I’ve moved from the place where I’ve been stuck for twenty-five years, and I’ve suddenly set out — where, I don’t know, but I’ve set out…’
Well! Unto Part III, the Psychological Novel!!! I’m so excited, because I don’t actually remember Part III. Actually I’m gonna be so honest right now, I don’t remember anything from my first read of Demons other than when Pyotr gushed over Nikolay in the ‘Ivan Tsarevich’ chapter. That’s why my notes are distinctly as if this is my first read, because it really feels like that.
(memory dump below. Just plot shit and basic events that happened; I know subtext is important and that the meaning behind the plot is much more important than the plot itself, but I wanna make sure I actually remember Demons this time.)
The first half was focusing heavily on Nikolay Vsyevolodovich: conversations with Shatov and Kirillov, Fedka, Marya Timofeyevna, Darya (in which Liza was also implied), his duel with Gaganov, the instance with that strange elder Semyon Yakovlevich. The last part of that chapter ended with Stepan and Varvara separating, Stepan repeating ‘alea jacta est!’ twice before leaving Skvoreshniki, really under the impression that it would have been the last time he would see Varvara Petrovna. I just noticed that it is probably symbolic how after the elder Verkhovensky announced that ‘alea jacta est,’ the perspective switched to his son and all the seeds the young Verkhovensky was planting in the town. I am aware though, that this may be because the ‘At Tikhon’s’ chapters, which were focused on Stavrogin, were banned by censors and removed from the book, so Dostoyevsky needed to switch perspectives to keep the story going.
Pyotr Stepanovich started in high society; at von Lembke’s, Karmazinov, ummmm???? I think he visited Kirillov and Shatov. Yes he did. He them right after he was done with Karmazinov, that meeting by the way had them both acting weird. Pyotr went to Kirillov essentially to ask him if he’s still set on killing himself, and Pyotr slightly gave it away that he needs Kirillov to confess to a murder. Kirillov is still on about how it is out of his own free will that he will kill himself. Then with Shatov, Pyotr went there to talk to him about that letter which von Lembke found which was talking about the printing of the manifestos abroad, because he ‘can’t’ print it in Russia. There was also that poem, ‘A Radiant Personality,’ or something like that, that was attributed to Shatov’s printing and was also brought up with von Lembke in the beginning of Pyotr’s bustling. Then there was the meeting at Virginsky, IVAN TSAREVICH CHAPTER (literally peak; Pyotr showed his need for Nikolay and revealed the essence of his revolution), Stepan Trofimovich was searched by the police, the Shpigulin men rebelled, von Lembke had a breakdown but pulled himself together long enough to flog some of the rebels, met Stepan, invited him to his wife’s salon, and yea here we are.
