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Part 2, Chapter 2, Section 4
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
The next day, Aleksey goes to see Gaganov, the son of the man whose nose Nikolay once pulled. Gaganov has been trying to provoke Nikolay for the past month and is intent on fighting. It’s agreed that there will be a duel. Gaganov arranges for his childhood friend, Mavriky, to be his second. Gaganov insists on one further stipulation. If no one falls after the first shots are fired, they’ll retake their paces and shoot again. If the second shots fail to determine an outcome, they’ll repeat the process again. Aleksey tries to argue against that stipulation but ultimately agrees under the condition that they’ll stop after the third time. At 2 p.m., Aleksey and Nikolay arrive on horseback for the duel.
Gaganov’s insistence that the duel continues if no one dies in the first round makes it clear how much rage he feels toward Nikolay. Nikolay seems to reluctantly agree to both the duel and its terms. It’s clear that Nikolay has no desire to engage with Gaganov or go through with the duel, which makes it even more striking that Nikolay accepts Gaganov’s draconian terms. That suggests that Nikolay may be confident in his ability to win the duel, may suspect that Gaganov is overconfident, or perhaps that Nikolay is indifferent about the possibility of his own death.
Themes
