Tuesday, March 22, 2011
Power structures and hierarchies in Demons
Pyotr enjoys considerable influence around town. Let's think about his manipulation of the Von Lembkes. Let’s try to understand the position of this provincial governor and his wife (who seems rather responsible, according the narrator, for “the things these bad little people managed to do” (317)). And what about those curious and elaborate (and elaborately described) paper structures Von Lembke builds? Any thoughts on that?
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I think the relationship between Pyotr and Andrei Antonovich is particularly illuminating when studying Stepanovich's manipulation of the Von Lembkes. I believe this relationship is much subtler than Pyotr's connection to Yulia Mikhailovna. This latter manipulation is easily achieved by exploiting Yulia's theory that indulging young radicals' whims will somehow save them from their "demons" (where "demons" refers to the ideas of the young revolutionaries of the novel, as explained in the foreword). A useful passage describing her intentions can be found on page 345:
ReplyDelete"Not a one, not a one of them would perish, she would save them all; she would sort them out; and thus she would report on them; she would act with a view to higher justice, and even history and all of Russian liberalism would perhaps bless her name; and the conspiracy would be uncovered even so. All profits at once."
While Pyotr and Yulia's relationship is interesting in its own right, I will focus instead on interactions between Stepanovich and "Lembka."
Andrei Antonovich's background:
The first substantial description of Lembka's political stance can be found in Part Two, Chapter 4, All in Expectation. After Lembka shows Stepanovich his collection of tracts, Pyotr asks, "And what sort of government official are you after that, if you yourself agree to destroy churches and march with cudgels to Petersburg, and the only difference is when to do it?" (314). In response, Lembka asserts that his generation is the generation that holds "together that which you are shaking apart, and which without us would go sprawling in all directions" (314). Lembka ironically states that he is not Pyotr's enemy; it is Lembka's conscious opposition to radical change that implicitly makes Pyotr and Lembka enemies. This episode is indicative of the tension caused by the generational gap between characters in the novel.
Andrei Antonovich & Pyotr Stepanovich discuss "The Shining Light" (Part Two, Chapter 6 "Pyotr Stepanovich Bustles About"):
ReplyDeleteThis episode between Pyotr and Lembka continues the theme of generational tension in Demons. The following passage best describes Lembka's impression of Pyotr throughout the conversation about "The Shining Light". It is a description of Pyotr, in the narrator's own words:
"In short, one beheld a direct man, but an awkward and impolitic one, owing to an excess
of humane feeling and a perhaps unnecessary ticklishness--above all, a none-too-bright man, as von Lembke judged at once with extreme subtlety, and as he had long supposed him to be especially during the last week, alone in his study, especially at night when he privately cursed him with all his might for his inexplicable successes with Yulia Mikhailovna" (353).
The passage is steeped in irony, for Andrei judges Pyotr "a none-too-bright man" far too quickly. In fact, the only reason Lembka hasn't kicked Pyotr out of his office at the point of this observation is because Pyotr came prepared with long-awaited editorial comments regarding Lembka's novel manuscript. Stepanovich's strategy, then, from the first, is "to flatter and completely subdue 'Lembka'," a strategy that, for all intents and purposes, succeeds (353). Pyotr's aim is to implicate Shatov in some conspiracy with a shadowy society somewhere abroad. He manipulates Lembka into believing Shatov is the inspiration for "The Shining Light," and also uses his letter to convince Lembka that Shatov owns a printing press. This is all done presumably so that the local government would welcome the news of Shatov's death (we find out later that Pyotr plans to kill Shatov). It is ironic that Lembka has no clue of Pyotr's deception, and instead judges him to be a less than bright individual. It is also interesting to note how many characters in the novel think of Stepanovich in this way, even though he manipulates nearly everyone except Fedka and Stavrogin into doing what he wants them to do.