Previous
Part 3, Chapter 4, 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
Shatov sits at home. After Marya was murdered, Shatov wanted to inform on everyone he suspected was involved in her death. Shatov hears someone outside. He goes to his window, and when he looks down, he sees his wife Marie, whom he married in Switzerland three years ago. The two parted ways without divorcing after only a few weeks of marriage. Shatov is overjoyed to see Marie. He rushes downstairs to help her with her things and brings her back upstairs. When she asks for tea, Shatov rushes to Aleksey’s to ask if he has tea. Aleksey offers Shatov meat, tea, a samovar, and anything else Shatov could want. Shatov is struck by Aleksey’s generosity.
Shatov was fond of Marya and doesn’t want to see those responsible for her death go unpunished. Aleksey’s generosity toward Shatov is contrasted with his devotion to killing himself. In this case, the novel suggests that Aleksey has become so devoted to his ideology of suicide that he overlooks the importance of his own life and the impact he has on others. Shatov, though, seems not to grasp the implications of Aleksey’s generosity.
Themes
After Shatov returns to his apartment, he hears a knock on his door. It’s Erkel, who is a representative from the Society. He says that the Society wants Shatov to show them where he buried the printing press that was in his care. After that, Erkel says, Shatov will have no other obligations to the Society. Shatov asks if Pyotr will be there, and Erkel says no because Pyotr is planning to leave town tomorrow morning. Shatov thinks that Pyotr is fleeing the repercussions of the recent events. Erkel tells Shatov to meet them tomorrow night. Shatov agrees to meet them and is relieved that he will be able to finally be free of the Society.
Shatov has been trying to get free of the revolutionary faction since he briefly helped the faction run a printing press. Since then, though, Shatov has had a spiritual awakening and religious conversion, which has brought him away from revolutionary politics. Now that Marie has re-entered his life, Shatov sees Erkel’s offer as a chance to finally restart his life with a clean slate and be done with the revolutionary faction once and for all.
Themes
