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Part 1, Chapter 3, Section 6
Themes
Key
LitCharts assigns a color and icon to each theme in Demons, which you can use to track the themes throughout the work.
Politics and Self-Interest
Ideology and Extremism
Morality and Nihilism
Herd Mentality
Atheism vs. Belief in God
Summary
Analysis
After Liputin and Aleksey leave, Stepan gathers his hat and cane and prepares to go see Varvara. On the way, he tells Anton that he won’t be married because of “another man’s sins.” Anton realizes that Stepan has thought, all along, that Varvara’s plan to marry Darya and Stepan is related to Nikolay’s missteps. On the way, Stepan and Anton run into Liza, who is out riding on horseback. She is accompanied by a man named Mavriky. Liza used to be Stepan’s pupil, and the two haven’t seen each other for more than 10 years. Liza is overjoyed to see Stepan.
What Stepan has just heard from Liputin about Nikolay’s involvement with another woman seems to reinforce Stepan’s desire to go see Varvara. When Stepan says that he is set to be married to Darya to pay for “another man’s sins,” he implies that he, like Varvara, suspects that Nikolay and Darya may have had some kind of romantic involvement. In Stepan’s case, though, he does not want to let Varvara use him to avoid a potential scandal.
Themes
Liza and Mavriky accompany Anton and Stepan back to Stepan’s house. At the house, Liza asks Stepan if he is doing okay, as he seems troubled. Stepan tries to brush off the question, but Liza says she knows that Varvara is hiding something and that the town has been gossiping about Stepan’s possible marriage to Darya. Stepan is surprised that the news has gotten out. Liza then asks about Shatov. She says that she is looking for someone who speaks English to be an assistant to her and help her handle some literary matters. Stepan vouches for Shatov, and Anton says that he will go speak to him personally. Liza asks Anton to tell Shatov to come see her at noon the next day.
Rumors play a significant role in the novel, as evidenced here. In some cases, rumors in the novel turn out to be true (including the rumor that Stepan will possibly marry Darya) and in other cases they are false. The novel uses the prevalence of rumors, and their varying degrees of truth, to comment on phenomena like herd mentality. In particular, the novel aims to show that if enough people believe something is true, then that can be enough to spur collective action, regardless of whether a rumor is actually true.
Themes
