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Part 2, Chapter 3, Section 2
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
Nikolay and Aleksey ride away from the duel together. Nikolay then tells Aleksey that he had no intention of insulting Gaganov but seems to have done so again. Aleksey says that he has clearly insulted him. Nikolay asks Aleksey what he should have done, and Aleksey says he should have killed Gaganov. Nikolay says he is done killing and that he only challenged Gaganov to a duel because he wanted Gaganov to leave him alone. If they hadn’t had the duel, Nikolay says, then perhaps Gaganov would have killed him or beat him up. At the very least, he would have continued to insult Nikolay.
Nikolay says that he is done killing, suggesting that previous rumors about Nikolay killing a man were in fact true. The fact that Nikolay is done killing suggests that he is either a changed person or perhaps that he has reached an inflection point in his life. Perhaps, Nikolay’s comments suggest, his previous approach to life proved to be unsatisfying, so now he is trying to find a different approach, one that is not as violent and ruthless.
Themes
