In The Idiot Dostoyevsky creates a character who perfectly realizes the ideals of the Russian Orthodox religion: purity, compassion, sacrifice of self for the welfare of others, and similar traits; in short, a Christ-like figure in Russian dress. Generally referred to as ‘the prince,’ he is a moderately wealthy member of the aristocracy, Dostoyevsky throws this innocent into dramatic situations which serve to demonstrate his character as well as to show the devious motivations of the various Russian types that he meets.
Women are all attracted to him—it helps that he is handsome and humble—but they always end up angry at him. They pin all their romantic fantasies on him, and being a compassionate and sensitive type, he wants to please all of them, without regard for his own needs and preferences; he is completely lacking in both ego and sex drive, consistent with a spiritual hero.
Men are all skeptical of his purity—though they may instinctively like him—and they try to take advantage of his gullibility and malleability.
The great problem is that the prince has to chose between two women. One he perceives as pure, although she is unpredictable and cruel; the other perceives herself to be evil, although she is victim of a fatherly type of sexual predator. The prince loves the pure girl, but his compassion is aroused by the sadness and madness of the guilty woman, who also treats him badly, alternately clinging to him and running away.
In the end, the prince goes crazy and has to be conducted to a sanitarium in Switzerland, showing that it is impossible to live in Russian society by the ideals of Russian orthodoxy; showing that spiritual perfection is impractical and impracticable in the real world.
