The Margin

Concept

Brain Fever

Also known as dangerous attack of brain fever, the attack of brain fever.

Brain fever is the illness used to explain Ivan's condition during and after his courtroom appearance. Alyosha cries out that Ivan is ill when Ivan's evidence turns incoherent, and the Moscow doctor soon calls it a dangerous attack. The diagnosis makes Ivan's words both terrifying and legally unstable.

XII-VIII. A Treatise On Smerdyakov

The prosecution uses Ivan's illness to argue that his accusation against Smerdyakov may be a feverish invention, especially because he brings money without reliable proof.

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The Margin

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Brain Fever