The Idiot Part I Chapter 3

In which the young Prince Muishkin arrives in St Petersburg and, after an awkward yet sincere introduction to General Epanchin, finds himself tentatively welcomed into a genteel household, where conversations reveal tensions and intrigues concerning a certain beautiful woman of troubled reputation. The prince’s simple, unaffected manner and delicate health contrast markedly with the bustling ambitions and veiled resentments of those around him, setting the stage for the complex social entanglements that lie ahead.