#More to add to 'grushenka is a positive character' regardless of how you feel about her

[gegengestalt]

I was rereading The Adolescent and close to the end, Versilov talks about how Russian women (according to him) age rapidly past 30, not just for an ethnic reason but because of their "unlimited love", and how they "give all of themselves at once" just as Sofia did for him in a way he didn't deserve. Instantly, I remembered Grushenka's description in The Brothers Karamazov. The narrator made a similar remark and said her youthful beauty would probably fade because hers is "Russian beauty".

When he says it like that, it seems like a bad thing, but taking The Adolescent into account, it holds new meaning, as many ideas were recycled from that book. Additionally, Sofia is often described as having wrinkles on her forehead, and Grushenka grows one thin wrinkle in her brow after Mitya's arrest and her illness. I never thought otherwise, but I feel this is a pretty solid indication that Grushenka's resolution was sincere, even if it was impulsive.