Yes, if you are wondering, I am still reading The Brothers Karamazov. To be fair, the book is nine hundred and eighty-five pages long, and I have made it through five hundred and seven of them. And I am still struck by the character of Father Zosima, even though he died chapters ago.
At present, Dmitri is frantically trying to find three thousand dollars to repay Katerina the money he squandered. He wants to regain his dignity and, if possible, marry Grushenka honorably. This is almost comedic, considering he is one of the most dishonorable men in the book, aside from his father. He has gone to everyone he can think of: Grushenka’s benefactor, a drunkard, a family friend who advised him to go work in the gold mines. No one can help him. His father, Fyodor Pavlovich, is fighting with him over the same woman. The two fools have fallen in love with Grushenka, a woman who has now run back to the man who once scorned her. Neither father nor son knows this, so both are waiting anxiously for her to declare her love.
Meanwhile, I am waiting to see if Alyosha, the youngest brother, will still marry Lise. Aside from Father Zosima, Alyosha is my favorite character. He embodies what a Christian is. He feels the strain of loving people who consistently choose destructive paths. He endures crises of faith, yet finds that faith has held him even when he thought he had lost it. He discovers Christ with him in places he believed were empty. Alyosha is a light in a dark world. People mock his innocence, but they also cherish it.
Then there is Ivan, the brother caught in between. He calls himself an atheist, but I am not convinced. You cannot be as angry at God as he is unless you believe God is real enough to be angry with. He has gone off to Moscow to escape his turmoil and convince himself he does not love Katerina.
But it is Zosima whose words follow me off the page.
In my real life, I hear him say,
“Dear one, do not give way to melancholy. Be happy in the Lord and filled with joy. Serve others and love them well.”
I tend to love stories with strong father figures. Father of the Bride, Guess Who, and To Kill a Mockingbird come to mind. My oldest daughter once asked me, after we watched Father of the Bride, “Do you think you love this movie so much because you didn’t have a father?” She does not say much, but when she does her words bite. Her question choked me up, because as introspective as I am, I had never connected those dots.
Bernie Mac, in Guess Who, was the chaotic-but-devoted father.
Steve Martin was the tender, bewildered father trying to let go.
Atticus Finch was wisdom and moral strength, carrying the weight of his times.
And now Father Zosima joins them.
He is what the love of Christ looks like in a surrendered heart.
If this post spoke to you…
Share it with someone who might need it, too. Whether it’s a quiet encouragement or a new way of seeing things, these reflections are meant to be passed along.
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Martina Griffin is a Catholic convert, writer, wife, and mother of four. She writes about faith, motherhood, beauty, books, and the quiet ache of transformation. A lover of popcorn, deep questions, and old classics, she shares her heart at Big Bowl of Popcorn—one post at a time. Instagram | Facebook | Email Me |
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