Dmitri Fyodorovitch Karamazov

Dmitri Alexey Fyodorovitch Karamazov is the eldest Alexey Fyodorovitch Karamazov son and the novel's tragic hero, a man of passionate temperament whose life is consumed by conflicting desires and mounting desperation. A former military officer, he carries the bearing and discipline of his service alongside an emotionalism and sensuality that frequently overwhelm his judgment. His relationship with his father is one of simmering hatred, rooted in financial disputes over his maternal inheritance and his father's shameless pursuit of his own mistress, the young woman Dmitri loves. This rivalry becomes pathologically intense, poisoning Dmitri's mind and driving him to extremes of rage and self-destruction.

Dmitri is capable of genuine nobility—he treats his brothers with respect, shows kindness to those he encounters, and possesses a romantic idealism that contrasts sharply with his sensual appetites. Yet he is undone by his inability to master his passions. His accusation in his father's death forces him to confront the terrible gap between his intentions and his actions, between the man he wishes to be and the man his appetites and rage have made him. Throughout his ordeal, Dmitri oscillates between defiance and despair, his large, expressive eyes reflecting the turbulent inner life of a soul at war with itself.