The Brothers Karamazov (Dramatized) characters

Appears from the start

The wealthy, vulgar father of Dmitri, Ivan, and Alyosha. He neglected his sons, treats serious matters as occasions for performance, and is locked in a bitter financial and romantic rivalry with Dmitri.

Also known as Mitya

Appears from the start

Fyodor's passionate eldest son, a former army officer. Impulsive, extravagant, and intensely conscious of honor, he believes his father has withheld an inheritance and competes with him for Grushenka's love.

Also known as Vanya

Appears from the start

Fyodor's intellectually formidable middle son. He rejects easy religious answers to innocent suffering and keeps an emotional distance from the family conflicts, though his ideas strongly affect those around him.

Also known as Alyosha

Appears from the start

The youngest Karamazov brother, a novice at the local monastery and disciple of Elder Zosima. Gentle without being naive, he moves between hostile groups as a trusted listener and seeks active love rather than abstract judgment.

Appears from the start

An elderly monk and Alyosha's spiritual teacher. Visitors seek his guidance because he combines religious authority with attention to ordinary suffering and personal responsibility.

Also known as Katya

First appears in chapter 2

Dmitri's proud and generous fiancée. She once accepted his financial help during a family crisis and later entrusted him with money, binding love, gratitude, humiliation, and debt together.

Also known as Grushenka

First appears in chapter 3

A young woman courted by both Fyodor and Dmitri. Known socially as a calculating temptress, she is waiting to learn whether an earlier lover will return and alternates between mockery, wounded pride, and a desire for sincere attachment.

First appears in chapter 2

Fyodor's servant and reputed illegitimate son, raised in the household after his mother's death. Intelligent, resentful, and affected by epilepsy, he studies Ivan's arguments about morality with unsettling seriousness.

First appears in chapter 2

A seminarian acquainted with Alyosha who mixes religious ambition with gossip and social calculation. He is clever at identifying other people's weaknesses and often resents Alyosha's unforced goodness.

Also known as Lise

First appears in chapter 3

The witty, physically disabled daughter of Madame Khokhlakova. She has known Alyosha since childhood and tests his seriousness through teasing, affection, and abrupt changes of mood.

First appears in chapter 5

An impoverished retired captain whom Dmitri has publicly humiliated. Fiercely protective of his family's dignity, he refuses easy charity even while his household urgently needs help.

First appears in chapter 5

Captain Snegiryov's school-age son, ill and defensive after witnessing his father's humiliation. His pain contributes to a feud with other boys, but he remains deeply attached to his family and to his dog.

Also known as Kolya

First appears in chapter 11

A confident schoolboy admired by the younger boys around him. Proud of his independent ideas and theatrical courage, he also cares sincerely for the sick Ilyusha despite a period of estrangement.