Jealousy and Envy Theme Analysis

In The Brothers Karamazov, jealousy serves as a major motivating factor for some of the main characters’ actions. Only Alexei, who has rejected sensuality in favor of communion with God, eludes this fatal weakness. Jealously partly explains Dmitri’s hatred of his father, Fyodor Pavlovich, who is his rival for Grushenka’s affections. Jealousy also causes Katerina Ivanovna’s resentment of Grushenka, due to Dmitri’s willingness to betray her in favor of the notorious woman. Throughout the novel, Dostoevsky characterizes jealousy as a petty emotion that causes characters to behave rashly, both out of fear of losing a beloved’s affection to someone deemed less worthy, and out of envy for a romantic rival’s perceived advantages.

Dmitri assumes, quite rightly, that money is the source of Grushenka’s supposed  interest in Fyodor, just as it is the cause of Dmitri’s contention with his father. Fyodor knows the advantage of his wealth and the power that it gives him over both Dmitri and Grushenka. Therefore, Fyodor uses this leverage to make the case that Dmitri, a younger and more attractive man, is an unworthy suitor. Envy of Dmitri’s youth, and jealousy over Grushenka’s preference for him, cause Fyodor to forget all paternal duties in his effort to humiliate his son, thereby revealing the corrosive effects of envy and jealousy on familial bonds. For instance, during a meeting with the elder monk, Zosima, Fyodor uses the occasion to humiliate his son, Dmitri, for his carelessness with money. Fyodor claims that he has it “on paper” that Dmitri owes him “several thousand.” Worse, Dmitri has won the love of “one of the noblest girls” (Katerina) but continues “visiting one of the local seductresses” (Grushenka). Fyodor speaks to the monk as though he’s seeking a witness to his son’s faults. If he can win the holy man over, then he wins an important ally against Dmitri, who comes off as a self-indulgent fornicator.

Dmitri counters that his father is jealous of his relationship with Grushenka and became so desperate to get him out of the way that he threatened to have Dmitri jailed for his outstanding debts to his father. Using the impoverished Captain Snegiryov as his emissary, Fyodor sends the old captain to Grushenka, offering that she take over Dmitri’s promissory notes, which are in Fyodor’s possession. She could then sue for the money owed and have Dmitri jailed for his inability to pay. Here, Fyodor’s scheming works well on three counts—it preys on Grushenka’s notorious greed, it ensures that Dmitri can no longer bother Fyodor about his supposed land inheritance, and it gets Fyodor’s romantic rival permanently out of his way. In these instances, Fyodor’s jealousy causes him to encourage others to be the worst versions of themselves. His drive to humiliate his son facilitates Grushenka’s greed and pushes the captain to dishonor his position in exchange for much-needed income.

Meanwhile, Katerina, who is Dmitri’s fiancée and Grushenka’s rival for his affections, is jealous of Dmitri’s willingness to do anything, even steal from her, to be with Grushenka. At the same time, Grushenka envies Katerina’s social class and position of respectability. Their rivalry, however, is less about Dmitri than about each woman using her relationship with him to discredit the other. Katerina’s attempt to charm Grushenka into breaking up with Dmitri by telling him that she loves another man backfires when Grushenka refuses to kiss Katerina’s hand after the noblewoman deigned to kiss Grushenka’s. This refusal of mutual respect, in addition to Grushenka’s reminder that Katerina also once offered her body to a man in exchange for money, undermines Katerina’s social power and equalizes the women. Despite Katerina’s wealth and nobility, Grushenka makes the point of demonstrating that they are no different in their occasional reliance on men for money. Grushenka’s petty action exposes her envy for Katerina’s social prestige. Furthermore, Grushenka’s willingness to exploit Katerina’s jealousy over her relationship with Dmitri has less to do with asserting her affections for Dmitri than in trying to expose Katerina’s noble social airs as false. Katerina, however, refuses to acknowledge any parity with Grushenka, whom she refers to as “that creature.” She gives Dmitri three thousand roubles, supposedly for him to send to her sister, as a moral test. She wants to see if he would be so depraved as to steal her money and go off with Grushenka, which he does. Even after Katerina realizes that it isn’t Dmitri that she loves, but Ivan, her pride is offended by the realization that Dmitri was willing to betray her trust so easily and for a woman of such ill-repute. She is, therefore, not jealous of Dmitri’s greater affection for Grushenka but of the other woman’s power to get him to disregard his obligations to Katerina.

None of these petty, jealous rivalries results in a winner. Fyodor Pavlovich’s competition with his son results in his murder and the jailing of Dmitri for that murder. Dmitri wins Grushenka, but it remains uncertain if he will escape from prison, as planned, and fulfill his dream of starting anew with her in the American West. Katerina succeeds in using a damning letter against Dmitri in court, which seems to confess his guilt, but she is now tasked with ensuring his escape to release him from punishment for a crime that he didn’t commit. Dostoevsky spins a cautionary tale in which he offers these characters as various warnings of what can happen when base jealousy overrides one’s better senses.