Demonic Presence

4 Pages 901 Words

Demonic Presence

In Dostoevsky’s The Brother’s Karamazov, all of the characters have inner battles with themselves. Each section of the book is dedicated to the battles each character has. Book XI is a section about different characters, but each one has dealings with a demonic presence. Lise and Ivan both have their own trouble with evil entities.
In the chapter called “The Little Demon” Lise encounters a new part of her personality. She is possessed by an evil being, though we never really know what it is. Aloysha even comments on how different she is in just three days. She is simply not herself.
Throughout the entire chapter, Lise struggles with her feelings. She is torn again between her feelings for Aloysha, as is the case throughout the book. She says she respects him and does not feel ashamed around him, but she does not love him and does not want to be his wife. She

also says that she only wants his tears when she dies. This continuous change in feelings is evidently because of the evil presence that is accompanying her at the time of Aloysha’s visit.
Lise also had an engagement with Ivan. Ivan maybe even had an influence on the fact that Lise became possessed with evil. He gave his “blessing” on such actions and told her that her dream about crucifying the Jewish boy was good. Aloysha tells Lise that this is simply because he is sick just as she is. Aloysha sees the connection between the two of them. He becomes aware of this fact even more when he finally sees Ivan a few chapters later.
Lise’s sickness also connects to the wider theme of the book, the battle between reason and faith. Lise speaks of how she wants to be evil. She sees herself crucifying the Jewish boy and eating an expensive dessert as she watches him die. She feels as if she has no more faith. When Aloysha is meeting with her, you see the vast comparison between him and Lise. He is the example of faith throu...