Quest of the Spirit: From Suffering to Acceptance

110.Confronting Self: Dostoyevsky's The Devils!

                                                  Death-and-Rebirth in Dostoyevsky's  The Devils

        "My immortality is necessary if only because God would not do anything unjust to extinguish completely the flame of love for him once kindled in my heart. And what is more precious than love? Love is higher than existence. Love is the crown of existence. And how is it possible that existence should not be subjected to it? If I have come to love Him and rejoice in my love—is it possible that He should extinguish both me and my joy and turn us into nothingness? If God exists, then I, too, am immortal!" This passage from Fyodor's Dostoyevsky's Devils affirms the author's faith in God and man. In contrast, the author indicts the rising popularity of socialism by portraying it as an atheistic ideology promoting equality at the expense of human dignity. Dostoyevsky expresses his fears for Russia by illustrating how easily unscrupulous individuals can capitalize on the idealism of others through manipulation and deceit, often at the cost of innocent lives, As protagonist Stepan Verkhovensky recounts the events of his life, the aged hero realizes that the presence of love, as man's highest goal, proves the existence of God and motivates men toward forgiveness and understanding of one another, not political philosophy or personal gain. The hero and persona for Dostoyevsky tells his devoted friends, "God is necessary to me if only because he is the only being whom one can love eternally" (655). The dying gentleman recognizes the promise that despite one's losses in this earthly life, there exists a purer unceasing love in the hereafter, and that it is man's duty to cherish every moment as a blessing. Stepan observes that this is "the law that is hidden deep down in his nature" (656). Like Plato, the author suggests that "the mere presence of the everlasting idea of the existence of something infinitely more just and happy" should fill men "with abiding tenderness and glory." The knowledge and belief that a place of perfection and happiness exists for those who "bow down" before that supremely infinite force should fill man with gratitude and joy. All men, the author suggests, must acknowledge this principle of humility in order for the process of spiritual transformation is to occur; otherwise, man can only expect despair from life. Stepan tells Lisa in the final stage of his life, "I kneel to everything that was beautiful in my life. I kiss and offer up thanks!" (535). The cycle of death-and-rebirth must transpire in the hero for him to realize his purpose in the Divine Plan which Verkhovensky calls the Great Idea (656). Only then can the protagonist commence the psychological transition from innocence to awareness.

            Dostoyevsky uses the character of Stepan Verkhovensky to represent the traditional values that he espouses. The elder Verkhovensky serves as teacher, mentor, tragic figure, and symbolic optimism for Russia. This older protagonist inspires Stavrogin when he was a youth (53-54), Lisa Drozdov (83, 177), Ivan Shatov (150), and Dasha Shatov (174). Verkhovensky serves as a kind of father to all (46). Varvara Stavrogen shows her love for Stepan when she tries to persuade him to marry Dasha in order to keep her son Nicholas from ruining the young girl's life. Mrs. Stavrogin realizes that Verkhovensky would treat her with the love and affection that she deserves. Stepan nobly agrees to marry Miss Shatov even if it means "covering another man's sins" (133). Out of devotion to Varvara, the hero consents to marry another, yet honestly confesses his love for Mrs. Stavrogin (134). Dostoyevsky calls Stepan "a man of high principles" (88), a "most excellent man"(22), a "Gulliver among Lilliputians" (22), and a "patriarch" (33). The elder gentleman despises the idle theories of the gentry, and suggests that Russians should live by their own labor. Verkhovensky rejects the notion of nationalism, and tells Liputin that Russians "must first of all have work—our own work, our own initiative, our own experience!" Stepan tells his friends that people cannot expect to "get something for nothing" (50-51), and that this illusive nationalism in Russia is an upper class invention, a delusion, or premature notion. As Dostoyevsky's persona, the older teacher tells his young listeners that Russia's future depends upon their modeling their practices upon the virtues of past heroes who knew a "how to love their people, suffer for them, sacrifice for them," and at the same time, how to remain aloof from them and "not curry favor with them in certain matters" (52). One need not patronize virtue. Here the author reflects his conservative faith in his country and his God. Verkhovensky cannot tolerate deceit even in his son Peter and as result, throws him out of his house, calls him a "monster," and places a father's curse upon him (311-312). Stepan cares for Varvara Stavrogin, whom he realizes is sacrificing her integrity to appeal to the liberal views of the younger generation. Believing the socialist cause is unworthy of her attention, he calls it "a mess of pottage," alluding to Jacob's betrayal of his brother Essau for his father's blessing and birthright (344). Psychologically, the hero recognizes his need to separate himself from Stavrogin in order for his spiritual and emotional transformation to occur. The aged protagonist's quest alone on the road corresponds with Don Quixote's picaresque adventures in La Mancha. In fact, Dostoyevsky sympathizes with Verkhovensky, and refers to him as "a true knight" (345), a "poor old friend," and a "good old friend" (434). Mistaken for his deceitful son, Stepan suffers at the hands of the police who threaten him and seize his papers. Speaking for the author, Mr. G-v, narrator and close companion, feels "sorry" for Verkhovensky (425-429). The hero's aversion for the socialist rhetoric compels him to leave his son's meeting early (459) and proclaim the "stupidity" of the gathering itself at Mrs. Lemke's fete (483). He attacks the "nihilists" and the "new men" there (642). In essence, Stepan's revulsion for the machinations of his son parallels the author's antipathy for a Godless, impractical theory that imposters promote for personal gain, under the guise of equality. Verkhovensky expresses his fear for his country's future when he tells Lisa, "I'm running away from a nightmare, from a delirious dream. I'm running away to find Russia" (535). Here the author suggests that men of virtue and integrity no longer command respect in his country. In his letter to Dasha Shatov, Stepan says, "But you will be told that in our Russia, which is so poor in men of character, one plucky man got up and, in spite of the dire threats hurled at him on every side, told those little fools the truth . . . The die is cast; I am going from this town for good . . . Everyone I loved has turned away from me" (489). This passage signifies both his courage and his sense of loss and betrayal. As Stepan addresses the audience at Mrs. Lemke's fete, he declares that the youth of his day have fallen prey to the illusion that socialism can fulfill man's aesthetic needs: "The whole misunderstanding has arisen only round the question what is more beautiful: Shakespeare or a pair of boots, Raphael or petroleum!" (483). The aging prophet tells them that civilizations are founded upon beauty, not social or economic equality. Men's dreams derive from man's quest for the ideal, not emancipation of the serfs or a new nationalism or socialism (484). In the absence of artistic endeavors, man no longer manifests the desire to achieve. Stepan courageously tells his audience, "The whole mystery is there, the whole of history there! Even science could not exist a moment without beauty" (484). Here Dostoyevsky suggests that science and freedom cannot provide spiritual or emotional fulfillment. Only love inspires man to transcend the unattainable (484), forgive as he is forgiven (638), and partake of the divinity of God (655). In essence, Verkhovensky serves as a tragic victim whom others recognize for his greatness of heart and sensitivity ironically during his final moments. Then, sadly Mrs. Stavrogin acknowledges the love she bears for him, a love that he had openly professed to her more than once throughout their many years of friendship (651). Following the police's seizure of his personal papers and his growing fear of exile, Stepan burst into tears of anguish. Speaking through the persona of Mr. G-v, the author laments Verkhovensky's tragic betrayal: "This was the man whom we had looked upon as a prophet for twenty years. A preacher, a teacher, a patriarch. The Kukolnik who had borne himself so grandly and majestically before us all, whom we regarded with such admiration, thinking it an honor to do so—and suddenly this man was sobbing like a naughty little child who is waiting for his teacher's return with the cane. I felt awfully sorry for him"(429).