Stavrogin, while he seems to accept Pyotr Stepanovich acting on his behalf, is largely unresponsive to these overtures and continues to pursue his own agenda. The political polemic and parts of the philosophical novel were merged into a single larger scale project, which became Demons. There are two epigraphs, the first from Pushkin's poem "Demons" and the second from Luke 8:32–36. The vast majority of mankind, the author, is made up of just such people as Varya, and one of the problems confronting a novelist is the re-creation of such fictional personages. Pyotr Stepanovich is not suspected, and news spreads that Stavrogin has left on the train for Petersburg. Stavrogin, however, seems to be in a good mood and he willingly accompanies Pyotr Stepanovich to the meeting. Demons was finished on 26 November and released in January 1873 by the "Dostoevsky Publishing Company", which was founded by Dostoevsky and his wife. Joyce Carol Oates has described it as "Dostoevsky's most confused and violent novel, and his most satisfactorily 'tragic' work. Uproar ensues. The book, also known in English as The Devils and The Demons, is a reflection of Dostoyevsky’s belief that revolutionists possessed the soul of Russia and that, unless exorcised by a renewed faith in Orthodox Christianity and a pure nationalism, they would drive his country over the precipice. Fyodor Dostoyevsky was a Russian novelist who questioned the philosophy of utilitarianism. [70] The darkness of Stavrogin is confronted by the radiance of Bishop Tikhon, a character inspired by Tikhon of Zadonsk. The child is born and, reconciled with Marie, he is happy that he is going to be the father. Julia Mikhaylovna and her retinue, among whom are Varvara Petrovna and Liza, return from a visit to Skvoreshniki and the Governor is further humiliated by a public snubbing from his wife. The Governor's assistant, under the false impression that Stepan Trofimovich is the source of the problem, orders a raid on his residence. Dostoevsky was influenced by a murder in Moscow in 1869 in which a student was killed by four assailants. When Shatov fails to return, Marie, still exhausted from the birth, seeks out Kirillov. About Demons. It has also been published separately, translated from Russian to English by S.S. Koteliansky and Virginia Woolf, with an essay on Dostoevsky by Sigmund Freud.[54]. In Stavrogin everyone sees something of his own, because Nikolai willingly or unwittingly gives Verkhovensky, Shatov and Kirillov their basic ideas. That night Stavrogin leaves Skvoreshniki in secret and makes his way on foot to Fillipov's house, where Shatov lives. His proposal that she come to live with him in Switzerland is met with scorn. In particular, he looks at The Possessed (sometimes translated as The Devils). Dostoevsky begins this section by speaking of the ordinariness of Varvara (Varya) Ptitsyn. Varvara Petrovna is horrified, but Stavrogin simply smiles and walks out. According to him there are two types of people who commit suicide: those who do it suddenly upon being overwhelmed by an unbearable emotion, and those who do it after much thought for good reason. Who is the main "demon" in the work? In late 1860s Russia there was an unusual level of political unrest caused by student groups influenced by liberal, socialist and revolutionary ideas. To Gaganov's intense anger, Stavrogin appears to deliberately miss, as if to trivialize the duel and insult his opponent, although he says it is because he doesn't want to kill anyone any more. To everyone's surprise, however, a complete stranger walks in and immediately begins to dominate the conversation. Horrified, Dasha does not answer. "[1] According to Ronald Hingley, it is Dostoevsky's "greatest onslaught on Nihilism", and "one of humanity's most impressive achievements—perhaps even its supreme achievement—in the art of prose fiction."[2]. Demons is a novel by Fyodor Dostoyevsky, first published in the journal The Russian Messenger in –2. [5] According to translator Richard Pevear, the demons are "that legion of isms that came to Russia from the West: idealism, rationalism, empiricism, materialism, utilitarianism, positivism, socialism, anarchism, nihilism, and, underlying them all, atheism. As teachers and strong personalities Stavrogin and Stepan Trofimovich influence those around them, and thus the demons enter the swine. Demons, also known as The Possessed or The Devils, is a dark masterpiece that evokes a world where the lines between and good and evil long ago became blurred.This Penguin Classics edition of Fyodor Dostoyevsky's Demons is translated by Robert A. Maguire and edited by Ronald Meyer, with an introduction by Robert … She began to think of him as her fiancé, and when he left he made arrangements for her support, including a substantial allowance, which her brother proceeded to appropriate as though he had some sort of right to it. Stavrogin defends himself calmly and rationally, but not entirely convincingly. Due to their polyphonic nature, his dramas deal with varying issues at once, but the problem of suffering is a theme that Dostoevsky consistently tackled. I … Wandering along with no real purpose or destination, he is offered a lift by some peasants. A difficult reconciliation between the two friends, during which some painful events from the past are recalled, is effected. Rather Pyotr Stepanovich is trying to involve Stavrogin in some radical political plans of his own, and is avidly seeking to be of use to him. That night the emissary from the revolutionary group—Erkel—arrives to escort Shatov to the isolated part of Skvoreshniki where the printing press is buried. The crime scene at Skvoreshniki reveals that Kirillov must have been acting with others and the story emerges that there is an organized group of revolutionary conspirators behind all the crimes and disorders. Someone shouts "Fire!" Kirillov has been forewarned and is eagerly awaiting him. Liza screams and collapses on the floor in a faint. The novel “Demons” is a formidable warning, in which the writer foresees a social catastrophe and the emergence of a whole galaxy of revolutionaries like Nechaev. André Gide, writing in the early 1920s, suggested that "the whole of (the novel) prophesies the revolution of which Russia is presently in the throes". As if on cue, Pyotr Stepanovich says that he too has received a long letter from his father about an impending marriage, but that one cannot make sense of it—something about having to get married because of "another man's sins", and pleading to be "saved". The previous translations of the husband-and-wife team of Larissa Volokhonsky and Richard Pevear—The Brothers Karamazov, Crime and Punishment, and Notes From Underground—have been universally praised for capturing Dostoevsky… "[8] Part of the passage is used as an epigraph, and Dostoevsky's thoughts on its relevance to Russia are given voice by Stepan Verkhovensky on his deathbed near the end of the novel. Despite being a secondary character, he has a surprisingly intimate knowledge of all the characters and events, such that the narrative often seems to metamorphose into that of the omniscient third person. In his mind he is the man who, by his own intentional death, will demonstrate to humanity the transcendence of pain and fear and free them of the need to invent God.[67]. A background of Dostoevsky is necessary to comprehend the plot of the story. ... 13 Dostoevsky, Demons. [75] Shigalev was initially based on the radical critic V.A. Entrusted with a large sum of money by his family, a hitherto quiet and responsible young man deliberately squanders it all on riotous living over a period of several days. this section. Liza rushes off in a frenzy, determined to get to the place of the murders to see the bodies. Verkhovensky rushes after him again and, to Stavrogin's astonishment, suddenly transforms into a raving madman. She has been looking for him since his disappearance, and her ferocity greatly frightens both Stepan Trofimovich and Sofya Matveyevna. "[78], Since the Russian Revolution, many commentators have remarked on the prophetic nature of Demons. The society took the new novel coolly, and some critics did declare the work "slander" and "delirium." and an attempt to kiss his hand. In the din that breaks out after their departure, the strongest voice is that of Pyotr Stepanovich, and he manages to persuade Varvara Petrovna to listen to his explanation for what has occurred. In the image of Peter Verkhovensky, there is an obvious analogy with Nechayev, and in his utterances - the spirit of the "Catechism of the Revolutionary." Over time the situation has changed little. [77] Dostoevsky wrote that "Communism will conquer one day, irrespective of whether the Communists are right or wrong. The idealistic, Western-influenced generation of the 1840s, epitomized in the character of Stepan Verkhovensky (who is both Pyotr Verkhovensky's father and Nikolai Stavrogin's childhood teacher), are presented as the unconscious progenitors and helpless accomplices of the "demonic" forces that take possession of the town. It is considered one of the four masterworks written by Dostoevsky after his return from Siberian exile, along with Crime and Punishment (1866), The Idiot (1869) and The Brothers Karamazov (1880). They read Kirillov's note and a short time later Shatov's body is discovered at Skvoreshniki. old horse in Crime and Punishment is commented on in Demons. He himself admits that the revolutionary idea is only a means. Stavrogin has received an extraordinarily insulting letter from Artemy Gaganov, the son of a respected landowner—Pavel Gaganov—whose nose he pulled as a joke some years earlier, and has been left with no choice but to challenge him to a duel. The Possessed is a novel that dramatizes the cultural and political troubles of Russia in the mid-19th century. In addition to a number of extended dialogues on the subject, mostly involving Kirillov, there are four actual suicides described in the novel. Stavrogin at the same time inspires two people with exactly the opposite postulates. Marie and the baby become ill, and die a few days later. Marchyn, Aleksei. A 'literary quadrille' has been especially choreographed for the occasion, but it is vulgar and stupid and merely bemuses the onlookers. Joyce Carol Oatesh… We are thankful for their contributions and encourage you to make your own. At the fire he is knocked unconscious by a falling beam, and although he later recovers consciousness, he does not recover his sanity, and his career as governor comes to an end. However, his aversion to Pyotr Stepanovich and the news of Shatov's death arouse a reluctance to comply, and for some time they parley, both with guns in hand. Varvara Petrovna questions Dasha about a large sum of money that Nikolai Vsevolodovich supposedly sent through her to Marya's brother, but in spite of her straightforward answers matters don't become any clearer. [73] Liberal figures like Stepan Trofimovich, Varvara Petrovna, Liputin, Karmazinov and the Von Lembkes, and minor authority figures like the old Governor Osip Osipovich and the over-zealous policeman Flibusterov, are parodies of a variety of establishment types that Dostoevsky held partially responsible for the excesses of the radical generation. A hint is given when Varvara Petrovna asks the mentally disturbed Marya, who has approached her outside church, if she is Lebyadkina and she replies that she is not. Demons is a social and political satire, a psychological drama, and large-scale tragedy. Demons is a social and political satire, a psychological drama, and large-scale tragedy. But to Nicholai none of them is interesting. The reading starts with the unscheduled appearance on stage of a hopelessly drunk Captain Lebyadkin, apparently for the purpose of reading some of his poetry. In his final conscious hours he recognizes the deceit of his life, forgives others, and makes an ecstatic speech expressing his re-kindled love of God. In summary, then, Dostoevsky shows an overall respect for the Bible’s eschatology, although some of his characters promote bizarre interpretations. The reason was Ivanov's desire to break with the secret society. "Demons Study Guide: Analysis". Pyotr Stepanovich has informed Fedka that Stavrogin may have need of his services in relation to the Lebyadkins, but Stavrogin emphatically rejects this. Zaitsev who advocated a form of Social Darwinism that included, for example, an acceptance of slavery for the black races on the basis of their inherent inferiority. Kirillov sums up Stavrogin's dilemma thus: "If Stavrogin believes, then he doesn't believe that he believes. 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