Liza Character Analysis in Demons

Liza is Praskovya’s daughter and is engaged to Mavriky. Stepan tutored Liza when she was a child. Liza is in love with Nikolay and is therefore especially determined to find out the true nature of Nikolay’s relationship with Marya. When Liza finds out that Marya and Nikolay are married, she is stunned. Liza and Nikolay run away together late in the novel, but Liza leaves him after she finds out that he didn’t intervene to stop Marya from being murdered even though he knew she would be killed. Liza is then murdered by a mob that is convinced that she’s partly to blame for Marya’s death.

Liza Quotes in Demons

The Demons quotes below are all either spoken by Liza or refer to Liza. For each quote, you can also see the other characters and themes related to it (each theme is indicated by its own dot and icon, like this one:

‘Lizaveta Nikolayevna, really and truly, you can grind me in a mortar, but he’s innocent; on the contrary, he’s been crushed and is raving, as you can see. He’s not guilty of anything, of anything, even in thought! It’s all the doing of robbers who will certainly be found in a week and punished by flogging. It’s all the fault of Fedka the Convict and the Shpigulin workers; the whole town is chattering about it, and that’s why I am too.’

‘Is that so? Is that so?’ Liza was waiting, all atremble, for the final verdict.

‘I didn’t kill them and I was against it, but I knew they would be killed, and I didn’t stop the killers. Step away from me, Liza,’ Stavrogin said, and he went into the drawing room.

Liza covered her face with her hands and went out of the house.

Related Characters: Liza (speaker), Nikolay (speaker), Pyotr (speaker), Fedka, Lebyadkin, Marya

Page Number and Citation: 589

Explanation and Analysis:

When the expedition had ridden down from the bridge and had drawn up beside the town hotel, someone suddenly announced that the body of a guest who had shot himself had just been discovered in one of the hotel rooms, and that they were waiting for the police. Immediately the idea was floated of having a look at the suicide. The idea found support; our ladies had never seen a suicide. I remember that one of them said aloud, then and there, that ‘everything’s become so boring that there’s no point in being fastidious about one’s amusements as long as they were diverting’.

Related Characters: Anton, Liza, Mavriky, Yuliya, Nikolay, Pyotr

Page Number and Citation: 362

Explanation and Analysis:

‘Here’s something to make you laugh: the first thing that has a tremendous effect is a uniform. There’s nothing more powerful than a uniform. I make a point of dreaming up ranks and offices: I have secretaries, secret agents, treasurers, chairmen, registrars, their colleagues — it’s a lot of fun and it has really caught on. After that, the second most powerful force is, of course, sentimentality. You know, socialism in Russia is spreading primarily out of sentimentality.’

Related Characters: Pyotr (speaker), Mavriky, Liza, Nikolay

Page Number and Citation: 427

Explanation and Analysis:

Suddenly someone shouted: ‘It’s Stavrogin’s woman!’ Then: ‘It’s not enough for them to commit murder, they have to come and look!’ Suddenly I saw someone’s hand raised above her head from behind, and then it came down; Liza fell. Mavriky Nikolayevich let out a dreadful cry and rushed to help her, hitting with all his strength a man who was trying to block his way. But at that very instant the tradesman grabbed him from behind with both hands. For some time it was impossible to make anything out in the scuffle that ensued. Liza seemed to get up, but fell again from another blow.

[…]

As an eyewitness, albeit a distant one, I had to give evidence at the inquest: I stated that everything had happened quite accidentally, the work of people who, though perhaps incited, were scarcely aware of what they were doing as they were drunk and disorderly. I hold this opinion even now.

Related Characters: Anton (speaker), Liza, Mavriky, Nikolay, Lebyadkin, Fedka, Marya

Page Number and Citation: 597-598

Explanation and Analysis:

Liza Character Timeline in Demons

The timeline below shows where the character Liza appears in Demons. The colored dots and icons indicate which themes are associated with that appearance.

...been seeing a lot of Nikolay, who has formed a close friendship with her daughter Liza. They plan to travel together to Switzerland. Varvara immediately decides to travel to France and... (full context)

Praskovya arrives in the provincial town with her daughter, Liza, and with Darya, but Nikolay is not with them. Praskovya goes to see Varvara. She... (full context)

...with Stepan, especially because Stepan still has not gone to see the Drozdovs (Praskovya and Liza) as custom requires. Anton is especially bothered because he has become taken with Liza from... (full context)

...four years, an engineer named Aleksey Kirillov. Aleksey says he knows Stepan’s son Pyotr, Nikolay, Liza, and Praskovya. Liputin says that Aleksey is preparing a paper on high rates of suicide... (full context)

...Nikolay. He says that Nikolay entrusted a lady of high standing and an orphan (meaning Liza and Darya, respectively) with 1,000 roubles to give to Lebyadkin. Along the way, 700 roubles... (full context)

...and Stepan is related to Nikolay’s missteps. On the way, Stepan and Anton run into Liza, who is out riding on horseback. She is accompanied by a man named Mavriky. Liza... (full context)

Liza and Mavriky accompany Anton and Stepan back to Stepan’s house. At the house, Liza asks... (full context)

...he does, Liputin follows him. He tells Anton that Lebyadkin has fallen in love with Liza. Anton looks over, and Liputin asks Anton if he's afraid that he’ll have a rival... (full context)

Anton returns to Stepan’s house. Stepan has just come back from visiting Liza and Praskovya. Stepan tells Anton that he’s as fond of Liza as ever, but he’s... (full context)

The next day, Shatov arrives at Liza’s at noon, and Anton arrives with him. Liza, Praskovya, and Mavriky are waiting inside. Praskovya... (full context)

Liza talks to Shatov and explains her idea to him. She wants to make a kind... (full context)

Liza tells Anton to read the letter aloud. It’s a poem and letter from Lebyadkin in... (full context)

...something must be going on behind the scenes that he’s not aware of. He tells Liza he’s going, and she offhandedly says goodbye. Moments later, as Anton is leaving, a servant... (full context)

...happy to see Shatov. She begins to speak and describes a dream with Praskovya and Liza. She then talks cryptically about a child and says she misses her child. She remembers... (full context)

...because she was feeling sick. Just then, they hear footsteps, and they’re surprised to see Liza enter arm in arm with Marya. (full context)

...Lebyadkin family. It was Marya. Marya said she wasn’t a Lebyadkin, but her brother was. Liza then approached Marya and Varvara. Marya had come to the cathedral with Yuliya, and she... (full context)

Varvara, Marya, and Liza return from the cathedral and arrive at Varvara’s house where Anton, Stepan, and Shatov are... (full context)

Varvara and Praskovya bicker about their boarding school days. Praskovya then reprimands Varvara for bringing Liza into her (Varvara’s) scandal. Varvara doesn’t know what Praskovya means and asks Praskovya to tell... (full context)

...role” in Varvara’s life. Varvara apologizes for involving everyone in this business and says that Liza can go. Liza says that she intends to stay because she wants to help Marya... (full context)

...that he is not her father, husband, or fiancé. He offers to take her home. Liza stares at Nikolay and Marya as they leave. As soon as they are gone, everyone... (full context)

...as there is. Nikolay then begins to make the rounds to say hello to everyone. Liza, though, has begun laughing uncontrollably. No one knows exactly what is wrong, though someone goes... (full context)

...he is enduring great pain. Shatov leaves the room and the house. After he leaves, Liza lets out a scream and faints. (full context)

...town as rapidly as it has. Eventually, they conclude that Pyotr must have told people. Liza’s fainting spell is of particular interest to people in town. Rumors abound about what brought... (full context)

...and Marya are across the river in the suburb of Gorshechnaya. Liputin also says that Liza has become engaged to Mavriky. (full context)

...Pyotr changes the subject. Nikolay says that he told Varvara that he would propose to Liza in five days. Pyotr asks if Nikolay said that to appease Varvara, and Nikolay asks... (full context)

...role as a kind of jester to Nikolay. He talks about poems he wrote for Liza and then recites those poems. Eventually, Nikolay confronts him about lying about Darya stealing money,... (full context)

...from his wallet full of bills and tosses it to the monk before walking away. Liza witnesses the event. After the men leave, she goes up to the monk and gives... (full context)

Two days after Liza gives her diamond earrings to the monk, Anton is walking in town when he sees... (full context)

When another man leaves, Liza tells Mavriky to kneel in the man’s place. Liza’s order seems to come from a... (full context)

...closed doors. Pyotr can’t hear the conversation. Behind the doors, Mavriky, who is engaged to Liza, tells Nikolay that he (Nikolay) should marry Liza. Mavriky explains that Liza is in love... (full context)

Yuliya enters accompanied by Karmazinov, Varvara, Liza, and others. Yuliya and Karmazinov go to Stepan and speak to him flatteringly. Yuliya then... (full context)

...that the gala tomorrow will surely brighten Andrey’s mood. As the group prepares to leave, Liza approaches Nikolay. She says that a man named Lebyadkin, who claims to be Nikolay’s relation,... (full context)

Pyotr tells Yuliya and Anton that Liza has abandoned Mavriky and run off with Nikolay. Pyotr says that the marshal’s wife arranged... (full context)

...a steward. Anton roves through the party, picking up on bits of gossip, particularly about Liza and Nikolay. Eventually, the “literary quadrille” begins, which is a choreographed dance that references pieces... (full context)

...Lebyadkin and that Marya had been Nikolay’s wife. People add that Nikolay ran off with Liza just before the fire, and they say that Marya was killed so Nikolay could marry... (full context)

While the fire is raging, Liza and Nikolay have a conversation in the great hall of Varvara’s estate, Skvoreshniki. Nikolay tells... (full context)

...even though people in town are saying Nikolay had Marya killed so he could marry Liza, he (Nikolay) is clear from a legal perspective. He says Nikolay should be clear morally... (full context)

Nikolay accuses Pyotr of killing Marya. Pyotr denies any involvement. When they return to Liza, she asks what they were discussing. Nikolay says that his wife, her brother, and a... (full context)

Pyotr rushes to catch up with Liza. He tries to convince Liza to go with him, but Liza wants to see the... (full context)

When Mavriky catches up to Liza, Liza says that she’s not worthy of him. Mavriky says he’s in no position to... (full context)

When Liza arrives, the crowd is bustling with the information that Nikolay killed Marya to run off... (full context)

...Pyotr addresses the group and says that Yuliya arranged for Nikolay to run off with Liza, and to do so, she had actually deceived Pyotr, who had been in love with... (full context)

...is also genuinely convinced that Shatov will inform on them. He thinks that Marya and Liza’s recent deaths will impel Shatov to go to the authorities. Pyotr also personally dislikes Shatov,... (full context)

Demons

Liza Character Analysis

Liza Quotes in Demons

Part 2, Chapter 3, Section 2 Quotes

Part 2, Chapter 5, Section 2 Quotes

Part 2, Chapter 6, Section 7 Quotes

Part 3, Chapter 3, Section 3 Quotes

Liza Character Timeline in Demons