issue from the body of the elder, and the narrator talks of the weather, the conditions in which the body had been kept, as well as the illness that had taken him to death. Yet, the monks at the monastery operate under the belief that pious men don’t putrify according to legend and examples of former elders. Monks and Seculars begin to say, “judgment of god differs from that of God,” as they argue that Elder Zosima had perhaps been sinful. Father Fontane appears and accuses the deceased elder of, having cherry preserves, and drinking tea, among other ridiculous things. Father Paisy attempts to dismiss him but Ferapont causes a scene with violent sobs as he praises God for his judgment. Father Paisy is disheartened at the condition of the monastery, and feels sad for Alyosha who had witnessed the incident. He attempts to comfort him but finds him unyielding.
The narrator explains that Alyosha was upset at the lack of a miracle as he had wanted his elder’s death to be marked divinely. Instead, people had cast aspersions upon the person he considered to be most holy. Alyosha was tortured and he was questioning his god when Rakitin found him there. Rakitin notes Alyosha’s melancholy and mocks him for wanting miracles. He sees this sadness in Alyosha as an opportunity for him to prove that Alyosha was just as corrupt as him He offers him Vodka and Sausage and asks him to go over to Grushenka. He is surprised to see the quickness with which Alyosha seems to agree, and he revels inwards.
They find Grushenka dressed up and awaiting a mysterious message, although she is worried about Dmitri finding her home. She is very happy to see Alyosha, and immediately jumps into his lap and Alyosha doesn’t react. Rakitin asks her about where she is going and learns that she had received word from her old paramour, who had broken her heart when she had just been a very young girl. She explains that he is going to send for her tonight, and Rakitin informs her that Alyosha’s elder had passed away. Grushenks leaps out of his lap and admonishes Rakitin for his disrespectful attitude toward Alyosha’s grief. Alyosha is deeply moved by her compassion and calls her his sister. She in turn is deeply affected by the relationship between the two of them. She tells him a fable of the onion when a woman had been allowed to be pulled out of the fiery lake of hell with an onion she had given to a beggar, which had been her only kind deed. Therefore she believes that she had perhaps given him an onion with her compassion, her only kind deed. She confesses that she had plotted to destroy Alyosha because she had thought he would hate a woman like her. She had heard of his piety and wanted to destroy him. She had even promised Rakitin money for bringing him and hands the seminarian his money. She is moved by his remarks because he is the first man to pity her, and he explains that it's nothing but an onion.
Grushenka reveals that she had been deeply bitter with the man who had broken her heart and had spent the past years dreaming of vengeance. She asks Alyosha for his spiritual guidance, and Alyosha explains that she had already forgiven the man. The word for the man arrives, and Grushenka parts with them. She bids Alyosha to give Dmitri her parting message, that he had been a good man, and that Grushenka had only ever loved him for an hour. On their way back, Rakitin is furious with Alyosha and mocks him for performing a miracle by converting a lost soul. He leaves Alyosha in anger, and the young man returns to his elder’s coffin. He prays in deep piety and falls asleep on his knees as he hears Father Paisy talk of Cana of Galilee. He suddenly realizes that the first miracle had been for joy and gaiety and not doom. He remembers the words of his elder that encouraged him to spread joy and forgiveness. His thoughts become a dream and he has a vision of the elder at the wedding where Jesus had turned water into wine
The elder tells him that everyone there has given just one onion and encourages him to continue. Alyosha has a deep spiritual realization and awakens as a true warrior. He leaves the monastery three days later.
Analysis
The desire for a miracle is a motif that is utilized throughout the book, whether it is Dmitri hoping that he will secure the money he needs through one, or Alyosha’s desire that the passing of his elder should be marked with divine attention. The whole episode with the putrefaction of the elder’s body creates a similarity between Job and Zosima. Job was outcast from society because of the belief that wealth was a consequence of God’s favor, and so God disproves this himself. Like Job, Zossima is condemned by the monks because they believe the putrid smell is a judgment from God. Ferapont’s zealous breakdown is the height of delusional outrage and it displays the weakness of his faith, which has no room for charity. Alyosha finds a miracle, perhaps it doesn’t come to him in the form of the elder, but in the form of Grushenka. This miracle between Alyosha and Grushenka indicates the strength of Alyosha’s faith. Afterward, Alyosha realizes that Jesus’s first miracle had been one of love much like Alyosha’s miracle with Grushenka. This realization transforms his moment of suffering into one of love. Furthermore, Alyosha overcomes the devil in this section, as Rakitin, the devil figure, fails to lead him down the path of sin. His perception of Alyosha’s grief as an opportune time for corrupting him indicates his lack of faith and his belief in base emotions such as greed and lust.
