A smart idiot
The story of the creation of the novel The Idiot says that Dostoevsky, in this novel at least, wanted to portray a completely positive hero. The author treated Prince Myshkin with love. At the time of Dostoevsky, the word "idiot" was not so much an insult as it meant, it just indicated an unusual person, not like others. In addition, the name carries a bit of irony. In the text of the novel, many characters call Myshkin an idiot. The irony is that Prince Myshkin - the "idiot" – turns out to be smarter and kinder than all those who hold him for an idiot.
Gift of foreseeing
Prince Myshkin has a "foresight gift", but this gift is not mystical, but based on a deep understanding of human psychology. Prince Myshkin can "see through people." For example, he predicts a terrible outcome of the history of Rogozhin and Nastasya Filippovna. The irony is that “an idiot” can foresee an event which is obvious, but none of the people around him, who are considered wise people, can’t see that Rogozhin and Nastasya Filippovna are woving into dead end.
A child
General Epanchin introduces Prince Mushkin to his family as “quite a child, a pathetic-looking creature”. Mrs. Epanchin is mostly amused by the fact the this child may have some fits and is deeply disturbed by it, to which General says that “they [fits] don’t come on frequently, besides, he’s a regular child, though he seems to be fairly educated”. Adelaida’s remark that “if he’s quite a child; we can entertain him with a little hide-and-seek, in case of need,” constitutes the metaphorical final straw of an ironic situation.
