Madame Hohlakov's house is the affluent town house where Alyosha finds several anxious dramas already in motion. It is a busy, nervous place, with Madame Hohlakov rushing through the hall, Lise calling from a side room, and Katerina Ivanovna waiting elsewhere inside. Its rooms separate private jokes, invalid care, and public drawing-room scenes by only a few doors.
IV-V. A Laceration In The Drawing-Room
The drawing-room holds Ivan and Katerina's break, after which Katerina sends Alyosha on her commission to help Captain Snegiryov. The house becomes a place where emotional crises immediately turn into errands and consequences.
V-I. The Engagement
Alyosha returns to find Katerina ill, her aunts summoned, and Madame Hohlakov trying to manage both the sickroom and Lise's private excitement. The house feels crowded with overheard conversations and doors that never quite stay closed.
VIII-III. Gold-Mines
Dmitri comes to the house as a last hopeful appeal for three thousand roubles. Madame Hohlakov receives him in the drawing-room, mistakes her advice about gold mines for practical rescue, and sends him away with no money.
IX-I. The Beginning Of Perhotin’s Official Career
Perhotin arrives late at night to ask whether Madame Hohlakov gave Dmitri the money he claimed to have received from her. Her denial helps send him toward the authorities.
XI-II. The Injured Foot
By the eve of the trial, the house is full of newspaper gossip, Perhotin's visits, Madame Hohlakov's injured foot, and anxiety over Lise. It remains fashionable and well staffed, but its rooms feel increasingly disordered.
XI-III. A Little Demon
Lise imagines setting the house on fire while speaking with Alyosha in her room. The fantasy makes the comfortable house into the target of her boredom, rage, and need to shock herself.
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