The Insulted and Humiliated

The Insulted and Humiliated is a novel written by Fyodor Dostoevsky, first published in 1861.

Set in St. Petersburg, it entwines the fortunes of a young writer, an estranged family, and a calculating aristocrat whose schemes entangle the innocent and the desperate. Love triangles, secret bargains, and broken promises expose how power preys on vulnerability and how affection, once weaponized, becomes a means of control.

At the novel’s heart is the sheltering of a destitute orphan whose hidden past intersects with the very forces causing the others’ suffering. Through garrets, hospitals, and late-night streets, Dostoevsky depicts the collision of pity and pride, showing how small, stubborn acts of kindness resist a world bent on humiliation.

Blending melodrama with psychological acuity, the book probes moral conscience under social pressure. It stands as an early portrait of themes Dostoevsky would return to, illuminating dignity amid degradation and the fragile hope of redemption.

"Last year, on the evening of March 22, I had a very strange adventure. All that day I had been walking about the town trying to find a lodging. My old one was very damp, and I had begun to have an ominous cough. Ever since the autumn I had been meaning to move, but I had hung on till the spring. I had not been able to find anything decent all day".

This edition of The Insulted and Humiliated is based on Constance Garnett's translation.