A summary of Fyodor Dostoevsky’s "Demons"

Fyodor Dostoevsky’s novel, published in 1872, chronicles the destruction of provincial society. The plot is based on the true events of the murder of the student Ivanov by a group of radicals led by Sergei Nechayev. The author explores the influence of political ideologies on the human psyche. The events take place in an unnamed provincial town, where Andrei Antonovich von Lembke serves as governor.

Polish director Andrzej Wajda made a successful film based on the novel in 1988. Russian director Vladimir Khotinenko released a television series in 2014.

Background and main characters

The liberal idealist Stepan Trofimovich Verkhovensky lives at the expense of the wealthy landowner Varvara Petrovna Stavrogina. For many years, they have shared a strange platonic attachment. The old man plays the role of an exile and a persecuted thinker. Stepan Trofimovich writes letters to friends, lamenting his fate. Varvara Petrovna takes care of him, paying his expenses. Their relationship is complicated, and they quarrel frequently. Varvara Petrovna suddenly decides to marry Stepan Trofimovich to her ward, Darya Pavlovna. The old man is horrified by this proposal. The landowner’s son, Nikolai Stavrogin, returns to town. He had previously distinguished himself with a series of wild antics. The young man pulled the nose of the foreman, Pavel Pavlovich Gaganov, publicly kissed the wife of the official Liputin, and bit the ear of the governor.

Soon, Stepan Trofimovich’s son, Pyotr Verkhovensky, appears. The young man is cynical, calculating, and cunning. Pyotr Stepanovich organizes a secret society. The members of the cell believe in the existence of a vast network of similar groups throughout Russia. The circle includes Liputin, Virginsky, Shigalev, Tolkachenko, and Lyamshin. Shigalev proposes his own system of world order. He argues for dividing humanity into two unequal halves. One-tenth is granted absolute freedom. The remaining nine-tenths are stripped of their personalities and work for the chosen few.

Pyotr Verkhovensky skillfully weaves intrigues. He dominates the minds of the local youth. He makes the official Lembke doubt his own abilities. Yulia Mikhailovna von Lembke dreams of glory. She wants to unite all strata of society. The governor’s wife allows young people to behave provocatively. A group of mockers creates scandals. They compromise respectable citizens. Young people plant obscene photographs in a bookseller’s bag. Governor Andrei Antonovich can’t handle the tension. He begins shouting at his subordinates. He demands that the factory workers be beaten. The workers of the Shpigulin family’s factory demand justice and come to their boss’s house. Pyotr Stepanovich assures the governor that the rioters are to blame for everything.

Ideological conflicts

Nikolai Stavrogin remains a mystery to those around him. The truth about his past is revealed. He is secretly married to the lame and half-mad Marya Timofeyevna Lebyadkina. Marya’s brother, the drunkard Captain Lebyadkin, is blackmailing Stavrogin. The captain demands money for his silence. Former acquaintances of Nikolai Vsevolodovich are living in the city. Shatov has become disillusioned with radical ideas and preaches the idea of a God-bearing people. Engineer Kirillov is obsessed with suicide. Kirillov believes he will attain divine freedom after a voluntary death. Stavrogin openly confesses to Shatov his legal marriage. Shatov strikes him in the face with a heavy fist. Stavrogin survives the blow.

Pavel Gaganov’s son, Artemy, challenges Stavrogin to a duel. Kirillov acts as second. The distance between the barriers is twelve paces. Gaganov fires three times. Gaganov misses. Stavrogin deliberately misses. He declares, "I don’t want to kill anyone else." The duel ends without casualties. Nikolai Stavrogin exerts a magnetic influence on people. Women fall in love with him. Lizaveta Nikolaevna Tushina is torn between love and hate for Stavrogin. She agrees to marry Mavriky Nikolaevich.

Destruction of the city

Yulia Mikhailovna is organizing a charity event. The governor’s wife hopes to reconcile society. The event turns into a major scandal. The writer Karmazinov spends an hour reading his boring farewell essay, "Merci." The audience roars and laughs. Liputin reads a mocking poem about governesses. Stepan Trofimovich delivers a speech on beauty. He defends Shakespeare and Raphael. He curses the nihilists. A maniac concludes the reading with wild political slogans. The event is interrupted by news of a fire in Zarechye. Marya Lebyadkina, her brother, and her maid are found murdered in the ashes.

The crime was committed by the escaped convict Fedka. Stavrogin foresaw the murder but did not stop the criminals. Lizaveta Nikolaevna Tushina spends the night with Stavrogin in Skvoreshniki. In the morning, she learns of the Lebyadkins’ death from Pyotr Verkhovensky. In despair, Liza runs to the scene of the fire. An enraged crowd brutally beats her. Mavriky Nikolaevich tries to save Liza but fails.

The Murder of Shatov

Pyotr Verkhovensky convinces his cell to commit the crime. He claims Shatov is preparing a police report. The conspirators lure Shatov to Stavrogin Park. Shatov’s wife Marie unexpectedly returns. She gives birth to a child. Shatov is happy and makes plans for the future. Erkel escorts the victim to the meeting place. Tolkachenko, Liputin, and Erkel knock Shatov down. Pyotr Stepanovich kills Shatov with a revolver shot to the forehead. The body is weighed down with stones and thrown into a pond. The accomplices panic. Lyamshin loses his mind with terror and screams in an inhuman voice.

Pyotr Stepanovich comes to Kirillov. He is to take the blame for Shatov’s murder. Kirillov signs a document. He writes: "Liberty, equality, fraternity, or death." Kirillov shoots himself in the right temple. Pyotr Stepanovich takes the document. He boards a train and flees to St. Petersburg. Lyamshin can’t stand the stress. He hands over all the conspirators to the police. The authorities arrest the criminals.

The fates of the main characters

Stepan Trofimovich leaves the city on foot. The old man wanders along a country road without a clear destination, and then rides in a cart with peasants. On the way, the fugitive falls seriously ill with cholera. He is accompanied by the book peddler Sofia Matveyevna. Varvara Petrovna finds her dying friend in a peasant hut a few kilometers outside the city. Before his death, he receives communion. Stepan Trofimovich professes his love for Varvara Petrovna. He says, "I need God if only because He is the only being I can love forever." Varvara Petrovna grieves over his death.

Stavrogin writes a farewell letter to Darya Pavlovna. He invites her to leave for Switzerland. Stavrogin acknowledges his spiritual emptiness. He writes, "My desires are too weak; they cannot lead." Darya shows the letter to Varvara Petrovna. The women rush to the estate. Soon they find Stavrogin hanged in the mezzanine of the Skvoreshniki estate. Stavrogin leaves a note: "Blame no one, I myself." Doctors dismiss the theory of insanity.

In the appendix to the novel, Stavrogin visits the elder Tikhon. He hands the priest a sheet of paper containing a written confession. The text describes his affair with the young girl Matryosha. Matryosha committed suicide. Stavrogin awaited her death and did not help her. Tikhon reads the confession. The elder foresees Stavrogin’s next crime. The preparatory materials reveal the author’s initial intentions. The drafts outline the conflicts between the Teacher, the Prince, and the Beauty, which become the basis of the plot.