Madame Khokhlakov

Samantha Brodbeck
Eng 3H

Madame Khokhlakov is a very straightforward character; she doesn’t play games and isn’t afraid to show her true colors. From looking at her interactions with others, one can infer several characteristics that appear frequently. One being that she is a drama queen to the max. She is also a woman of many words; it’s hard to get 2 cents in when holding a conversation with her. Kokhlakhov takes pleasure in being involved with other people’s lives as well. To top it all off, she possesses the trait of arrogance.

Khokhlakov’s ability to talk for hours upon hours appears in almost every passage involving her. I think there are two reasons for this. One being she doesn’t respect others, and the other because she’s simply just a chatterbox. On page 55, Zosima was out blessing his visitors; he then comes to Madame Kokhlakov who praises him excessively. “’You look so healthy, so cheerful, so happy…Oh, how you speak! What brave and lofty words!’” Throughout the chapter “Gold Mines”, the woman would not let Dmitry get a word in. On several different accounts she knows exactly what he’s going to say and tells him she has heard it all beforehand. Every time he tries to talk he is cut short. When dealing with someone who talks a lot, it is usually the case that they gossip excessively as well; Madame Kokhlakov is no exception. While speaking with Dmitry about the gold mines, she randomly threw in the news about Zosima and asked if he had heard yet. When Alyosha comes to visit the house she tells him about Katerina and Ivan. “…She loves your brother Ivan, and is persuading herself as hard as she can that she loves your brother Dmitry. (185)” This information was based on a hunch but she told Alyosha the news as if it were fact. On page 180 she says, “’Did you spread it around? Did you show everyone? He stored the son to his mother!’” This passage shows that these might have been her actions when she received the news. She even goes as far as embarrassing Lise with her big mouth. “’…Ah, I even forgot that this is the main thing: tell me, why is Lise in hysterics? The moment she heard you were coming, she immediately had hysterics!’ (181)” Many times when speaking, she does so very quickly and tends to ramble. On page 180 she spoke to Alyosha, in a “nervous, quick voice.”

The most prominent attribute Madame Khokhlakov brings forth is how dramatic she is. In every passage that she talks there is a great deal of emotion. It’s common to see exclamation points when she is speaking. She gets very excited to meet people at he door; for example, when Alyosha came to visit she met him in the front hallway. It was similar when Dmitry came to visit; she basically ran to greet him. Like the typical drama queen, she cries. On page 58, she wept after Zosima gave her advice on how to have more faith (crying on 53,). Hysterics are not uncommon; mostly it’s over Lise’s illness. “’…She’s so sick, she was sick all night, in a fever, moaning! I could hardly wait for morning and Herzenstube (181, see 182 and53).’” She gets hysterics when she sees Alyosha’s bitten finger as well.

Khokhlakov thinks she is a know-it-all. Not only does she think she knows what’s best for Katya, but for Dmitry as well (a man she is not close to whatsoever). This becomes very evident when she has a conversation with Dmitry about the gold mines. Sentence after sentence is Khokhlakov telling him “his ideas and goals.” “’I shall tell you your idea: you will discover mines…you’ll build buildings, start various enterprises. You will help the poor.’ (385)” Again on page 386 she told Dmitry that his goal is the mines and that it’s “precisely what he needs and thirsts for” but of course without knowing it. She even goes as far as saying “I’ve thought for you (385).” On page 185 she says that Katya likes Ivan and not Dmitry, because that is what Khokhlakov thinks would be best for Katya.

Another not so glorious attribute Madame Khokhlakov possesses is arrogance. On page 384 she calls herself “an experienced doctor of souls.” The trait makes her feel the need to help others because she thinks they are incapable of helping themselves. She tells Dmitry that she took his fate into consideration long ago; it’s like she’s saying that Dmitry isn’t educated enough to decide what’s best for himself. The entire chapter deals with Madame Khokhlakov telling Dmitry what he is going to do for the rest of his life. Dmitry isn’t the first person she’s helped either, and she let the reader know that. “’You will not be the first I’ve helped, Dmitry Fyodorovich. You’ve probably heard about my cousin, Madame Belmesov, her husband was ruined...what did I do…? I sent him into horse-breeding, and now he’s flourishing.’” It sounds like she’s taking credit for the hard work this man put into horse breeding; it was only her idea. It also sounds like she is boasting about how good of a person she is for helping others. “...Just marvel at my instinct (383), in this sentence she is downright bragging.

Madame Khokhlakov acts about the same every time she appears in the novel: emotional, arrogant and chatty. She is a very comical character who keeps things interesting. Although she doesn’t have the best qualities, I don’t think her intentions are bad.