Demons (novel) - Alternative Titles

Alternative Titles

The original Russian title uses a relatively rare word, besy (singular bes), from old Slavic mythology, which means "demons" or "evil spirits" and could be compared to The Beast, which may evoke similar associations, as in "possessed by the beast" or "possessed by demons". It conveys the idea of the gradual collapse of Russian Orthodoxy and the imperceptible spread of besy, "little beasts", "demons" or "evil spirits" symbolizing the oncoming nihilistic concepts of the first half of the 20th century, which gives the original title frightening connotations.

The title has been an ongoing source of confusion among readers unfamiliar with the work. There are at least three popular translations of the title: The Possessed, The Devils, and Demons. This is largely a result of Constance Garnett's earlier translation that popularized the novel and gained it notoriety as The Possessed among English speakers; however, Dostoyevsky scholars said the original translation was inaccurate. These scholars argued that The Possessed "points in the wrong direction" and interpreted the original Russian title Бесы (Besy; the plural of bies, "an evil spirit") as referring not to those who are "possessed" but rather to those who are doing the possessing as "The Possessors". Some insist that the difference is crucial to a full understanding of the novel:

It would be simpler if the title were indeed The Possessed, as it was first translated into English (and into French – a tradition to which Albert Camus contributed in his dramatization of the novel). This misrendering made it possible to speak of Dostoevsky's characters as demoniacs in some unexamined sense, which lends them a certain glamor and even exonerates them to a certain extent. We do see a number of people here behaving as if they were 'possessed.' The implications of the word are almost right, but it points in the wrong direction. And in any case it is not the title Dostoevsky gave his novel. Discovering that the Russian title Besy refers not to possessed but to possessors, we then apply this new term 'demons' to the same set of characters in the same unexamined way – a surprising turnabout, if one thinks of it.

As a result, newer editions of the novel are, rarely if ever, rendered under Garnett's earliest title "The Possessed". A more precise rendering of the Demons (Бесы) as an event and turning point in Russian history would be "The Possessing" of Russia by the demonic ideas or "evil spirits" reflected in the novel's characters.