Smerdyakov

Smerdyakov is a character from Fyodor Dostoevsky’s novel *Crime and Punishment*. He is a complex, morally ambiguous individual who acts as a servant and secretly struggles with feelings of inferiority and nihilism. Smerdyakov is also the illegitimate son of the main character's family, which influences his sense of identity. His manipulative and often cold demeanor, combined with underlying resentment, leads him to commit or facilitate serious acts of violence. Ultimately, Smerdyakov embodies themes of guilt, moral ambiguity, and existential despair central to the novel’s exploration of human psychology.