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Part 1, Chapter 5, Section 1
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
Varvara and Praskovya have been feuding for the past few days. The conflict has gotten so bad that it’s almost led to a complete rupture between the families. Varvara doesn’t know exactly what has happened. They last saw each other five days ago when Varvara visited Praskovya. Varvara is accustomed to having the upper hand over Praskovya, but recently, Praskovya seems to have adopted a haughty attitude toward Varvara. When Praskovya arrives at the house, Stepan tries to catch Anton’s eye. Everyone becomes distracted to the point that they momentarily forget about Marya.
The feud between Varvara and Praskovya again points to the jostling for status that occurs in the social class that Varvara—and, by extension, Stepan—occupies. The novel pointedly establishes the norms that preoccupy and determine delineations of status in that socioeconomic echelon to clarify what stands to be disrupted if other influences are introduced to that milieu.
Themes
