Prince Ivan Korchagin
Prince Ivan Korchagin is a wealthy, retired military officer and the father of Princess Mary Korchagin (Missy), the family into which Nekhludoff is expected to marry. He embodies the sensual, self-satisfied, and morally indifferent aristocracy that Nekhludoff comes to reject, and his presence at the dinner table and at the railway station serves as a foil to Nekhludoff's awakening conscience.
Identity and Appearance
Prince Ivan Korchagin is a man of imposing but repulsive physicality. At dinner, he is described as having a red face with sensual smacking lips, a fat neck above a napkin stuck into his waistcoat, and a whole over-fed military figure. He chews carefully with false teeth and lifts bloodshot eyes that have no visible lids. His appearance is that of a bull-like, self-satisfied man. He is also a former military commander known for cruelty; Nekhludoff remembers that when in command, Korchagin used to have men flogged and even hanged without rhyme or reason, simply because he was rich and had no need to curry favor.
Role in the Marriage Plot
Korchagin is a central figure in the social pressure on Nekhludoff to marry Missy. He presides over the dinner table with a sense of ownership, and when Nekhludoff arrives late, he calls out with difficulty, chewing, and points with his eyes to the empty place next to Missy. He insists that Nekhludoff take a glass of vodka or at least a bit of something to whet his appetite at the side table. When Kolosoff makes an ironic remark about trial by jury, Korchagin laughs and repeats the phrase "undermining the basis," showing his firm faith in the wisdom and learning of his chosen friend and companion. He is a man who values the appearance of liberal opinion without any real conviction.
The Dinner Scene and Nekhludoff's Disgust
At the Korchagin dinner, Nekhludoff is struck by the unpleasantness of everything. He finds Korchagin's red face, sensual smacking lips, and over-fed military figure very disagreeable. He remembers the cruelty of this man, who had men flogged and hanged without reason. The conversation at dinner revolves around the trial by jury, which Korchagin and Kolosoff mock, and the game of tennis, which Missy defends with affected enthusiasm. Korchagin eventually pulls the napkin out of his waistcoat, noisily pushes back his chair, and leaves the table, followed by everyone. The entire scene is one of empty, luxurious ritual that Nekhludoff finds repulsive.
The Railway Station Departure
Later, at the railway station as Nekhludoff prepares to leave for Siberia, he sees the Korchagin family again. Prince Ivan Korchagin is there with his thick lips, apoplectic neck, and a traveling cap on his head. He is part of the procession carrying the Princess in a chair. When Nekhludoff refuses his invitation to join him for refreshments, Korchagin calls out to him, "Nekhludoff, won't you join me and take some refreshment? It is excellent before a journey." Nekhludoff refuses and turns away. As the Prince leaves the station with his sister-in-law, he says in a loud, self-assured tone, "Oh, il est du vrai grand monde, du vrai grand monde" ("Oh, he is of the true great world, the true great world"), a phrase that Nekhludoff remembers with its intonations and the sound of the voice, and which he contrasts with the world of the working peasants he has just encountered.
Thematic Significance
Prince Ivan Korchagin represents the "true great world" that Nekhludoff is leaving behind. He is a symbol of the idle, luxurious, and cruel aristocracy that lives off the labor of the peasants and the suffering of prisoners. His self-satisfied, sensual existence is the antithesis of the moral awakening Nekhludoff is undergoing. The phrase "le vrai grand monde" becomes a bitter irony for Nekhludoff, who now sees the true "great world" in the lives of the working people, not in the corrupt and empty circles of the aristocracy.
