Customer Reviews

The Possessed (Signet classics)

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4 star:		(2)
3 star:		(1)
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1 star:		(1)

 

 

I was intrigued when John Updike picked this over Dostoevsky's Brothers Karamazov as one of the ten greatest works of literature of the millenium. After reading it I still claim that Karamazov is better, but this novel is certainly not to be missed. It is touter than some of Dostoevsky's other works, and it contains some of his best characterizations, all suffused with a very dark and very penetrating sense of humor. No one will forget the nihilist Kirilov, who wishes to kill himself in order to become God, the naive aesthete Stepan Trofimovitch and his final, farcical escape into peasant Russia, or Nikolai Stavrogin, haunted by a terrible crime that is made all the worse because it is too ordinary. The whole novel is an unabashed piece of anti-revolutionary (indeed, reactionary) propaganda, but even the characters that are intended as caricatures come across as fascinating and oddly believable. This novel displays as well as any other of his works the author's extraordinary understanding of the tortured ways of the human spirit.

I first read this book some years ago and wanted to try it again and see how I reacted to it a second time. It is a strange novel in some ways; alternately brilliant and flawed. The most blatant flaw is in the point of view, which constantly shifts from an omniscient narrator to that of a very minor character in the novel (whose name is only mentioned once). Dostoyevsky seems to forget about this narrator for many pages, then suddenly remembers him and awkwardly explains how he knows this or that fact about what is going on. At other times, we see into the minds of various characters in ways that would be impossible for him. This is something more than a minor flaw as it occurs throughout the book.

Despite this, The Possessed presents a brilliant, if very questionable, picture of one of Dostoyevsky's primary topics -nihilism. As with his other major novels, such as Crime and Punishment and The Brothers Karamazov, Dostoyevsky is passionately concerned about what happens when individuals, and society as a whole, abandons the belief in God. His conclusion is that, without this core belief, man is lost and society breaks down completely. For this, and with some justification, he has been called a reactionary. Indeed, The Possessed is perhaps one of the most fundamentally reactionary novels ever written. I am not saying this as a criticism, but as a simple fact. It is a powerful argument in favor of conservative spiritual and political values. It's thesis is that without these, anarchy and senseless violence will inevitably tear society apart.

The Possessed tells the story of how two amoral, basically sociopathic young men, Nikolai Stavrogin and Peter Verkhovensky, lead a confused and gullible group of radicals and freethinkers on a rampage of destruction. Stavrogin (like more than a few Dostoyevsky characters) is a man who lives in a perpetual existentialist crisis. Nothing has meaning for him, so he randomly experiments with various actions and theories, completely disregarding the consequences. Verkhovensky's character is not quite as well developed. He is presented as a pure nihilist, someone who uses the rhetoric of political radicalism for the purpose of pure destruction. While Stavrogin is, at times, borderline sympathetic because of the pain he suffers, Verkhovensky is portrayed as an almost purely malicious character. Both, however, are responsible, either directly or indirectly for several crimes, including arson and murder.

Dostoyevsky is at least as concerned with the characters who, almost randomly and even, at times, against their will, support the two instigators. These characters are presented as naive, self-centered and frivolous liberals, intellectuals and misfits who are easily led down the path of evil. Central to this is Peter's father, Stepan Verkhovensky, an aging liberal intellectual. He is weak, effete and, often, absurdly sentimental. Dostoyevsky, however, is very good at creating complex characters, and the elder Verkhovensky is no exception. Despite his considerable shortcomings, Mr. Verkhovensky (as he is referred to) is also intelligent, self-aware (at least at times) and able to see the flaws in others -at least to a certain point. Yet, his basically selfish and secular outlook makes him unable to identify pure evil. Mr. Verkhovensky is actually the main character of the novel, if we go by the amount of time devoted to him. I believe he is meant to symbolize the inherent weakness and insubstantiality of the secular intellectual who ends up worshipping, instead of God, romantic and aesthetic ideals.

Despite Dostoyevsky's ability to create extremely complex and nuanced characters, The Possessed actually puts forth a fairly simplistic and reductionist thesis. As deeply complex as the characters often seem, they are nevertheless locked in to playing very predictable roles in the unfolding of events. In this way, Dostoyevsky reminds me of another, in some ways very different author (also Russian born) -Ayn Rand. Yet, I think Dostoyevsky manages to dig a bit deeper into the human soul than Rand did. The Possessed is a quite pessimistic novel, for there are no heroes --only the insipidly neutral and the evil. Dostoyevsky apparently could not conceive of radical ideas grounded in genuine idealism. Unfortunately, events in Russia several decades after Dostoyevsky's death seem to support his dark views of socialism and radical thought. Still, even if you don't agree with the programs of liberals, socialists or radicals, I think it's a bit simplistic to categorize all of them as either idiots or sociopaths. And this is essentially what Dostoyevsky does in this novel -though he manages to hide this simplification with lots of psychological depth. In many ways, the psychological elements, whether they were of central importance to Dostoyevsky or not, are profound enough to overshadow any political or religious arguments his books are making.

Dostoyevsky is the kind of writer who deeply explores the human psyche in a way few modern writers even attempt. A postmodern interpretation could easily dismiss him as morbidly introspective and symptomatic of a decadent bourgeois class with too much leisure time. Indeed, it even occurred to me while reading this that if Stavrogin had to work at a job, and did not have servants attending to his every need, he'd have less time to contemplate the meaninglessness of existence. Still, I don't think we should dismiss Dostoyevsky so readily, whether we agree with him or not. The issues he grapples with are universal and critical. The Possessed does not present much of a positive argument for how life should be lived. Dostoyevsky's cynical view of radicalism does not seem to be rooted in a firm belief in the political status quo of his day. I think his view was that human society and politics are essentially pointless and the only salvation lies in religion and man's relationship to God. While I do not share his spiritual outlook, I find the way he expresses it thought-provoking and fascinating.

Dostoyevsky is claiming an atheist world can not function - that the godless people who inhabit the earth are without values and morrals (they are the "Possessed" individuals) I don't agree with much what he has to say but I was fascinated by his point of view. His book and particularly the character Kirilov are heavily mentioned in the essay by Camus, The Myth of Sisyphus, which argues the opposite claim. The Possessed is long but worth reading - studded with useful aphorisms

I am about two-thirds of the way through this novel, and the novel itself is thus far (as with pretty much all of Dostoevsky's works) outstanding. My review, however, concerns this particular Kindle format of the novel.

The advantage of this format is, of course, that it is free. For that reason alone, it is hard to be overly critical. With this, however, comes some marked disadvantages. First, there are some significant punctuation and grammar errors. For example, in Book 2, most (maybe all) of the chapters' first sentence are not capitalized. Some words will be interrupted by strange symbols (similar to a Wingding-type font), but it seems like all of the words are still there.

More importantly, and disappointingly, is the lack of translation of the French quotes in the novel. All of the Russian is translated as, I imagine, Constance Garnett originally translated it. One of the main characters of the novel, Stepan, however, has a tendency to speak in French when he gets excited. This is not translated, nor are there any footnotes containing the English translation. Thus, there have been sentences and occasional entire paragraphs that I have just had to either attempt to translate myself or skip.

Again, this version was free, so I cannot be too critical. Still, if you believe these problems would affect your reading of this otherwise great novel, consider investing in a different version.

Stepan Verkhovensky cut a special figure the narrator asserts. He relished the idea of himself as a persecuted man. He believed his academic career had been shattered by a whirl of events. Vavara Stavrogin asked him to undertake the education of her son. Verkhovensky's warm friendship with Mrs. Stavrogin, (this translation refers to the characters as Mr. and Mrs. and omits other usages in the rendering of Russian names), has spanned more than twenty years.

The group surrounding Mrs. Stavrogin and Verkhovensky includes Shatov, Virginsky, and Liputin. There are others such as Lebyatkin, Kartuzov, and Lyamshin. Most of the people are idealistic Russian liberals. Mrs. Stavrogin is attached to her son Nikolai. Nikolai's conduct became uncertain in his mid-twenties. He led an old man around by the nose. Then he kissed a married woman. Next he bit the ear of the governor.

Mrs. Stavrogin tries to arrange for her favorite, Dasha Shatov, to marry Stepan Verkhovensky. (She intends to leave money to both of them in her will.) The narrator is Anton Govorov. Stepan Verkhovensky confides in him. Shatov, Govorov, and Liza are concerned that Captain Lebyatkin beats his sister, Maria Lebyatkin. The governor's wife, Julie von Lembke, snubs Mrs. Stavrogin at the cathedral. Liza presses Mrs. Stavrogin, her aunt Vavara, to take her along. (It may be argued that the governor's wife did not snub Mrs. Stavrogin.) At Mrs. Stavrogin's Nikolai Stavrogin and Peter Verkhovensky, Stepan Verkhovensky's son, arrive. Hysteria and chagrin are fates of many of the Dostoyevskian characters in the novel. The freeing of the serfs unleash a great number of ideological discussions.

After a set-to, the Stavrogin and Drozdov houses are closed to visitors. Mere talk creates a myriad of problems. The book is a convincing portrait of nihilism. Shatov hits Nikolai for being married to the lame Maria Lebyatkin. Both Stavrogin and Shatov are members of the society. Gogol is cited in the novel. Turgenev provides the model of a character and one of his fictitious characters is criticized as not being realistic. Critics have compared Dostoyevsky to Dickens. Another reasonable comparison is Charlotte Bronte. The Brontes share the garish nightmarish quality achieved by Dostoyevsky.

Society is fickle. The sane Dasha and insane Maria meet through the medium of Nikolai Stavrogin. The nature of a duel seems to be a throwback to one fought in the 1820's. Some of the characters have been involved in mysterious Swiss ventures, and some have traveled to America. Chernyshevsky's WHAT IS TO BE DONE? is mentioned. A son wants to use his father. The governor's wife plans a gala for the benefit of needy governesses. The local saint is Semyon Yakovlevich. He lives with a merchant. The visit to him ends in misunderstanding. The governor's wife likes both aspects of the aristocracy and of democracy.

What happens in the story is for the reader to discern. Dostoyevsky suffered for his ideals. As a mature person, as a leading novelist, he was able to see the comedy in the philosophical, argumentative intellectuals he portrays in the book. Every social occasion seems to be an opportunity for arguments. Dostoyevsky's Chapter 9 is inserted at the correct place. it was not published initially because it was believed it would create problems for the author. The ferment of proto-revolutionary activity is described in the novel. Young and old men speak of ideas. Women join their conversations. Workers from the factory demonstrate. The novel is multi-leveled, admirable, prophetic.

The book is long and melodrmatic. Deeper than that, the nihlistic movments in Russia is intresting to see devolop.

This review is about the EZ Reads binding, not the novel.

The Devils is one of the monuments of world literature. Anybody who appreciates it would want a copy which is a pleasure to hold and read through a long life. EZ Reads has produced a monumentally tacky binding for it, which does not justify the price ($35.71 when I bought it). I'm sending it back. I'll keep looking in used book stores, and I will never buy another title from this publisher.

Caveat emptor.

This books improves upon the Divine Comedy and revives the New Testament. This book is a bible of Dionysiac dismemberment. Dostoevsky has translated Job's Jehova for us, from the original thunder.