In Demons, Dostoevsky’s early descriptions of the society convey eerie parallels to totalitarian regimes therefore anticipating Hannah Arendt’s later ideas about the necessity of total domination in every aspect of one’s life.
During a late night meeting, Nikolai warns Shatov of the “possibility that [he] will be killed”(241). In warning Shatov, Nikolai reveals that he is also somewhat associated with “the society.” Already, the threat of violence and subsequent fear hints to totalitarian behaviors. It is revealed that upon returning from America Shatov wanted to renounce his membership. The society’s response to Shatov’s desire of abandonment was ignored. Instead, Shatov was given a task that he undertook in the hopes that fulfilling their last demand would free him. In recalling this knowledge for Shatov, Nikolai states “But what you don’t seem to know yet is these gentlemen have no intentions of parting with you”(242). Thus, it is not in the hands of Shatov to determine his own fate but rather the society which has now implemented control over Shatov’s autonomy in choice.
As Hannah Arendt states, “It is in the very nature of totalitarian regimes to demand unlimited power. Such power can only be secured if literally all men, without single exception are reliably dominated in every aspect of their life”(598). In Shatov’s outraged exclamation, “It’s my right of conscience and thought”(242), corroborates Arendt’s ideas that “every aspect of one’s life” must be dominated. This, naturally, includes conscience and rights.
Shatov’s acknowledgment that in response to his arguments of denouncement, “[Verkhovensky] claims that it’s possible and that he has the right” is followed by an accusation of deceit from Nikolai. Nikolai points out that there is no possible way this could be true as even members who are barely associated with the group are constantly keeping tabs. Furthermore, some don’t even know they are serving society by doing this. Essentially, this act of surveillance reveals the automatized control that totalitarian regimes implement. Using people as devices of surveillance, a method that ultimately strengthens the regime is inherently totalitarian. For individuals who overtly reject the ideologies, like Shatov, remain caught in the arbitrary nature of constant scrutiny. Annihilation as a solution for the fact that Shatov “knows too much and may inform,” reveals how Shatov’s promised emancipation instead strengthens the society’s grasp on him by creating an environment of perpetual fear. Thus, the inherently totalitarian characteristics of the society reveal that it is a microcosm for totalitarian regimes.
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