Noncoincidence in <em>The Brothers Karamazov</em>

The intricate plot of The Brothers Karamazov turns upon conjunctions of events which, on inspection, turn out not to be coincidental. Only by probing the often-subtle connections between events can we appreciate the implications of actions and failures to act in this astonishing work. The Brothers Karamazov tells not of a mysterious power called Coincidence that orders human affairs, but of the responsibilities of human agents, and its wonder lies not only in philosophical excurses like the Grand Inquisitor episode, which seem to transcend its pages, but in the complexity of its own construction.