The Possessed (novel)

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The Possessed
(aka "The Devils" or "Demons")  
Author Fyodor Dostoevsky
Original title Бесы
Translator Constance Garnett (1916)
Richard Pevear and Larissa Volokhonsky (1995)
Country Russia
Language Russian
Genre(s) Philosophical novel
Publication date 1872
Published in
English		 1916

The Possessed (In Russian: Бесы, tr. Besy), also translated as The Devils or Demons, is an 1872 novel by Fyodor Dostoevsky. For an explanation of the marked difference in the English-language title, please see the section "Note on the title" below.

An extremely political book, The Possessed is a testimonial of life in Imperial Russia in the late 19th century.

As the revolutionary democrats begin to rise in Russia, different ideologies begin to collide. Dostoevsky casts a critical eye on both the left-wing idealists, exposing their ideas and ideological foundation as demonic, [1] and the conservative establishment's ineptitude in dealing with those ideas and their social consequences.

This form of intellectual conservativism tied to the Slavophil movement of Dostoevsky's day, is seen to have continued on into its modern manifestation in individuals like Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn. [2] Dostoevsky's novels focusing on the idea that utopias and positivist ideas, in being utilitarian, were unrealistic and unobtainable.[3]

The book has five primary ideological characters: Verkhovensky, Shatov, Stavrogin, Stepan Trofimovich, and Kirilov. Through their philosophies, Dostoevsky describes the political chaos seen in 19th-Century Russia.

Contents

[edit] Note on the title

The title has been an ongoing source of confusion among readers unfamiliar with the work. There are at least three popular translations: The Possessed, The Devils, and Demons. This is largely a result of Constance Garnett's earlier translation which popularized the novel and gained it notoriety as The Possessed among English-speakers; however, later Dostoevsky scholars said the original translation was inaccurate. These scholars argued that The Possessed "points in the wrong direction," and interpreted the original Russian title Бесы (Besy; the plural of bies, "an evil spirit") as referring not to those who are "possessed" but rather to those who are doing the possessing as "The Possessors". Some insist that the difference is crucial to a full understanding of the novel:

It would be simpler if the title were indeed The Possessed, as it was first translated into English (and into French -- a tradition to which Albert Camus contributed in his dramatization of the novel). This misrendering made it possible to speak of Dostoevsky's characters as demoniacs in some unexamined sense, which lends them a certain glamor and even exonerates them to a certain extent. We do see a number of people here behaving as if they were 'possessed.' The implications of the word are almost right, but it points in the wrong direction. And in any case it is not the title Dostoevsky gave his novel. Discovering that the Russian title Besy refers not to possessed but to possessors, we then apply this new term 'demons' to the same set of characters in the same unexamined way -- a surprising turnabout, if one thinks of it.[4]

As a result, newer editions of the novel are rarely if ever rendered under Garnett's earliest title "The Possessed". As a more precise rendering of the Demons (Бесы) as an event and turning point in Russian history would be "The Possessing" of Russia by the demonic ideas or "evil spirits" reflected in the novel's characters.

[edit] Synopsis

The novel takes place in a provincial Russian setting, primarily on the estates of Stepan Trofimovich Verkhovensky and Varvara Stavrogin. Stepan Trofimovich's son, Pyotr Verkhovensky, is an aspiring revolutionary conspirator who attempts to organize a knot of revolutionaries in the area. He considers Varvara Stavrogin's son, Nikolai, central to his plot because he thinks Nikolai Stavrogin has no sympathy for mankind whatsoever.

Verkhovensky gathers conspirators like the philosophizing Shigalyov, suicidal Kirillov, and the former military man Virginsky, and he schemes to solidify their loyalty to him and each other by murdering Ivan Shatov, a fellow conspirator. Verkhovensky plans to have Kirillov, who was committed to killing himself, take credit for the murder in his suicide note. Kirillov complies and Verkhovensky murders Shatov, but his scheme falls apart when Nikolai Stavrogin, tortured by his own misdeeds, kills himself. Verkhovensky escapes, but the remainder of his aspiring revolutionary crew is arrested.

[edit] Historical Origins

The Possessed is a combination of two separate novels that Dostoevsky was working on. One was a commentary on the real-life murder in 1869 by the socialist revolutionary group ("People's Vengeance") of one of its own members (Ivan Ivanovich Ivanov). The character Pyotr Verkhovensky is based upon the leader of this revolutionary group, Sergey Nechayev, who was found guilty of this murder. Sergey Nechayev was a close confidant of Mikhail Bakunin who had direct influence over both Nechayev and the "People's Vengeance". Also the character Stepan Trofimovich Verkhovensky is based upon Timofey Granovsky. The other novel eventually melded into Demons was originally a religious work. The most immoral character Stavrogin was to be the hero of this novel, and is now commonly viewed as the most important character in Demons.

[edit] Characters

  • Nikolai Vsevolodovich Stavrogin is the main character of the novel. A complex figure, he has many anti-social traits that mark him as a manipulative psychopathic personality. He attracts both the best and worst characters in the novel who are fascinated by him. He inspires both good and evil. In a stirring and originally censored chapter, he confesses he has seduced and driven to suicide a girl of only 11 years, but refuses to repent. At the very end of the novel, he commits suicide. He is a former student of Stepan. After traveling and studying abroad he returns home and resides with his mother. Varvara provides him with anything he desires, but he never fully takes advantage of his opportunities. The local women find Stavrogin extremely desirable, but his obnoxious behavior gives him little credibility. His ridiculous actions include: pulling a high social standing man by the nose at a local bar, kissing another man's wife at their own party, and biting the ear of the governor. His wild antics cause him to be diagnosed with insanity. Therefore, Varvara sends Stavrogin abroad once again in hopes of curing him and also to reestablish her social standing after her son's uncivil conduct. He secretly marries Marya and has affairs with numerous women. He is an indifferent member of the group, but Peter tries to get him to be the leader.
  • Stepan Trofimovich Verkhovensky is the philosopher and intellectual who is partly to blame for the revolutionary ideas that fuel the destruction that occurs in the book, whose one famous work was based on the idea of Apocatastasis. He served as a father figure to Nikolai Vsevolodovich when Stavrogin was a child. His character may be based on the intellectual Timofey Granovsky.Stephan Trofimovich: has been married twice, but is currently a widower. During his first marriage he and his wife conceived one child, Peter Stephanovich, who was given to his aunts to be raised. Stephan takes very little interest in raising his son and instead uses the money set aside for his son in order to repay his own debts. Stephan has constant financial problems. He squanders his money and lacks any entrepreneurial skills. Stephan is able to manage a meager income through tutoring younger students and lecturing at local universities. His lectures contain ideas that are considered non-Russian and elucidate Western values. Teaching is a profession that he greatly enjoys and values, while allowing him to evince his intelligence, but has given him little deference within his community. His inability to maintain financial stability causes him to become dependent on Varvara. Dostoevsky uses the framework of Stephan's relationships to weave in the other major characters.
  • Pyotr Stepanovich Verkhovensky is the son of Stepan and the cause of much of the destruction. He is at the center of what may be a vast conspiracy to overthrow the church, government, and the family across Russia. He is a nihilist and a master charlatan and manipulator. He despises family ties. Though he has followers and his revolutionary groups look to him for guidance, his only regard is for Stavrogin. His character may be based on the revolutionary Sergey Nechayev.Piotr Stepanovich: is the son of Stephan. He is the leader of the group. His arrogance and deceiving ways are apparent, but overlooked by the community. He is never at a loss of words and is very effective in speaking clearly and saying what people want to hear. This aspect of his personality is seen in his ability to downplay the events that have occurred in Part I. All of his actions have significant meaning to his cause, but very few people are aware of his motives at this point. He is able to quickly and effectively establish himself as a regular part of the social setting, winning the devotion of the governor's wife by playing the fool.
  • Lizaveta Nikolaevna is a vivacious local beauty who becomes engaged to Mavriky Nikolaevitch, but is fatally attracted to Stavrogin.
  • Alexei Nilych Kirilov (or Kirillov) is an engineer. He is a thorough nihilist, and has decided his own will is the ultimate reality. He means to commit suicide, and Pyotr Stepanovich means to use his suicide to further his revolutionary purposes.
  • Shigalyov is a self-confessed anarchistic social theorist. He is a member of Pyotr Stepanovich's revolutionary "group of five". His character is intended to embody everything that Dostoyevsky's image of Christ does not; he is, in essence, the antithesis of Christ.[citation needed]
  • Ivan Shatov is a son of former serf, as well as a former university student and another intellectual who has turned his back on his leftist ideas. This change of heart is what attracts Pyotr Stepanovich Verkhovensky to plot Shatov's murder. Shatov is based on I. I. Ivanov, a student who was murdered by Sergey Nechayev for speaking out against Nechayev's radical propaganda, an actual event which served as the initial impetus for Dostoyevsky's novel. He was tutored by Stephan and from his childhood was greatly indebted to Varvara. A one time radical socialist, Shatov converts to a Russian idealist. He is married, but separated to the governess of his former merchant. Shatov is a member of the group, who tries to breakout, but fails.Shatov wants to believe in God, but feels he has no faith. He values the idea of God and feels that religion is essential to the Russian identity. Shatov believes that his lifestyle and principles are in conflict with allowing him to have faith. He admits to the existence of God, but that alone can not give him complete faith. Dostoevsky places Shatov in a tragedian role. As soon as he begins to understand himself and develops a religious conviction, he is murdered. Throughout the novel he seeks faith and once he has a chance to grasp it Dostoevsky has him killed. Both Kirillov and Shatov have firm convictions, the former has faith but does not believe in God, and the latter believes in God but has no faith.Therefore,Shatov is the type of character who is placed in difficult circumstances ,because he tryes to have faith in God, but when he's on the good road,he is murdered, and it's taking place a tragedy.
  • Varvara Stavrogina is Nikolai's mother and is a rich lady who plays at being leftist.Varvara Petrovna: is a wealthy widow with one son, Nikolai. She is regarded as an active participant in local politics and is recognized as a woman with high social standing. She begins to assist Stephan financially and tries to mold him into her own creation. She selects his wardrobe, gives him an allowance, and most importantly allows him to hold weekly meetings with personal friends, which she financially sponsors. Varvara's ability to form this dependent relationship also creates a loyal friend. Stephan respects Varvara's generosity and assistance and is willing to maintain their friendship at any cost. This is done mostly for the sake of Stephan who truly enjoys the conversation and exposure to the social life of the town. During the weekly meetings they discuss issues relating to local current affairs or sometimes simply humankind in general.
  • Liputin is a known liberal and has a reputation of an atheist. He thrives on the subject of gossip in the meetings held by Stephan, which was the major reason for his attendance. Liputin is also heavily involved within Peter's organization.
  • Captain Lebyadkin is the drunken former officer whose sister is secretly married to Nikolai.He is practicaly a stranger to the town, but won the heart of Virginsky's wife and quickly moved into their house. His intelligence is questionable and his convictions even more so. He is a drunkard who beats his sister and has a poor reputation within the community.
  • Fedka the Convict is a roaming criminal suspected of several thefts and murders in the novel.She was once a serf belonging to Piotr. He is willing to murder for money and the group uses his services.
  • Mavriky Nikolaevich Drozdov is a visiting gentleman and guest of Ms. Stavrogin, and is Lizaveta Nikolaevna's fiancée. He is quiet, sensible, and traditional.
  • Maria Timofeevna Lebyadkin is Captain Lebyadkin's sister and is married to Nikolai Stavrogin. She is crippled and weak-minded.
  • Bishop Tikhon is a bishop who, in Dostoevsky's drafts, was visited by Stavrogin for guidance, and revealed some of the disturbing events of his past. Their interview has little effect on Stavrogin, but provides the reader a better understanding of his background. However, this chapter was not accepted by the censors and Dostoevsky excised it from the original version, in which Bishop Tikhon is briefly mentioned by Shatov, but does not appear. Most modern editions of The Possessed include this chapter, called "Stavrogin's Confession" or "At Tikhon's" in an appendix.

[edit] Kirilov

Alexei Nilych Kirilov (or Kirillov) is one of the most astonishing characters in The Possessed. He is a "thoroughgoing madman", who has been driven to nihilistic ideas by Nikolai Stavrogin. On the one side, he is just an ordinary unsociable man, though particularly concerned with his health.

"Pyotr Stepanovitch went first to Kirillov's. He found him, as usual, alone, and at the moment practising gymnastics, that is, standing with his legs apart, brandishing his arms above his head in a peculiar way. On the floor lay a ball. The tea stood cold on the table, not cleared since breakfast."

But on the other side, this introverted engineer is also a theorist. We can trace both philosophy of religion and philosophy of freedom in his character. They are intertwined, and completelly influenced by atheism. Without any doubt, those theories had lead Kirilov to a suicide, who considered it as a highest act of free will. In the explanatory scheme of this idea, we will start with philosophy of religion and then proceed to philosophy of freedom.

Fear is a specific notion that has got a lot in common with "pain", which is the central theme in this discourse. Dostoevsky illustrates this notion with a following example - consider a big rock which would kill you if it fell onto you. Even though we are sure of it, we also know, that because of its enormous size and mass, it is sure that we wouldn't feel any pain. In other words, we are not afraid of a rock, but of death. Since fear is a component of pain, in this case it follows that pain is in death. Now comes a crucial point: God is a pain in the fear of death'. For if there was no death or pain there would be no need for a God or Gods.

Now, we can continue with philosophy of freedom. Kirilov is obsessively attached to freedom, so that he doesn't agree, not in a single moment, that there is the slightest possibility that he is not a free agent. In a conversation to Pyotr Stepanovitch, he argues:

"It's not an agreement and not an obligation. I have not bound myself in any way." or "I didn't bind myself, I agreed, because it makes no difference to me."

And even if Kirilov doesn't bring into question the very existence of free will, he is convinced that there are several levels of it. A highest act of free will is a suicide.

"I want to put an end to my life, because that's my idea, because I don't want to be afraid of death."

Kirilov can now infer that if one commits suicide, he directly rejects God's existence, since he does not have any fear, and God is a fear. Hypothetically, one would kill oneself not in affection, but in calmness. Such an agent, who would prove that there is no God, would then declare himself as God. As one who can give and take life as one who can create or cause.

Although this is an idea of Stavrogin, Kirilov is proud of it, and lives in its accordance. At few occasions, he gets very unpleasant, when this theory is set on scene.

"No, it's not excellent, for you are being tedious. I am not obliged to give you any account of myself and you can't understand my ideas."

Pyotr Stepanovitch however, to whom these words were directed, didn't care much even if he didn't understand Kirilov ideas. Pyotr Stepanovitch only cared for the plan he was set on executing. Here Kirilov plays a central role in the plot of the novel. Pyotr Stepanovitch's plan involves an agreement between Kirilov and Pyotr Stepanovitch. That Kirilov would take guilt onto himself for a murder that Pyotr Stepanovitch's conspiracy group intends to commit.

[edit] Ideologies

'Demons' is often noted for the range of clashing ideologies present in the novel. As in most Dostoevsky works, certain characters are descriptive of specific philosophies.

  • Anarchism, embodied by Pyotr Verkhovensky, is an extreme ideology that demands the destruction of the current social order. A description of Verkhovensky's philosophy of political change is posited as "the method of a hundred million heads," referring to the predicted death toll.
  • Shigalyovism is a philosophy specific to the book and particularly of the character Shigalyov. Very similar to barracks communism, Shigalyovism demands that ninety percent of society be reduced to a condition of inhuman slavery so the other actually useful ten percent of society is free to make progress. Dostoyevsky advances this bizarre doctrine, not with the intention of proposing a viable philosophy, but rather an inane one, that lends weight to his portrayal of Shigalyov and his fellow conspirators as radical "demons", themselves more caricatures than accurate reflections of revolutionaries.
  • Conservatism is embodied by the provincial governor Andrei Antonovich Von Lembke, and is shown to be incapable of dealing with subversive extremism.

[edit] The Censored Chapter: Stavrogin's confession at Tikhon's

The government censor, at the time Dostovesky submitted his book, supressed the chapter "At Tikhon's", which concerns Stavrogin's confession of having molested a 10 year old girl, causing the girl to commit suicide. The chapter gives insight into the reason that Stavrogin later hangs himself, out of apparent sociopathic apathy towards his own life. Stavrogin is depicted as the embodiment of nihilism, being apathetic, lacking empathy, devoid of emotion. The chapter is generally included in modern editions of the novel and also published separately, translated from Russian to English by S. S. Koteliansky and Virginia Woolf and edited by Sigmund Freud.[5][6]

[edit] Demons as an existentialist work

See also: Existentialism

Dostoevsky as a "spiritual realist" based his novels on the premise of the "life of ideas". [7] In the Demons, Dostoevsky applies this theory not so much to the human condition and human suffering but rather to human political reality in general. Here Dostovesky's analysis is not to deal or honestly reflect the human condition (as in his other "existentialist" novels) but rather to portray the reality of power, mankind's desire to manifest its will and obtain power. Dostoevsky defines evil here as the passion for power and control, showing that reason and logic are a ruse to justify rebellion against existence. The heart of nihilism is the belief that existence is meaningless and should be destroyed and that this idea is even more "irrational" in its reasoning and justification that the ideas it opposes. Nihilism in its claims to overthrow the old order, which it calls irrational and unjust, is hypocritical, because the new order shows itself to be even more irrational and unjust in its ideas and the implimentation of those ideas. Dostoevsky takes an Russian Orthodox stance on ideas as demons. That it is the "isms" of mankind that, as demonic possessors of man, lead him away from God. The demons are ideas, such as: idealism, rationalism, empiricism, materialism, utilitarianism, positivism, socialism, anarchism, nihilism and ultimately atheism. Getting man to relinquish these ideas is to have mankind embrace the asceticism of Russian Orthodoxy. Which is in direct opposition to the Nietschean perspective that treated religion as tyrannical and as the basis for mankind's suffering. [8]

"It was not you who ate the idea, but the idea that ate you."
Pyotr Verkhovensky

[edit] References in other works

  • Dmitri Shostakovich, Four Verses of Captain Lebyadkin for bass and piano, Opus 146 (1974). Shostakovich draws his text from Lebyadkin's puerile and pretentious poetry, which is scattered through the novel. He stated: "There is much of the buffoon in Lebyadkin, but much more of the sinister. I have turned out a very sinister composition."[9]

[edit] Film, TV or theatrical adaptations

[edit] References

  1. ^ The introduction of Demons Trans. Pevear and Volokhonsky. New York: Vintage Classics, 1995
  2. ^ An Intellectual Tradition: Dostoyevsky and Alex Solzhenitsyn In an elaborately researched monograph, Russian scholar and political philosopher, Nicholas Rzhevsky, unequivocally confirms that Dostoyevsky created a unique religious synthesis and conservative intellectual tradition in late nineteenth-century Russian history (Cf. his Russian Literature and Ideology: Herzen,Dostoyevsky, Leontiev, Tolstoy , Urbana, Ill.: University of Illinois Press, 1983, pp. l3-14; 22; 65-95; 149-154)
  3. ^ Diagnosing Literary Genius: A Cultural History of Psychiatry in Russia, 1880-1930 By Irina Sirotkina Published by JHU Press, 2002 ISBN 0801867827, 9780801867828 pg 55 [1]
  4. ^ Dostoevsky, Fyodor. Demons. Trans. Pevear and Volokhonsky. New York: Vintage Classics, 1995. Page xiii.
  5. ^ Stavrogin's Confession including Dostoevsky and Parricide, by Fyodor Dostoevsky (Author), Sigmund Freud (Afterword) including a psychoanalytic study of the author, Virginia Woolf (Translator), S.S. Koteliansky (Translator) Publisher: Lear Publishers (1947) ASIN: B000LDS1TI ASIN: B000MXVG94
  6. ^ The Possessed By Fyodor Dostoyevsky, Elizabeth Dalton, Constance Garnett Translated by Constance Garnett Contributor Elizabeth Dalton Published by Spark Educational Publishing, 2004 ISBN 1593082509, 9781593082505 pg 679[2]
  7. ^ Dostoevsky: His Life and Work By Konstantin Mochulsky Translated by Michael A. Minihan Edition: illustrated Published by Princeton University Press, 1971 ISBN 0691012997, 9780691012995 pg 210 [3]
  8. ^ The introduction to Demons by Dostoevsky as translated by Richard Pevear and Larissa Volokhonsky [4]
  9. ^ Shostakovich, Dimitri. Letter to Isaak Glickman, 23 August 1974

[edit] See also

[edit] External links

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Works by Fyodor Dostoyevsky
Novels Fyodor Dostoevsky
Short stories
Non-fiction
Related topics

[edit] Footnotes

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