Peace, Richard Arthur (1971). Dostoyevsky: An Examination of the Major Novels (1sted.). Cambridge University Press. ISBN 9780521079112.

I finish with the quote from the article by Rowan Williams: “What makes it (the Demons) so well worth reading now is its unsparing vision of what destructive forces come into the world when there is a vacuum of spiritual understanding. “ Instead of belief in God, Stavrogin has rationality, intellect, self-reliance, and egoism, but the spiritual longing and sensual ardour of his childhood, over-stimulated by his teacher Stepan Trofimovich, has never left him. [59] [60] Unfettered by fear or morality, his life has become a self-centred experiment and a heartless quest to overcome the torment of his growing ennui. [61] The most striking manifestation of his dilemma is in the dialogue with Tikhon, where we find him, perhaps for the only time, truthfully communicating his inner state. In this dialogue there is an alternation in his speech between the stern, worldly voice of rational self-possession and the vulnerable, confessional voice of the lost and suffering soul. [62] [63] I think of Demons/Devils/Possessed and BK as offering the two possibilities for Russia then, with BK offering the hopeful alternative, centered in Alyosha and the lads; and Demons showing the other (with the burning of the village). BBC mini-series The Possessed adapted by Lennox Phillips starring Keith Bell; also broadcast on PBS television in 1972.And I am happy I did. One of the most dramatic episodes in novelistic history must be the fête organised to benefit governesses in Russia - and what a spectacle it is. The Romantic poet, dramatically bidding a farcically narcissistic farewell to his audience, vowing never to write again, stumbles over people’s sense that romantic feelings and allegorical language are a thing of the past. The fête, which is planned more with the aim to celebrate the organisers than to support a good cause (much like any celebrity fundraising event for charity nowadays!) is a complete fiasco. The Devils at work!

Dostoievski maneja la novela a dos niveles. Por un lado, encontramos la conflictiva relación de Stepan Trofímovich Verjovensky (padre de Piotr Stepánovich) y Várvara Petrovna Stavroguina (madre de Nikolai Stavroguin). Ellos representan las generaciones anteriores, que aunque mayores de edad no son menos complejas en sí que las de los jóvenes. Relaciones de veinte años que a lo largo de la novela adquirirán distintas transformaciones hasta eclosionar en un final totalmente distinto al que leemos en las primeras páginas. Humiliated and Insulted (aka The Insulted and Humiliated, The Insulted and the Injured, Injury and Insult)

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Nu, am ghicit-o singur: Dacă Stavroghin crede, nu crede că crede. Iar dacă nu crede, nu crede că nu crede” (Partea a III, VI: 2) The action of the novel is set in a provincial town in the early autumn. The events are described by the reporter, who is also a participant of the events described. His story begins with the story of Stepan Trofimovich Verkhovenskii, the idealist of the forties, and of his complex platonic relationship with Varvara Petrovna Stavrogin - a provincial noble lady, whose patronage he enjoyed.