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Part 2, Chapter 7, 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
At Virginsky’s house, the group begins by discussing whether God exists. From there, they discuss whether morality exists. A student attempts to bring forth the plight of students for the group to discuss, but another person interrupts and asks whether they are meeting or not. The group then descends into a series of mix-ups and hijinks as they attempt to vote about whether they are involved in a meeting or not. Eventually, they decide that they are, in fact, meeting. Someone asks Pyotr and Nikolay if they have anything to say, but both declines to speak.
This passage provides another example of satire in the novel. In this case, the revolutionary faction, engaged in a meeting that Pyotr has organized, cannot decide whether they are in fact meeting or not. Just to reach that decision requires a significant amount of back and forth between the members of the group, and agreement is by no means easy to come by. The Society’s ability to effectively organize and work together then comes into question.
Themes
Shigalyov decides to speak up and put a matter forward for discussion. He says that he has been working through figures in his notebook. He started with the aim of showing how universal freedom would be possible, but, he says, he ended up arriving at the opposite conclusion. Instead, for an earthly paradise to be achieved, one must turn to almost unlimited despotism. Nine-tenths of humanity must become a form of livestock serving one-tenth of humanity. Several members of the group are appalled by Shigalyov’s suggestion, but some speak up in defense of his idea. Pyotr in particular says the idea is preposterous.
Shigalyov’s ideas point to the lack of clarity the revolutionary movement has about the changes they wish to implement through the revolution. Many people in the group find Shigalyov’s ideas abhorrent and consider his positions antithetical to the changes they hope to achieve, but there doesn’t seem to be a consensus about what a more just and free society would look like after their proposed revolution. With that in mind, Dostoevsky uses Shigalyov’s ideas to suggest vacuums of power (which could occur after the revolution) can bring with them the danger of tyranny and despotism, even if that outcome is antithetical to the principles that led to revolution.
Themes
Pyotr gets into an argument with a schoolteacher about the idea. Pyotr then asks the group if they would be willing to join a “group of five.” Everyone is surprised that Pyotr has brought up the groups, as their existence is considered highly confidential. Pyotr then asks if everyone at the meeting would be ready to go all-in to support the cause of the revolution, even if it means “a hundred million heads” (or killing a hundred million people). Everyone responds with resounding cries that they are ready. Pyotr brings up the idea that there may be an informer among them. To ferret out a possible informer, Pyotr poses a question to each person in the group: would they inform authorities if they learned of a planned political assassination, or would they let the assassination proceed?
Pyotr’s statements about the “hundred million heads” serve as a kind of purity test for the revolutionary faction. In Pyotr’s view, one isn’t a true revolutionary unless one is willing to spill the blood of millions of people to ensure the revolution is successful. In that way, Pyotr uses the idea of killing a hundred million people to test the extent to which each person in the group believes that single-minded devotion to ideological purity is more important than human life. The novel ultimately shows that that devotion to ideological purity, and valuing ideology over human life, is the mark of extremism.
Themes
Pyotr asks the schoolteacher first. Reluctantly, the schoolteacher eventually says that he would not inform. Pyotr turns to another person who says that he would not inform either. Shatov then stands up and leaves the house. Several people cry out that Shatov must be an informer. Nikolay and Aleksey then stand up to leave, and people say that they may be informers, too, as they haven’t answered Pyotr’s question. Nikolay says that Pyotr hasn’t answered his own question, so he may also be an informer. That causes an uproar in the group. Pyotr urges Nikolay to go with Aleksey to his house. At first, Nikolay refuses, but when Aleksey interjects, Nikolay agrees to go with him.
In this passage, Pyotr makes his purity test of the revolutionary faction more direct by asking each member a question that is meant to determine whether they may be an informer. The way that the group immediately turns on Shatov when he refuses to answer the question is an example of herd mentality, whereby people sacrifice their individual morality to appease a group. That immediate denunciation of Shatov also shows the risk of opposing the group, as it seems clear that Shatov is now considered a likely enemy, which could put a target on his back.
Themes
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