Demons

Translators' Note

Russian names are composed of first name, patronymic (from the father's first name), and family name. Formal address requires the use of first name and patronymic; diminutives are commonly used among family and intimate friends; a shortened form of the patronymic (e.g., Yegorych instead of Yegorovich), used only in speech, also suggests a certain familiarity. Among the aristocracy, who spoke French at least as readily as Russian, the French forms of names were frequently used, such as Julie in place of Yulia. The following list gives the names of the novel's main characters, with their variants. Accented syllables of Russian names are italicized.

Alexei Yegorovich, or Yegorych (no family name) Drozdov, Mavriky Nikolaevich (Maurice)

_______, Praskovya Ivanovna. (Drozdikha)

Erkel (no first name or patronymic)

Fyodor Fyodorovich, called 'Fedka the Convict' (no family name) Gaganov, Artemy Pavlovich

______, Pavel Pavlovich

G___v, Anton Lavrentievich

Karmazinov, Semyon Yegorovich

Kirillov, Alexei Nilych

Lebyadkin, Ignat (patronymic 'Timofeevich' never used)

_______, Marya Timofeeevna, or Timofevna

Liputin, Sergei Yegorovich (or Vasilyich)

Lyamshin (no first name or patronymic) Matryosha (no patronymic or family name) Semyon Yakovlevich (no family name) Shatov, Darya Pavlovna (Dasha)

______, Ivan Pavlovich (Shatushka)

______, Marya Ignatievna (Marie)

Shigalyov (no first name or patronymic) Stavrogin, Nikolai Vsevolodovich (Nicolas) _______, Varvara Petrovna

Tikhon

Tolkachenko (no first name or patronymic) Tushin, Lizaveta Nikolaevna (Liza, Lise) Ulitin, Sofya Matveevna Verkhovensky, Pyotr Stepanovich (Petrusha, Pierre)

_______, Stepan Trofimovich

Virginsky (no first name or patronymic)

_______, Arina Prokhorovna von Blum, Andrei Antonovich von Lembke, Andrei Antonovich (also called 'Lembka')

_______, Yulia Mikhailovna (Julie)

The name 'Stavrogin' comes from the Greek word stavros, meaning 'cross'. 'Shatov' comes from the Russian verb shatat'sya, 'to loosen, become unsteady, wobble', and, by extension, 'to waver, vacillate'. The name 'Verkhovensky' is rich in suggestions for the Russian ear: verkh means 'top, head, height'; verkhovny means 'chief, supreme'; verkhovenstvo means 'command, leadership'.

We include as an appendix the chapter 'At Tikhon's', which was suppressed by M. N. Katkov, editor of the Russian Messenger, where Demons first appeared serially. Dostoevsky valued this chapter highly, but after efforts to salvage it, none of which satisfied his editor, he was forced to eliminate it. Since he never restored it to later editions of the novel, we have chosen, as most editors have, to print it as an appendix, rather than put it back in its rightful place as Chapter Nine of the second part.

The chapter has survived in two forms, neither of which can be considered finished. The first version is in printer's proofs for the December 1871 issue of the Russian Messenger, corresponding to the manuscript Dostoevsky originally submitted to Katkov. The fifteenth page of these proofs is missing, however, and the proofs themselves are covered with additions and alterations made at different times and representing Dostoevsky's attempts to rework the chapter. The second version is a fair copy written out by Anna Grigorievna Dostoevsky, the author's wife, from an unknown manuscript. It differs considerably from the proof text, and essentially constitutes a distinct version. It, too, was never finished or published. Our translation of 'At Tikhon's' has been made from the proof text, reproduced in volume II of the Soviet Academy of Sciences edition of Dostoevsky's works (Leningrad, 1974), omitting later additions and alterations, and with the lost fifteenth page restored from the corresponding passage in Anna Grigorievna's manuscript.

Richard Pevear has published translations of Alain, Yves Bonnefoy, Albert Savinio and Pavel Florensky as well as two books of poetry. Larissa Volokhonsky has translated the work of prominent Orthodox theologians Alexander Schmemann and John Meyendorff. Together they are known for their highly acclaimed translations of Dostoevsky's novels. Their new English version of The Brothers Karamazov was awarded the PEN Book-of-the-Month Club Translation Prize.