For Agatha Mikhaylovna, for the nurse, for his grandfather and even for his father, Mitya was a living being requiring only material care, but for his mother he had already long been a moral being, with whom she had already had a long series of spiritual relations.
Mihajlovna Agafja, a dada, a nagybácsi, az apja szemeiben Mitya csak egyszerű élőlény volt, a ki csak testi ápolásra tartott igényt; de az anyja szemeiben már régóta erkölcsi lény is volt, a kinek lelki viszonyai terén már egész története volt.