Stepan Character Analysis in Demons

Stepan is Pyotr’s father. Anton is Stepan’s close friend, and Varvara is Stepan’s patron. Stepan also tutored Nikolay and Liza when they were children. Stepan views himself as an exiled academic and believes that he retired from his role as a university professor after his ideas faced scrutiny from the authorities. To this day, Stepan contends the government has him under surveillance. In reality, though, Stepan’s idea that he’s persecuted comes from his pomposity and the outsized view he has of himself. No one in the government knows who he is, and he hasn’t run afoul of the authorities in any meaningful way. Stepan holds weekly gatherings with his friends, where they debate ideas without any expectation that action will follow from those ideas. Stepan’s intellectual gatherings are juxtaposed with the ideas and approaches of Pyotr’s revolutionary faction, and Stepan symbolizes 1840s liberalism in Russia. Because Stepan is Pyotr’s father and Nikolay’s former tutor, the novel suggests that there is a direct connection—both through lineage and through education—between the liberalism of the 1840s and the destabilizing nihilism, socialism, and atheism of the 1870s (when the novel takes place). The novel shows how Pyotr’s revolutionary faction has become frustrated by the incrementalism promoted by people of Stepan’s generation. In part as a result of that dissatisfaction, the members of the revolutionary faction have decided to advocate for more radical and extremist approaches to political change.

Stepan Quotes in Demons

The Demons quotes below are all either spoken by Stepan or refer to Stepan. For each quote, you can also see the other characters and themes related to it (each theme is indicated by its own dot and icon, like this one:

There are strange friendships: two friends almost want to devour each other, and they spend their entire lives living that way, but meanwhile they cannot part. There is not even a way they can part: the one who takes to acting up and breaks the tie will be the first to fall sick and perhaps die, if that should happen. I know for a fact that on several occasions, Stepan Trofimovich, sometimes even after the most intimate effusions to Varvara Petrovna in private, would suddenly jump up from the sofa as soon as she left and begin beating his fists against the wall.

Related Characters: Stepan, Varvara

Page Number and Citation: 15

Explanation and Analysis:

When the baron gave positive confirmation of the reliability of the first rumours about the great reform that were just then beginning to spread, Stepan Trofimovich suddenly could not restrain himself and cried ‘Hurrah!’ and even made a gesture with his hand that signified his delight. His exclamation was not loud, and was even genteel; his delight was perhaps even premeditated, and his gesture purposely practised in front of the mirror half an hour before tea. But something must not have quite come off, since the baron permitted himself a faint smile, although he promptly put in an extraordinarily polite phrase about the appropriate swell of emotion in all Russian hearts in view of the great event.

Related Characters: Stepan, Varvara

Page Number and Citation: 18

Explanation and Analysis:

While abroad Shatov radically revised certain of his former socialist convictions and jumped to the opposite extreme. He was one of those idealistic Russian beings who are suddenly struck by some powerful idea and immediately, then and there, seem to be crushed by it, even sometimes permanently. They are never equipped to deal with it, and instead come to believe in it passionately, and so their entire life from then on passes in its final throes, as it were, under the stone that has fallen upon them and already crushed them half to death.

Related Characters: Anton, Stepan, Shatov, Pyotr

Page Number and Citation: 33

Explanation and Analysis:

‘A great many ideas are coming to me now: you see, it’s just like our Russia. These demons who come out of the sick man and enter the swine — these are all the sores, all the contagions, all the uncleanness, all the demons, large and small, who have accumulated in our great and beloved sick man, our Russia, over the course of centuries, centuries! […] and I perhaps am the first, standing at the very head; and we shall throw ourselves, the madmen and the possessed, from a rock into the sea and we shall all drown, and that’s no more than we deserve, because that’s precisely what we’re fit for. But the sick man will be healed and “will sit at the feet of Jesus.”’

Related Characters: Stepan (speaker), Pyotr, Sofya, Nikolay

Related Symbols: Demons

Page Number and Citation: 724

Explanation and Analysis:

To the question of why so many murders, scandals and vile acts had been committed, [Lyamshin] answered with feverish haste that it was for the purpose of ‘systematically shaking the foundations, systematically undermining society and all principles; for the purpose of demoralizing everyone and throwing everything into chaos, and then, once society had begun to totter as a result — and was sick and weakened, cynical and devoid of beliefs, yet still yearning for some guiding idea and self-preservation — they would suddenly take it into their hands, raising the banner of rebellion and relying on a complete network of groups of five, which would all be active at the same time, recruiting and making practical efforts to search out all the means and all the weak spots that could be exploited’.

Related Characters: Lyamshin (speaker), Stepan, Shatov, Pyotr

Related Symbols: Demons, Demons

Page Number and Citation: 740

Explanation and Analysis:

Stepan Character Timeline in Demons

The timeline below shows where the character Stepan appears in Demons. The colored dots and icons indicate which themes are associated with that appearance.

Stepan arrives in a provincial town outside of Petersburg in the 1840s. He is initially a... (full context)

Before Stepan came to the provincial town, he wrote a long, allegorical poem while living in Berlin.... (full context)

Stepan is taken aback by the idea that the poem is unthreatening and acts with bitterness... (full context)

The real reason Stepan stopped his career as a lecturer was due to a job offer from his friend,... (full context)

Stepan and Varvara grow close as friends, though they’re often at each other’s throats. Stepan is... (full context)

...lord, considering that her social position had fallen slightly after her husband’s death. She invited Stepan to help her entertain the lord. During that visit, the lord confirmed the rumors about... (full context)

The first time Varvara told Stepan she would never forgive him came near 1855, after Varvara’s husband died. Stepan was constantly... (full context)

Varvara feels so much of a sense of ownership over Stepan that she devises a set of clothes for him to wear, which she bases on... (full context)

...air at that time, which suggests a historical split with the past might be imminent. Stepan, though, is more concerned with his own obsolescence than with the shift in history. However,... (full context)

Varvara and Stepan spend almost an entire winter in Petersburg. Varvara attempts to insert herself into the group... (full context)

...people to take a stand against Varvara for not banishing the general from her house. Stepan faces difficulties, too. He gives a presentation in which he argues in favor of the... (full context)

...as a cooperative association. They also tell Varvara that she should leave Petersburg and bring Stepan with her, as he has, in their words, “grown old.” In exchange, they’ll send her... (full context)

After Varvara and Stepan return from Petersburg, Varvara needs a break from Stepan, so she sends him abroad to... (full context)

After Stepan returns to the provincial town from Berlin, there’s a period of calm that lasts for... (full context)

One of the other members of Stepan’s group of friends is Virginsky. He is extremely quiet. He once had a run-in with... (full context)

...hotbed of liberalism and atheism. Anton thinks those rumors are overblown. In reality, people like Stepan and his friends gather and discuss liberal ideas, but they do so in the spirit... (full context)

There’s one person that Varvara cares about as much as she cares about Stepan. It’s her only son, Nikolay. When Nikolay was a child, Stepan was in charge of... (full context)

...and had become a bully to others. Varvara became anxious upon hearing the rumors, and Stepan tried to comfort her. Nikolay returns home when he is 25. His appearance is striking.... (full context)

...and then Switzerland with her close confidant Darya (Shatov’s sister). After Varvara leaves for France, Stepan grows concerned. He owes money and won’t be able to settle the debt without Varvara’s... (full context)

...with Varvara. When Varvara returns to Skvoreshniki, she’s in high spirits. She agrees to help Stepan with the debt and tells him that she heard about the intrigue regarding her and... (full context)

Stepan begins drinking more and seems to be acting somewhat erratically. He hates going days without... (full context)

Varvara goes to tell Stepan her plan. As she explains the plan in detail, Stepan is taken aback. He knows... (full context)

Stepan feels compelled to accept the terms of the marriage to Darya due to circumstances related... (full context)

Pyotr has recently announced he plans to sell the land for as much as possible. Stepan has heard rumors that Pyotr has become involved in socialist causes. Stepan knows he has... (full context)

Varvara visits Stepan the day after she presents her marriage plan to him. Varvara seems put off by... (full context)

Stepan spends the next week or so feeling acute shame. Beyond that, he can’t figure out... (full context)

...feels disgraced but then feels like the whole scene was hilarious. He decides to tell Stepan about it to amuse him. (full context)

When Anton arrives at Stepan’s house, he finds Stepan distracted. He has received three notes from Varvara, each one attesting... (full context)

For some reason that Anton doesn’t understand, Stepan says, “I’m done for,” when he sees Liputin. Liputin brings with him a man who... (full context)

...having sex with Marya out of wedlock, thus bringing dishonor to Lebyadkin’s family. Liputin tells Stepan that he came to see Stepan because he wanted to tell him that Varvara summoned... (full context)

Liputin relays the story to Anton and Stepan about Varvara summoning him to ask about Nikolay. Liputin says that Varvara sent a servant... (full context)

After Liputin and Aleksey leave, Stepan gathers his hat and cane and prepares to go see Varvara. On the way, he... (full context)

Liza and Mavriky accompany Anton and Stepan back to Stepan’s house. At the house, Liza asks Stepan if he is doing okay,... (full context)

Anton returns to Stepan’s house. Stepan has just come back from visiting Liza and Praskovya. Stepan tells Anton that... (full context)

Stepan tells Anton that he recently wrote letters to both Nikolay and Darya. In the letters,... (full context)

Anton accompanies Stepan to Varvara’s house on Sunday. Stepan is supposed to meet with Shatov, and they will... (full context)

Varvara, Marya, and Liza return from the cathedral and arrive at Varvara’s house where Anton, Stepan, and Shatov are waiting. Varvara still seems perplexed. When it becomes clear that Shatov knows... (full context)

...seems to have adopted a haughty attitude toward Varvara. When Praskovya arrives at the house, Stepan tries to catch Anton’s eye. Everyone becomes distracted to the point that they momentarily forget... (full context)

...have come hours ago. No one knows what the man is talking about, but then Stepan says, “Pyotr.” The man is Stepan’s son. Stepan says he didn’t recognize him initially and... (full context)

Nikolay then approaches Darya and congratulates her on her upcoming marriage. Pyotr turns to Stepan and asks if Stepan is getting married, too. Pyotr then loudly says that he received... (full context)

As Stepan prepares to leave, Shatov, who has been nearly forgotten by all in the room, rises... (full context)

Over the next eight days, Anton and Stepan hole themselves up in Stepan’s home. Neither can figure out how the story of everything... (full context)

...business of Pyotr’s land that he had wanted to sell. Pyotr also comes to visit Stepan twice. After the second visit, Stepan says that he will “crush them,” though he doesn’t... (full context)

Yuliya invites Varvara to a literary gala. She tells Varvara to invite Stepan as well. When Varvara returns home, Pyotr and Nikolay are there. Varvara is taken with... (full context)

Pyotr then goes to see Stepan. At Stepan’s house, Pyotr invites Stepan to the literary gala Yuliya is holding. But, Pyotr... (full context)

Pyotr says that Varvara probably would have married Stepan at one point, but Stepan foolishly let the opportunity slip away. Pyotr also showed Varvara... (full context)

Pyotr is intent on demeaning and manipulating Stepan, and he treats the province’s governor, Andrey, similarly. Growing up, Andrey was something of a... (full context)

...At those gatherings, Lyamshin often performs music and does impressions, including an unflattering impression of Stepan that brings down the house. (full context)

At the same time that the group goes to visit Semyon, Stepan and Varvara have a meeting that Varvara has been putting off for some time. Stepan... (full context)

Stepan is devastated. He cries out that he knows that perhaps he came off as a... (full context)

...Andrey that Pyotr poses a grave risk. Blum is convinced that if they look into Stepan, they’ll find the source of the manifestos and the rise of godlessness in the town.... (full context)

One day, Blum comes from the office of the governor (Andrey) and searches Stepan’s house. Anton arrives at Stepan’s just after the search is finished. Stepan is disconsolate. He... (full context)

As Anton and Stepan leave Stepan’s house, a crowd of about 70 factory workers has gathered and is marching... (full context)

...thinks he sees Pyotr in the crowd and tells officers to seize him. Anton and Stepan are also near the crowd. Anton tries to keep Stepan out of it, but Stepan... (full context)

While Anton and Stepan are waiting to see Yuliya, Andrey storms into the building. Stepan rises to meet him.... (full context)

Andrey says that there will be no gala. Stepan then says that he wants to know why his house was searched and his personal... (full context)

Pyotr and Nikolay then enter. Nikolay asks Stepan if he was arrested earlier, and Stepan says he wasn’t and that it was only... (full context)

...years ago. People in the room are shocked, including Nikolay’s mother, Varvara. When Anton and Stepan return to Stepan’s house, Stepan practices his reading for the gala in front of a... (full context)

...bad is about to happen, but he doesn’t know who to talk to about it. Stepan is busy preparing for his reading and is not available. Anton thinks that once whatever... (full context)

...there will be no buffet, and another person says that the gala is a sham. Stepan must then take the stage amid that unrest. (full context)

Anton rushes backstage to talk to Stepan. He tells Stepan that the crowd has descended into disorder and is on the verge... (full context)

Stepan takes the stage. The crowd is murmuring and doesn’t take any notice of him. Stepan... (full context)

Some members of the audience leave their chairs and move closer to the stage. Stepan continues and says he is simply arguing that the revolutionary factions overlook the importance of... (full context)

Stepan runs backstage. Someone shouts out that Stepan has insulted the Society. The visiting professor then... (full context)

Anton arrives at Stepan’s house, but Stepan won’t let him in. Through the door, Stepan says he is done... (full context)

...as planned. Eventually, she relents and agrees. Pyotr also tells Yuliya to send doctors to Stepan’s house and remand him to a hospital. That way, everyone in town will know that... (full context)

...murdered. The two walk hand in hand. Out of the mist, a figure emerges. It’s Stepan. He is dressed to travel and announces that he is saying farewell to the town.... (full context)

Stepan sets out for a journey on foot. He doesn’t have a set destination in mind.... (full context)

...his name is Anisim. He says he used to work for Gaganov and knows of Stepan. The peasants have become suspicious of Stepan because he gives vague answers to their questions... (full context)

Stepan travels with Sofya to a travelers’ hut nearby. They plan to take a boat from... (full context)

Stepan becomes more and more ill over the coming days. He is so sick that he... (full context)

A carriage pulls up outside of the hut where Stepan lies sick. Varvara and Darya get out and go into the hut. Anisim told Varvara’s... (full context)

...sends for a doctor. When the doctor arrives, he says that there’s no hope for Stepan and sends for a priest. When the priest arrives, he administers Stepan’s last rites. After... (full context)

Demons

Stepan Character Analysis

Stepan Quotes in Demons

Part 1, Chapter 1, Section 3 Quotes

Part 1, Chapter 1, Section 4 Quotes

Part 1, Chapter 1, Section 8 Quotes

Part 3, Chapter 7, Section 2 Quotes

Part 3, Chapter 8, Section 1 Quotes

Stepan Character Timeline in Demons