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The Possessed, Part 2, Chapter 4 summary

Part 2, Chapter 4 of 23 · 36 min to read the chapter

In Chapter 4, Yulia Mihailovna’s explanation of Nikolay Vsyevolodovitch’s conduct turns local suspicion into admiration, while her charitable festivities draw others into her social plans. Pyotr Stepanovitch humiliates his father and unsettles Andrey Antonovitch von Lembke, whose wife protects the young man because she believes she can direct his influence.

What happens

  1. At a name-day gathering, Yulia Mihailovna explains Nikolay Vsyevolodovitch’s restraint toward his former serf, prompting widespread admiration.
  2. Society invents an engagement to Count K.’s daughter, and Varvara Petrovna accepts the rumor despite continuing private fears.
  3. Yulia Mihailovna outlines charitable festivities and invites Stepan Trofimovitch to contribute a reading.
  4. Pyotr Stepanovitch delivers the invitation with deliberate insults, provoking his father into cursing him.
  5. The narrator recounts von Lembke’s career, marriage, mechanical hobbies, and growing dependence on his ambitious wife.
  6. Pyotr mocks the governor and borrows his manifestoes, while Yulia Mihailovna insists that her favorite remains loyal and harmless.

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In this chapter

Pyotr StepanovitchStepan TrofimovitchVarvara Petrovna

What to notice

Yulia Mihailovna’s certainty explains why she dismisses her husband’s warnings. The narrator directly connects her vanity and stubbornness with responsibility for local mischief.

Quick check

Why does Yulia Mihailovna say Stavrogin cannot challenge the student?

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