The Possessed
by Albert Camus
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See Also
- Albert Camus (Cyclopedia of World Authors, Fourth Revised Edition)
- Albert Camus (Ethics (Ready Reference series))
- Albert Camus (World Philosophers and Their Works)
- Albert Camus (Critical Survey of Long Fiction, Fourth Edition)
- Albert Camus (Critical Survey of Short Fiction, Second Revised Edition)
- Albert Camus (Critical Survey of Drama, Second Revised Edition)
At a glance:
- Author: Albert Camus
- First Published: 1959
- Type of Work: Existential tragedy
- Time of Work: The 1860’s
- Setting: Russia
- Characters: The Narrator, Stavrogin, Varvara, Stepan, Peter, Ivan Shatov
- Genres: Existential literature, Drama, Tragedy
- Subjects: Values, Suicide, Nineteenth century, Revolutions, Religion, Violence, Christianity, Assassins, hit men, or contract killers, Devils or demons, Russia or Russian people
- Locales: Europe, Russia
The Play
The Possessed opens on a darkened stage. The spotlight picks out a Narrator, who welcomes the audience into the home of a nobleman’s widow, Varvara Stavrogin, who for twenty years has been boarding the widowed author and professor Stepan Trofimovich Verkhovensky, whose influence is soon felt. There he is joined by friends who talk about reforming the social, political, and religious life of Russia. Often declaring that he will not be led by the nose, Gaganov remains unconvinced of their claims. Varvara’s wayward son, Nicholas Stavrogin, shocks the group by...
(The entire page is 2369 words.)
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