The Brothers Karamazov Book 9, Chapter 8 Summary

The Evidence of the Witnesses. The Wee One.

  • First up for interrogation is the innkeeper Trifon Borisich, who insists that although he never actually counted the money, he could see by sight that Dmitri was holding 3,000 roubles.
  • He adds that Dmitri even stated that he was going to spend his "6,000," which the interrogators find very interesting because it suggests that Dmitri spent the 3,000 he stole from Katerina and the 3,000 he stole from his father.
  • In addition to the peasants, Kalganov and the Poles are interrogated as well. The interrogators find the Poles' story about how Dmitri tried to bribe them for 3,000 roubles further confirmation of his theft.
  • After Maximov, the interrogators call in Grushenka, who behaves with solemnity and grace. Dmitri declares to her that he did not murder his father, and Grushenka declares her belief in Dmitri's honesty and innocence.
  • By this point, Dmitri is utterly exhausted and falls asleep. He has a dream that he's being driven by a peasant in a cart across the steppes. As they pass through a village, he asks the peasant why everyone is so poor, and why a baby held by one of the impoverished peasant women is crying. He thinks he hears Grushenka telling him that she will stay with him for the rest of her life, then he wakes up.
  • Parfenovich holds a transcript before him and asks Dmitri to sign it, which Dmitri does, without reading it.