The Brothers Karamazov

The Brothers Karamazov

by

Fyodor Dostoevsky

General Vorokhov’s Widow Character Analysis

An aristocratic old lady who is described as Sofia Ivanovna’s former “benefactress, mistress, and tormentress.” She has violent tendencies and later beats up both Fyodor Pavlovich and Grigory Vasilievich when she visits Fyodor’s home and finds Ivan and Alexei in soiled undershirts. She takes charge of the children three months after Sofia’s death and sets aside one thousand roubles for their education, a sum that is carefully managed by Yefim Petrovich Polenov. She cruelly claims that Sofia’s illness was justified due to her former charge’s “ingratitude.”
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General Vorokhov’s Widow Character Timeline in The Brothers Karamazov

The timeline below shows where the character General Vorokhov’s Widow appears in The Brothers Karamazov. The colored dots and icons indicate which themes are associated with that appearance.
Part 1: Book 1, Chapter 3: Second Marriage, Second Children
Suffering Theme Icon
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...an orphan, “the daughter of some obscure deacon,” and grew up in the home of General Vorokhov’s widow . Sofia is a meek, gentle girl who once tried to hang herself. Fyodor offers... (full context)
Innocence and Guilt Theme Icon
Suffering Theme Icon
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...they, too, end up in Grigory’s cottage, just as their older brother had. One day General Vorokhov’s widow finds them in the cottage. When she sees Fyodor, who is tipsy, she slaps him... (full context)
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General Vorokhov’s widow dies shortly after that. In her will, the widow sets aside a thousand roubles each... (full context)