The Brothers Karamazov
Ivan has been visiting Smerdyakov, who keeps on saying he knows that Ivan secretly wanted Fyodor Pavlovich Karamazov to die. Feeling worried and guilty, he goes to visit Katerina, who shows him a letter written by Dmitry when he was drunk, threatening to kill his father and get the 3,000 rubles. Ivan decides that Dmitry has killed his father, until he visits Smerdyakov again – and Smerdyakov openly admits that he killed Fyodor Pavlovich. Smerdyakov also says that he was able to do this because of Ivan’s ideas that “everything was allowed.” Ivan is horrified and so guilty he sees a devil that keeps on taunting him, and finally goes mad on the day Smerdyakov hangs himself.