Trifon “Borisich” Borisovich Character Analysis in The Brothers Karamazov

The innkeeper at Plastunov’s inn in Mokroye. He is also called “Trifon Borisich.” He is described as “a thickset and robust man of medium height, with a somewhat fleshy face.” He is a snobby and greedy man who is stern and cold with peasants but servile to paying customers. He has plenty of money and land and rents some land from landowners. He has more than half of the town’s peasants working on his own property, in an effort to pay off debts that they will never be able to pay back. He is a widower with four adult daughters. One of his daughters lives with him with her two daughters and works for her father as a charwoman. Another daughter is married to an official. Borisovich’s two younger daughters also perform chores for him. He is known for cheating customers who are eager to spend their money and once cheated Dmitri Fyodorovich out of two or three hundred roubles when he stayed at the inn with Grushenka. When Dmitri is in prison, he hears from a guard who comes from Mokroye that Borisovich has gone mad. He tore apart his inn looking for the fifteen hundred roubles that the prosecutor said Dmitri had hidden there during his stay.

Trifon “Borisich” Borisovich Character Timeline in The Brothers Karamazov

The timeline below shows where the character Trifon “Borisich” Borisovich appears in The Brothers Karamazov. The colored dots and icons indicate which themes are associated with that appearance.

Dmitri jumps out of the cart just as the innkeeper, Trifon Borisich , peers out from the porch. He is a “robust man of medium height.” Dmitri... (full context)

Trifon Borisich leads Dmitri inside and first puts Dmitri in a dark corner, where he can watch... (full context)

...the Mokroye girls enter to sing, Pan Vrublevsky demands that the innkeeper throw them out. Trifon Borisich tells him to shut up. He then reports that the panie played baccarat with marked... (full context)

...to get drunk. Dmitri recognizes the girls from his last spree. His spirits are high. Trifon Borisich is scurrying around, looking out constantly for Dmitri’s interests. Grushenka catches his hand and pulls... (full context)

...three thousand roubles. He doesn’t want to lose Grushenka. On the veranda, he runs into Trifon Borisich , who seems irritable. Dmitri figures that it’s because he wants to go to bed.... (full context)

...raising any alarm,” and keep watch on the criminal until the proper authorities arrive. Only Trifon Borisich is alerted to the secret after the deputy’s arrival. This explains the sudden change in... (full context)

...month ago, and whether it was three thousand or fifteen hundred that he had yesterday. Trifon Borisich is the first to be questioned. He testifies firmly and “without hesitation” that it was... (full context)

...bids everyone crowded at the gates, including the witnesses, “farewell.” Dmitri twice says “farewell” to Trifon Borisich , who doesn’t reply. Mavriky Mavrikievich also snaps “fiercely” at Dmitri for calling him “old... (full context)

Trifon Borisich then testifies to seeing three thousand roubles in Dmitri’s hands. When Fetyukovich accuses him of... (full context)