Thank you very much!!! I'm glad we had the same quotes in mind! What Muishkin says there, is a reflection of Dostoyevsky's view on the matter and I'm sure that it reflects the feelings that he had from the situation that he had been through. Lebedev is indeed a caricature, but I think books need someone like him to advance the plot! I had no idea about that, I would like to know too what "Tchinovnik" means!