Summary
Alyosha visits Lise, who has deteriorated dramatically in just three days. What starts as typical teenage rebellion quickly reveals something much darker. Lise confesses disturbing fantasies about setting fires, torturing others, and being tortured herself. She claims to want evil, to destroy everything good, and admits to reading violent stories that both horrify and fascinate her. The conversation takes a chilling turn when she describes a gruesome tale about child murder, claiming she imagines herself as the perpetrator while eating pineapple compote. Yet beneath this shocking confession lies a desperate plea for connection. She reveals she's sent for someone else to share these dark thoughts, only to be dismissed with laughter. Her final moments with Alyosha are telling: she begs him to save her while simultaneously pushing him away, then secretly passes him a letter for Ivan. After he leaves, she deliberately injures herself, calling herself a wretch. This chapter explores how trauma and isolation can manifest as a fascination with destruction, and how sometimes the most disturbing behavior is actually a cry for help. Lise represents the human tendency to choose familiar pain over uncertain healing, and her connection to Alyosha shows how crucial it is to have someone who will listen without judgment, even to our darkest thoughts.
Coming Up in Chapter 73
As Alyosha carries Lise's mysterious letter to Ivan, he's about to witness a revelation that will shake the very foundations of faith and morality. What secret has Ivan been harboring, and how will it change everything Alyosha believes about good and evil?
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An excerpt from the original text.(~500 words)
A Little Demon Going in to Lise, he found her half reclining in the invalid‐chair, in which she had been wheeled when she was unable to walk. She did not move to meet him, but her sharp, keen eyes were simply riveted on his face. There was a feverish look in her eyes, her face was pale and yellow. Alyosha was amazed at the change that had taken place in her in three days. She was positively thinner. She did not hold out her hand to him. He touched the thin, long fingers which lay motionless on her dress, then he sat down facing her, without a word. “I know you are in a hurry to get to the prison,” Lise said curtly, “and mamma’s kept you there for hours; she’s just been telling you about me and Yulia.” “How do you know?” asked Alyosha. “I’ve been listening. Why do you stare at me? I want to listen and I do listen, there’s no harm in that. I don’t apologize.” “You are upset about something?” “On the contrary, I am very happy. I’ve only just been reflecting for the thirtieth time what a good thing it is I refused you and shall not be your wife. You are not fit to be a husband. If I were to marry you and give you a note to take to the man I loved after you, you’d take it and be sure to give it to him and bring an answer back, too. If you were forty, you would still go on taking my love‐letters for me.” She suddenly laughed. “There is something spiteful and yet open‐hearted about you,” Alyosha smiled to her. “The open‐heartedness consists in my not being ashamed of myself with you. What’s more, I don’t want to feel ashamed with you, just with you. Alyosha, why is it I don’t respect you? I am very fond of you, but I don’t respect you. If I respected you, I shouldn’t talk to you without shame, should I?” “No.” “But do you believe that I am not ashamed with you?” “No, I don’t believe it.” Lise laughed nervously again; she spoke rapidly. “I sent your brother, Dmitri Fyodorovitch, some sweets in prison. Alyosha, you know, you are quite pretty! I shall love you awfully for having so quickly allowed me not to love you.” “Why did you send for me to‐day, Lise?” “I wanted to tell you of a longing I have. I should like some one to torture me, marry me and then torture me, deceive me and go away. I don’t want to be happy.” “You are in love with disorder?” “Yes, I want disorder. I keep wanting to set fire to the house. I keep imagining how I’ll creep up and set fire to the house on the sly; it must be on the sly. They’ll try to put it out, but it’ll go on burning. And I shall know and say nothing. Ah, what silliness! And...
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Intelligence Amplifier™ Analysis
The Road of Destructive Attention-Seeking
When normal requests for connection fail, people escalate to increasingly destructive behavior to guarantee a response.
Why This Matters
Connect literature to life
This chapter teaches how to recognize when disturbing behavior is actually a desperate attempt to feel seen and heard.
Practice This Today
This week, notice when someone in your life escalates from normal complaints to dramatic confessions—respond to their underlying need for connection before they reach crisis mode.
Now let's explore the literary elements.
Terms to Know
Invalid chair
A wheeled chair for people who couldn't walk, the 19th century version of a wheelchair. In this era, physical disability often meant complete social isolation, especially for young women who were expected to be ornamental.
Modern Usage:
We still see how physical limitations can lead to emotional isolation, though we have better support systems today.
Hysteria
A catch-all diagnosis for women's emotional distress in the 1800s. Doctors believed women's minds were fragile and prone to dramatic episodes, often dismissing real psychological pain as feminine weakness.
Modern Usage:
We still sometimes dismiss women's mental health concerns or label emotional expression as 'being dramatic.'
Self-harm as communication
When someone hurts themselves to express pain they can't put into words. In Dostoevsky's time, this behavior was seen as sinful or crazy rather than a cry for help.
Modern Usage:
We now recognize self-harm as often being about emotional regulation and communication when someone feels unheard.
Intrusive thoughts
Disturbing thoughts that pop into your mind against your will. Lise describes violent fantasies that both horrify and fascinate her, showing how trauma can manifest as dark imagination.
Modern Usage:
Mental health professionals now understand that having disturbing thoughts doesn't make you a bad person - it's how you respond that matters.
Confession culture
In Orthodox Russian society, admitting your sins was seen as purifying. But Lise confesses not to be forgiven, but to shock and test whether anyone will still accept her.
Modern Usage:
We see this in how people overshare trauma on social media, testing whether others will still love them at their worst.
Emotional manipulation
Using guilt, shock, or pity to control how others respond to you. Lise pushes Alyosha away while begging him to save her, creating an impossible situation.
Modern Usage:
This pattern shows up in relationships where someone creates drama to test loyalty or get attention.
Characters in This Chapter
Lise
Troubled young woman
A physically disabled teenager whose isolation has turned into fascination with violence and self-destruction. She confesses disturbing fantasies to Alyosha while simultaneously pushing him away, showing how trauma can make someone crave and fear connection at the same time.
Modern Equivalent:
The friend who posts concerning things on social media then gets angry when people try to help
Alyosha
Compassionate listener
Remains calm and non-judgmental even when Lise confesses her darkest thoughts. He represents the kind of person who can hear someone's pain without being shocked or running away, though he struggles with how to actually help.
Modern Equivalent:
The friend everyone calls during a crisis because they won't judge you
Yulia
Servant/confidante
Mentioned as someone Lise's mother discusses with Alyosha. Represents the household dynamics and how servants often knew family secrets but had no power to address them.
Modern Equivalent:
The family friend who sees the dysfunction but can't really intervene
Key Quotes & Analysis
"I want to do evil and I want to burn everything up."
Context: When confessing her violent fantasies to Alyosha
This reveals how depression and trauma can manifest as destructive urges. Lise isn't truly evil - she's in so much pain that destruction feels like the only way to make the world match how she feels inside.
In Today's Words:
I'm hurting so bad I want to burn it all down.
"You are not fit to be a husband. If I were to marry you and give you a note to take to the man I loved after you, you'd take it and be sure to give it to him."
Context: Explaining why she rejected Alyosha's marriage proposal
She's testing his loyalty while rejecting him, creating a no-win situation. This shows how trauma makes people push away what they need most, expecting to be abandoned anyway.
In Today's Words:
You're too good for me and that's exactly why I can't be with you.
"I am a wretch! I am a wretch!"
Context: After deliberately slamming her finger in the door
Physical pain becomes a way to express emotional pain she can't otherwise communicate. The self-harm is both punishment and a desperate attempt to make her inner suffering visible.
In Today's Words:
I hate myself and I need everyone to know how much I'm hurting.
Thematic Threads
Isolation
In This Chapter
Lise's deterioration stems from feeling completely alone with disturbing thoughts, having no one who takes her seriously
Development
Builds on earlier themes of characters struggling with spiritual and emotional isolation
In Your Life:
You might recognize this when you feel like no one truly listens until you're in crisis mode
Self-destruction
In This Chapter
Lise deliberately injures herself after Alyosha leaves, choosing familiar pain over uncertain healing
Development
Connects to the broader pattern of characters choosing suffering they understand over growth they can't control
In Your Life:
You might see this when you sabotage good relationships because dysfunction feels more familiar
Connection
In This Chapter
Despite pushing Alyosha away, Lise desperately wants him to save her and secretly gives him a letter for Ivan
Development
Reinforces the novel's central theme that human connection is both desperately needed and terrifyingly vulnerable
In Your Life:
You might recognize this push-pull dynamic when you want help but fear being truly seen
Judgment
In This Chapter
Lise shares her darkest thoughts with Alyosha because he listens without condemning, unlike others who laugh at her
Development
Continues exploring how non-judgmental presence can be healing while judgment drives people deeper into darkness
In Your Life:
You might notice how differently you behave around people who listen versus those who immediately judge or dismiss
Power
In This Chapter
Lise's violent fantasies give her a sense of control when she feels powerless in her actual life
Development
Builds on themes of how powerlessness can manifest in destructive ways throughout the novel
In Your Life:
You might see this when feeling powerless leads to fantasies of control or revenge in your own mind
You now have the context. Time to form your own thoughts.
Discussion Questions
- 1
What specific behaviors does Lise confess to Alyosha, and how does she react when he doesn't judge her?
analysis • surface - 2
Why does Lise share increasingly shocking thoughts with Alyosha, and what happens when she feels he might leave?
analysis • medium - 3
Where do you see people today using crisis or drama to get attention when normal requests are ignored?
application • medium - 4
How would you respond to someone who shares disturbing thoughts with you - both setting boundaries and showing you care?
application • deep - 5
What does Lise's behavior teach us about the difference between wanting to be bad and wanting to be seen?
reflection • deep
Critical Thinking Exercise
Track the Escalation Pattern
Think of someone in your life who seems to create drama or crisis to get attention. Map their pattern: What do they try first? What happens when that doesn't work? How do they escalate? What finally gets people to respond? Then consider: what might they actually need underneath all the drama?
Consider:
- •Look for the unmet need behind the dramatic behavior
- •Notice how others respond to mild requests versus crisis situations
- •Consider how you might give attention before the crisis hits
Journaling Prompt
Write about a time when you had to escalate your own behavior to get someone to take you seriously. What were you really asking for? How might you ask for it more directly next time?
Coming Up Next...
Chapter 73: A Hymn and a Secret
What lies ahead teaches us to maintain hope and purpose even in desperate circumstances, and shows us the difference between intellectual knowledge and lived wisdom. These patterns appear in literature and life alike.