ABSTRACT
Contrary to the usual interpretation of this novel, whose hero, Prince Myshkin, is seen as an illustration of goodness and tolerance, Heitor O’Dwyer de Macedo sees him as a pervert – the third in Dostoevsky’s work – who drives women to madness. But the discussion in this chapter focuses on another characteristic of the Prince, which was already present in Crime and Punishment, and which is described here as an indispensable key factor in psychoanalytic treatment: the ability to divine. The author examines in detail the character Nastasya Filippovna who, with Sonya, are the two paradigms underlying the construction of Dostoevsky’s female characters. Taking Nastasya as an example, the author incites us to think about the treatment of trauma, and about the relation between love and sexuality in women’s lives.
