Matryosha’s delusions establish a nihilistic framework for the censored chapter “At Tikhon’s” in Demons. Exhibiting signs of disturbance that even Nikolai realizes – although who is he to comment on the deranged ravings of another soul – Matryosha forces Nikolai to ponder the existence of a God figure. For someone who struggled with his standing in relation to faith throughout his life, it is easy to see why Dostoevsky routinely considers the existence of a higher power in his novels. For Nikolai, the question becomes his metaphorical leg on which to stand as he attempts to right his life.
“She whispered to me that she was raving “something terrible”, saying ‘I killed God’.” (Dostoevsky, 698) Rather Nietzschean, the finality of the thought grows to consume Matryosha, although it seems to coincide nicely with Nikolai’s outward appearance of projecting nihilism at all times. While Matryosha decides to ultimately end her life, unable – understandably – to exorcise her inner demons, the episode provides a rare glimpse at Nikolai’s humanity, as the troubled protagonist offers to seek medical help on Matryosha’s behalf. Dostoevsky makes a habit in its novels of creating a character that skirts the line between insanity and good-natured oddity, whether it be Crime and Punishment’s Rodion Raskolnikov or The Brothers Karamazov’s Mitya and perhaps Nikolai is simply another example. It is a frequent portrayal of the anti-heroic hero.
Nikolai’s cavalier attitude at the idea of faith in the presence of Bishop Tikhon relates to Michael Burleigh’s concept of Negative Christianity in his essay “National Socialism as Poltical Religion”. Burleigh states that Nazis are “in a state of ferocious revolt against the tenets of Christianity” and “worshippers of all in the Christian tradition that is regarded as Satanic.” (Burleigh, 195) While Nikolai doesn’t go as far as to worship Satan, or Nazism for that matter, his actions throughout the novel suggest a person content to exist on the fringes of acceptable societal behavior. Eschewing social conventions and exhibiting little regard for anyone of high esteem, Nikolai becomes something of an enigma. His enigmatic persona reaches a head in persuading Tikhon to admit to holes in his beliefs, instances of perhaps a minor crisis in faith. Bordering on taboo, Nikolai shows little restraint in his conversation with the Bishop, discussing atheism more freely than Christianity – “A complete atheist stands on the next-to-last upper step to complete faith…” (Dostoevsky, 688). The rhetoric from Nikolai relating atheism as close to complete faith rather than its rightful nihilistic place seems to fly in direct opposition to the First Commandment. While an atheist wouldn’t place a deity above God, there is a sense of worship of the absence of a deity.
Works Cited
Dostoyevsky, F., Pevear, R., & Volokhonsky, L. (2006). Demons: A novel in three parts. London: Vintage Books.
Taylor, F. F. (2011). The great lie: Classic and recent appraisals of ideology and totalitarianism. Wilmington: ISI Books.