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Title: The Possessed
Series:
(The Russians)
Author: Fyodor
Dostoyevsky
Translator: Constance
Garnett
Rating: 5 of 5 Stars
Genre:
Classic
Pages: 775
Words:
253K
Publish: 1872
After reading the synopsis from Grokipedia (down below), I’m pretty sure that Constance Garnett did some judicious victorian censoring in her “translation” of this. It is that or I completely glossed over whole episodes happening, like one of the female characters killing herself. Now, that is possible. This is a BIG fat book and I was dealing with a pinched nerve when finishing it up, so I could easily have missed that. But I don’t think so, because a character killing herself by drowning is memorable, no matter how much discomfort one is in. Plus, I remember her suicide being mentioned by the townsfolk and thinking to myself “when did THAT happen?”
This is a story about a group of Nihilists (nihilists later morphed into our modern day communists) trying to destroy a town, psychologically, religiously and physically. Dostoyevsky wrote this as a warning against such revolutionists and because they form a large part of the narrative it should have been very depressing to me, but it wasn’t. I attribute that mainly to Dostoyevsky making it clear that these are bad men and their philosophy is the utter ruination, on all levels, of any who practice it. There is no praise for such filth and Dostoyevsky presents it as evil, as it is. There is no hero in this book and for once, I was ok with that.
That being said, Dostoyevsky portrays Russian Character and I must say, it is not flattering at all. The more I read of the Russians, the more I am convinced that they are a bunch of weak willed, spineless man babies with the emotional depth of 5 year olds OR they are tyrannical brutes. This might be unfair, but if you were to characterize the English based on Dickens’ novels, you’d get a much more mixed result. Out of control emotionalism seems to dominate the russian character and I dislike that intensely.
I took my time reading this (it took me almost 3 weeks) and didn’t take any notes. I just kind of marinated in it and I rather enjoyed reading it that way. I knew it wouldn’t make for a great review, but I wanted to simply experience the book and hang everything else. Now I have experienced the book, given it 5 stars and think it is close to one of the best Dostoyevsky’s I’ve read yet.
★★★★★
From Grokipedia
Part One
The narrative of Demons opens in a provincial Russian town in the early 1860s, as recounted by the local chronicler Anton Lavrentyevich G—v, who has observed events over several years.[34] The introduction focuses on Stepan Trofimovich Verkhovensky, a retired liberal intellectual and former tutor, whose dramatic life and exaggerated sense of persecution stem from his minor involvement in radical circles two decades earlier.[35] Stepan has lived for twenty years under the patronage of Varvara Petrovna Stavrogina, a wealthy and imperious widow who employed him to educate her only son, Nikolai Vsevolodovich Stavrogin.[34] Their relationship, marked by intense quarrels and reconciliations, reflects Varvara's admiration for Stepan's refinement alongside her frustration with his indolence and hypochondria.[36]Nikolai Stavrogin, now twenty-five, returns to the town after an absence of several years spent in Petersburg and abroad, immediately stirring controversy with his enigmatic demeanor and past indiscretions.[34] In the capital, as a young officer, he publicly humiliated a fellow club member by pulling his nose and bit the ear of the governor's wife during a social gathering, acts that led to his resignation from military service and a bout of brain fever requiring medical seclusion.[35] Upon recovery, Stavrogin travels Europe for three years, forming a close but undefined attachment to Elizaveta Nikolaevna Tushina (Liza), the beautiful daughter of a general's widow, though their bond ends in mutual disillusionment.[34] Varvara Petrovna, informed of these events during her own European visits, retrieves her ward Darya Pavlovna (Dasha) from service with Liza's family and proposes that the impoverished Stepan marry Dasha, securing his financial future while preserving social appearances.[36]The plot introduces peripheral radicals and eccentrics who orbit the Stavrogin household, foreshadowing ideological tensions. Ivan Pavlovich Shatov, a former serf turned Slavophile, loses his position as a clerk due to his outspoken nationalism and grapples with personal failures, including the abandonment of his wife after her infidelity.[34] Alexey Nilych Kirillov, an engineer obsessed with proving human autonomy through voluntary suicide, resides nearby and engages in philosophical debates.[35] Captain Ignat Lebyadkin, a drunken bully, mistreats his lame half-sister Marya Timofyevna, who lives in squalor and harbors delusions of grandeur, reciting verses and claiming noble connections.[34] Liza Tushina arrives in town with her mother, pursued by suitor Mavriky Nikolaevich Drozdov, amid rumors of her past with Stavrogin.[36]Tensions escalate when Shatov escorts the narrator to Marya's hovel, revealing her abuse and vague ties to Stavrogin, who has anonymously supported her.[34] Varvara Petrovna encounters Marya at church and, mistaking her for a beggar, invites her home out of charity, only to face chaos as anonymous letters accuse Varvara of scandals involving Dasha and Stavrogin.[35] Dasha admits forwarding 300 rubles from Stavrogin to Lebyadkin on his instructions, fueling suspicions of a secret connection.[34] Lebyadkin intrudes, behaving erratically, while Pyotr Stepanovich Verkhovensky—Stepan's estranged son and a sly agitator—arrives unannounced, hinting at revolutionary schemes.[36]Part One culminates in a strained drawing-room gathering at Varvara's estate, attended by local notables including the governor's wife Yulia Mihailovna von Lembke, Liza, and the radicals.[34] Revelations emerge: Pyotr exposes Stavrogin's secret marriage to Marya four years prior in Petersburg, a union prompted by Stavrogin's whim and later dissolved, with ongoing payments to Lebyadkin for her upkeep.[35] Enraged by Stavrogin's indifference to these disclosures and a perceived slight, Shatov publicly boxes his ears, prompting Liza to faint and society to fracture into gossip and dueling challenges.[34] Lebyadkin and Marya vanish shortly after, leaving unresolved mysteries and heightened anticipation among the characters.[36]
Part Two
Part Two opens amid circulating rumors in the provincial town following the events at Varvara Petrovna's estate, with Shatov isolating himself and Stavrogin receiving limited visitors.[33] Pyotr Verkhovensky actively spreads tales of scandal while cultivating alliances, including with Yulia Mihailovna von Lembke, the governor's wife, whom he flatters as a patron of progressive causes.[37] Kirillov confides in Stavrogin his intention to commit suicide not from despair but to transcend humanity by conquering the fear of death, thereby deifying man as the sole rational being capable of self-affirmation.[33] Shatov, in contrast, reveals to Stavrogin a fervent belief in God and the Russian people as the bearers of authentic Christian socialism, while accusing Stavrogin of moral corruption for seducing Shatov's wife and concealing his marriage to Marya Lebyadkina.[33]Stavrogin encounters Fedka the convict, a fugitive serf who demands money and hints at future crimes, prompting Stavrogin to assault him.[33] He then visits Captain Lebyadkin, who extorts funds to silence knowledge of the secret marriage, and attempts to reconcile with Marya, who denounces him as an impostor and refuses recognition.[33] Seeking atonement or distraction, Stavrogin duels Artemy Pavlych Gaganov, son of a man whose nose he once pulled; Stavrogin deliberately misses both shots, emerging unscathed and reflective about his aimless existence.[33]Pyotr convenes a clandestine meeting at the Virginsky household with a core group—including himself, Shigalov the theorist of absolute despotism following societal destruction, Virginsky the radical host, Shatov the dissenting Slavophile, and Stavrogin as nominal leader—to outline a plot for revolutionary subversion modeled on European cells, emphasizing terror, propaganda, and eventual dictatorship.[33] Stavrogin's arrival disrupts the secrecy by openly declaring his disinterest in oaths or discretion, fracturing the cell's cohesion and prompting Shatov's outright rejection of the nihilistic agenda.[33] Pyotr retaliates by anonymously denouncing his own father, Stepan Trofimovitch, to authorities as a subversive, triggering a humiliating police raid on Stepan's home.[33]Tensions escalate with Liza Tushina breaking her engagement to Maurice Nikolaevich and aligning romantically with Stavrogin, whom Pyotr manipulates toward a public declaration.[37] Yulia Mihailovna, envisioning herself as a cultural arbiter, organizes a literary-musical fête to aid the widow of a local governess, enlisting speakers like the pompous novelist Karmazinov and Stepan Trofimovitch for daytime readings.[33] Pyotr undermines the event by inserting agitators and delivering a covertly incendiary speech on women's emancipation and social reform that veils calls for upheaval.[33]The evening portion devolves into farce and violence: Captain Lebyadkin appears uninvited, drunkenly reciting inept verses; Pyotr parades the quadriplegic Semen Yakovlevich as a "new man" exhibit, but a jealous Polish officer, Filip, fires shots in a fit over a perceived slight, wounding no one fatally yet igniting panic among attendees.[33] The chaos spills into brawls, property damage, and public ridicule of Yulia Mihailovna, who suffers a breakdown as her ambitions collapse, exposing the fragility of provincial liberal pretensions amid underlying radical currents.[33]
Part Three
Part Three commences with the long-awaited fête at the governor's residence, ostensibly a literary-musical gathering to benefit impoverished governesses, but it rapidly devolves into pandemonium amid logistical failures, uninvited rabble admitted by conspirators like Liputin and Lyamshin, and the absence of expected dignitaries. Yulia Mikhaylovna von Lembke, the event's patroness, delivers a speech touting progressive ideals, yet the proceedings are disrupted by Captain Lebyadkin's inebriated outburst on stage, where he rants incoherently before being ejected, and by Stavrogin's conspicuous aloofness alongside Liza Tushina's enigmatic presence. The evening segment attracts elite attendees, including a quadrille of "literary men," but escalating tensions culminate in a near-riot, with Pyotr Verkhovensky manipulating the chaos to undermine authority, foreshadowing broader societal rupture.[38][39]In the fête's aftermath, a massive fire engulfs over half the town, attributed by some to arson amid revolutionary agitation, though official inquiries falter. Amid the blaze, Pyotr orchestrates Shatov's assassination by his quintet of followers—Erkel, Tolkaichenko, and others—who bludgeon him to death near his home after he refuses to surrender the society's printing press and affirms his rejection of nihilism. Simultaneously, the charred corpses of Captain Lebyadkin and his sister Marya, Stavrogin's clandestine, intellectually disabled wife, are unearthed, their murders pinned on unidentified perpetrators but sparking rampant speculation implicating Stavrogin due to his prior ties. Kirillov, the engineer's philosophical obsession with self-willed suicide to negate God's existence, fulfills his pact by shooting himself and forging a note claiming responsibility for the killings, thereby providing Pyotr an alibi as he absconds.[40][41]Stavrogin, haunted by moral void, pens a confession detailing atrocities like the sexual violation of a girl who subsequently hanged herself, and seeks absolution from the cleric Tikhon, whose chapter exposing Stavrogin's demonic inertia was excised from initial editions for its unflinching portrayal of ideological and personal depravity. Tormented further by Liza's suicide after fleeing with him to his estate—where she drowns herself upon discovering his indifference—Stavrogin retreats to Skvoreshniki and hangs himself from a crossbeam. Stepan Trofimovich, estranged and itinerant, suffers a stroke during his "last wandering," experiences a spiritual awakening through encounters with a Bible-carrying peasant, and dies reconciled to Orthodox faith under Varvara Petrovna's care on October 20, 1869. Pyotr evades capture and exiles himself abroad, while the quintet members face fragmented fates: some confess under interrogation, others perish or vanish. Varvara, bereft, supports orphans and petitions for Stavrogin's exoneration, as Darya Shatova weds the prince and the town limps toward normalcy, its liberal illusions shattered
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