The article deals with the specificities and functions of dramatic effects, symbolic theatrical gestures of affectation, reflecting the emotional tension and communication features of the characters, as well as their role and place in the course of the novel “The Idiot”. The bond between the novel form and the dramatic one is explained: the influence of the author’s interest in drama and theatre in his youth and of Western European romanticism, mainly German and French. The system of gestures in later novels is inferred – the classification, necessary to represent affectation in “The Idiot”. The analysis of the most significant theatrical gestures leads to the conclusion that the novel is most ingenious.