SUMMARY OF THE DEVILS
In the Devils, Dostoevsky adapts the idea of a revolutionary group from
a case that occurred in 1869. He combines the Nechayev case and his own
beliefs in order to create the central plot of the Devils. Dostoevsky depicts
a radical group that desires to overthrow the government and undermine the
Russian church. The extremists hope to replace themselves at the helm of
the country by displacing those who are currently in power. The strengths
of the group are their ability to remain clandestine, their intelligence,
and their ability to commit horrific crimes with little remorse. However,
the entire group crumbles at the pinnacle of their actions.
The entire novel takes place in a small town outside of Petersberg and is
narrated by a man named Mr. Govorov. Mr. Govorov does not witness every
conversation first hand, but nonetheless the narrator describes the story
as if he partook in every situation or as a chronicler, who had the events
described to him. We know very little of Mr. Govorov, except that he is
a close friend of Stephan Trofimovich.
Book I is a basic introduction to the characters and provides insight to
their backgrounds and personalities. Dostoevsky spends a good deal of time
describing the events of thirty years ago so that we may better understand
the present situationsof the characters. Book I has little action, but begins
to develop the characters that are essential later in the novel. (Refer to "Character Analysis" for more details).
Liza and Stravrogin begin to spend time with one another and inevitably
the issue of marriage arises. Varvara learns of her son's interest in Liza
and believes that marriage may be beneficial for him. However, when Varvara,
accompanied by her servant Dasha, visits Liza the arrangement becomes uncertain.
Liza believes that Stavrogin is attracted to Dasha because of their behavior
around one another. Consequently Varvara, after returning home, decides
to arrange a marriage between Dasha and Stephan. This arrangement is made
in order to guarantee that Dasha will no longer be a threat to Stavrogin's
and Liza's intention to marry. Both Stephan and Dasha accept Varvara's proposal
because of their subordinate relationship to her. Stephan becomes extremely
nervous and agitated with Varvara for not confirming the plans for marriage.
He spends much of his time tormenting the narrator, Mr. Govorov, with foolish
demands.
The climax of book one occurs in the time span of one day at Varvara's house.
Varvara leaves church and is approached by the cripple, Marya, asking for
money. Out of guilt and pity, Varvara takes Marya home with her and Liza
joins them as well. When they arrive at Varvara's home Stephan, Shatov,
and the narrator are waiting. The presence of the cripple disrupts their
conversation and creates a feeling of awkwardness in the room. Liza's mother,
Varvara Perovna appears on the scene and soon after, Dasha joins them. Captain
Lebyadkin arrives to pursue his previous desires to marry Liza. The Captain
attempts to impress Liza and the rest of the crowd, but ends up making a
fool of himself. Stavrogin, preceded by Peter Stepanovich, enters the scene
after having been away from home for quite some time. He denies his marriage
to Marya, but calls her his good friend and then escorts her home. Peter
remains to unveil the truth of the actual marriage, explains why Stavrogin
denies the marriage, and disgraces his father Stephan. Varvara leaves to
take Stephan home and in the her absence: Shatov strikes Stavrogin in the
face, Stavrogin intentionally restrains himself, Shatov slips away, and
Liza begins having fits.
At the end of Book I all of the major characters have been introduced, but
very little has been resolved. Dostoevsky uses this tension and confusion
to build upon in Book II. Book I is typical of Dostoevsky in that he focuses
on the character development, which is then incorporated to produce a scandalous
climactic scene. He also creates a sense of disarray that sets the scene
for the chaos that is to follow.
Book II contains two contrasting conversations about the concept of God.
Kirillov announces to Stavrogin his intention to kill himself in an attempt
to become God by eternalizing the moment of his suicide. On the other hand,
Shatov confesses his desire to believe in God, but feels unworthy because
of his lack of faith. His hostility towards Stavrogin is due to the secret
marriage between Stavrogin and Marya, and also because of the alleged affair
between Stavrogin and Shatov's wife.
While departing Shatov's residence to go to Captain Lebyadkin's apartment,
Stavrogin encounters Fedka, a former serf of Peter's. Fedka solicits money,
but Stavrogin treats him rudely and continues on his way. After arriving
at the apartment, Lebyadkin threatens to expose the group. Stavrogin leaves
hastily in order to speak to Marya. He admits to Marya that he wants to
publicly announce their wedding, but Marya becomes upset and Stavrogin leaves
in a rage. On his way home, Fedka approaches Stavrogin again. Stavrogin
releases his anger on Fedka by physically harming him and in a fit of madness
throws money in the air as he leaves. Fedka then takes the money as payment
to later kill Lebyadkin.
The next day Stavrogin is forced to partake in a duel with the son of the
man whose nose he pulled in the bar. He intentionally shoots in the air
to avoid his opponent, but that only angers his opponent more. The duel
ends with Stavrogin gaining a new perspective on life, while his opponent
is still angry. Stavrogin then returns home to Dasha, who contends that
she will forgive him for any past and future transgressions. Dostoevsky
then shifts the central focus from Stavrogin to Peter.
Peter begins by ridiculing the governor, while maintaining a friendly relationship
with the governor's wife. The governor's wife becomes preoccupied with planning
a fete, which thus gives Peter ample time to devote to his personal business.
He holds the first group meeting at Virginsky's house. The meeting reflects
the inability of the group to accomplish anything constructive. Stavrogin
arrives late to the meeting and leaves shortly afterwards, much to the distress
of Peter, refusing to agree that he would keep the conversation at the meeting
a secret. The scene provides a setting for Dostoevsky's political satire
and contempt for the revolutionary movement. After catching up with Stavrogin,
Peter reveals his intention to make Stavrogin the leader of the group. Stavrogin
leaves Peter without saying a word.
As he promised the governor, Peter provides evidence to the police of a
revolutionary group. Anonymously, he frames his father as a leader of the
group. The police search Stephan's house and confiscate his books. Peter
did this out of hatred for his father, effectively taking revenge against
him and isolating Stephan from society.
Part III begins with the fete, planned for the benefit of a poor governess.
From the beginning, the fete is a catastrophe that Dostoevsky constructs
in his typical dramatic fashion. The fete consists of two parts: the speakers
during the day and the party in the evening. The speakers are: Captain Lebyadkin,
Karamazinov, Stephan, and an unknown maniac. All of the speakers are a complete
failure. Captain Lebyadkin begins the charade by appearing drunk on stage,
Liputin reads the offensive poem that was originally prepared for Lebyadkin,
Karamazinov bores the crowd to tears with his self-righteous reading of
"Merci", Stephan's speech reflects his obvious self-demise, and
the final speech by the maniac is the last blow to the crowd. The entire
crowd rushes out in a frenzy.
Despite the disastrous morning, Peter convinces Varvara to proceed with
the ball as planned. The ball is equally unsuccessful, with many uninvited
guests appearing and few members of high standing present. The fete is ended
by the announcement that there is a fire on the river bank. Using the ball
as an alibi for Peter, the fire is intentionally set. Though the guilty
are unknown, Marya and Captain Lebyadkin are found murdered in their hut,
which was rented by Stavrogin.
Following the fire, Stavrogin goes to Liza's house in an attempt to persuade
her to leave town with him. Stavrogin tells Liza that he had the ability
to stop the murder, but took no action. Liza leaves madly dragging her suitor,
Maurice Nikolaevich, behind her. They arrive at the sight of the murder
and encounter a mob. Liza is identified as "Stavrogin's woman,"
whacked in the head, and then carried off in a bloody mess.
The next meeting of the group then occurs. The group is worried that the
murder of Lebyadkin will be traced to them, but Peter eases their minds
by persuading them that the evidence cannot be traced to them. Peter does
express his fear that Shatov will betray them because of his desire to leave
the group. Shatov is in possession of the group's printing press and is
capable of proving their existence. Therefore, Peter convinces the organization
that they need to murder Shatov for their own security. They plan to ask
him to bring the printing press to a designated location where they all
plan to partake in his murder. The blame will then be placed on Kirillov,
who has agreed to kill himself and sign any document that Peter presents
to him. The group is nervous about being involved with more murders, but
agree to do so out of submission to Peter and in order to preserve the group's
secret identity. Liputin is particularly nervous about the affair and plans
on leaving the country immediately following the murder.
In the following section Dostoevsky creates the character of Marya Shatova.
She represents the contrasting images of birth and death. The introduction
of her character is unnecessary to the plot of the novel, but it provides
a number of possible themes that Dostoevsky is trying to present in the
novel. Marya is Shatov's ex-wife who he has not seen for three years. She
arrives pregnant and wanting to establish herself in a new town. On her
first night in town she goes into labor with Stavrogin's baby. Shatov becomes
frantic and chases all over town searching for a midwife. He convinces Virginsky's
wife to assist in the birth which is successful. Marya expresses her need
for Shatov and they appear to be in love again.
Shatov leaves his wife to expose the location of the printing press as planned.
The group's plan is not adhered to, but the murder is successfully committed.
They dispose of the body in a nearby lake and disperse agreeing not to mention
a word of their action. One of the group's members, Lyamshin, is in a terrible
state and another member, Tolkachenko, is assigned by Peter to take care
of him. Peter then goes directly to Kirillov's apartment to complete the
plan. After a great deal of discussion, Kirillov signs the note, taking
full responsibility for the murder of Shatov, and then commits suicide.
Peter goes to Petersburg to remove himself from everything that had transpired
and in pursuit of Stavrogin, who departed after his conversation with Liza.
Stephan embarks on a journey to escape his surroundings in town. He accepts
a ride from strangers and stops at a hut for food on his way to Spasov.
He meets a peasant, Sofya Mateevna, who is selling gospels in the hut. He
offers her a ride to catch the ferry to Spasov. They stay in a hut to wait
for the day when the ferry will arrive, but Stephan falls very ill. She
stays with him because of his insistence and because she is unable to leave
a dying man. Stephan turns to God in his final days, praying for his forgiveness
and realizing the joy in life. Varvara arrives and initially treats Sofya
very rudely, but later apologizes for her behavior. She calls for a doctor,
but it is to no avail. Stephan dies peacefully in bed with the firm conviction
that God would ease his suffering.
The conclusion of the novel is brief, but tragic. Marya Shatova wakes to
find her husband not by her side and runs into the streets with her baby
searching for him. She falls unconscious and dies three days later. Her
baby catches a cold and dies before she does. Tolkachenko abandons Lyamshin
to try to escape. Lyamshin goes to the police and confesses everything about
the group. He, Virginsky, Erkel, Liputin, Tolkachenko, and Peter are all
arrested for their involvement in the recent crimes. Stavrogin sends word
to Darya, asking her to come live with him. She plans to accept his offer
and Varvara declares that she will join them. Upon hearing of his return,
Darya and Varvara go in search of Stavrogin, but instead find that he has
hanged himself. A note of explanation is left: "No one is to blame,
I did it myself."
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