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The Possessed (Cyclopedia of Literary Characters)

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Stepan Trofimovitch Verhovensky (steh- PAHN troh-FIH-mo-vihch vehr-hoh- VEHN-skih), a former professor of history, a free thinker, a mild liberal, and an old-fashioned, dandified intellectual. The protégé of Varvara Petrovna Stavrogina, a wealthy provincial aristocrat, he has lived for years on her country estate, first as the tutor of her impressionable son, later as the companion and mentor of his temperamental, strong-willed friend. At times he and his patroness quarrel violently, but usually their relationship is one of mutual understanding and...

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