# Karmazinov — Demons character guide

> Karmazinov in Demons by Fyodor Dostoevsky.

**Role:** supporting

**Also known as:** Cher ami, Karmazinov, Mr. Karmazinov, Cher M. Karmazinov

**First appearance:** 0001-demons

## Snapshot

A celebrated novelist touring the provinces to bask in his own fame, he embodies the vanity Dostoevsky saw in Russia's liberal literary lions.

## Who they are

Karmazinov arrives in town trailing admirers and self-regard, forever polishing his reputation and his French phrases. His need for aristocratic approval and his fussy condescension make him both comic and quietly sinister as a mirror of the older generation's self-satisfaction. His upcoming reading becomes a social event the whole town anticipates, and his presence sharpens the novel's satire of fashionable ideas.

## In the story

### [VI](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/demons_se/chapters/part-i-vi)

Mentioned as a literary celebrity who, along with others, is cringing before the new radical rabble.

### [II: Prince Harry. Matchmaking](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/demons_se/chapters/part-i-ii-prince-harry-matchmaking)

Mentioned as not visiting Stepan Trofimovitch, contributing to his sense of decline.

### [III: The Sins of Others](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/demons_se/chapters/part-i-iii-the-sins-of-others)

The 'great writer' met by the narrator; his literary decline and vanity are discussed.

### [II](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/demons_se/chapters/part-i-ii)

The 'great writer' is met by the narrator; he is portrayed as vain, condescending, and obsessed with social status.

### [IV: All in Expectation](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/demons_se/chapters/part-ii-iv-all-in-expectation)

Contributes the idea of quadrilles in masks and plans to read his farewell piece 'Merci' at the matinée.

### [Chapter I](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/demons_se/chapters/part-ii-i)

Mentioned as having criticized the Sistine Madonna and as suggesting the quadrilles in masks; will read his farewell piece 'Merci' at the fête.

### [III](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/demons_se/chapters/part-ii-iii)

Karmazinov is referenced as providing recommendations for Pyotr Stepanovitch and having connections.

### [III](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/demons_se/chapters/part-ii-iii)

Mentioned as a figure of influence over Varvara Petrovna; Stepan Trofimovitch dismisses him as a spiteful, written-out fool.

### [V](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/demons_se/chapters/part-ii-v)

The great writer, anxious and sycophantic, shares his views on Russia's doom and his intention to flee.

### [VII](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/demons_se/chapters/part-ii-vii)

Referenced by Pyotr Stepanovitch as having said that the essence of their creed is the negation of honour.

### [X: Filibusters. A Fatal Morning](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/demons_se/chapters/part-ii-x-filibusters-a-fatal-morning)

Boasts about his life in Karlsruhe and his literary farewell piece 'Merci', but is mocked by the German doctor and Lyamshin.

### [III](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/demons_se/chapters/part-ii-iii)

A celebrated writer who patronizes Stepan Trofimovitch with exaggerated familiarity, discussing his retirement to Karlsruhe.

### [I](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/demons_se/chapters/part-iii-i)

Consented to increase subscriptions by reading his 'Merci' in costume at the fête.

### [II](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/demons_se/chapters/part-iii-ii)

Writer who appears on stage after the poem, seen as a potential deliverer by Yulia Mihailovna.

### [Chapter III](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/demons_se/chapters/part-iii-iii)

The great writer gives a self-important, tedious farewell reading that alienates the audience and ends in humiliation.

### [III](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/demons_se/chapters/part-iii-iii)

Credited with the idea for the literary quadrille, though he does not appear in the chapter.

## Links

- HTML: https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/demons_se/characters/karmazinov
- Book: https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/demons_se
- All characters: https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/demons_se/characters