Prince Myshkin

Prince Lev Nikolayevich Myshkin is the main protagonist of Fyodor Dostoevsky’s 1869 novel The Idiot. Dostoevsky conceived the character as an entirely positive figure possessing an absolutely beautiful nature and a truly Christian spirit.

According to scholar Joseph Frank, Prince Myshkin represents the most extreme incarnation of the Christian ideal of love reachable by humanity in its current form. However, he remains a conflicted figure, torn apart by the struggle between his apocalyptic aspirations and his earthly limitations.