Marriage of Verkovensky and Dasha

Why does Varvara Petrovna Stavrogina plan for Stepan Trofimovich Verkhovensky to marry Dasha? He thinks it is to cover up for her son, which make me think Dasha may be pregnant by Nikolai, who is certainly the father of Shatov’s wife’s baby.

But Dasha is not pregnant. What is Verkovesky’s suspicion then? And why does Mrs Stavrogina want them married?

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Originally Posted by JonathanB

Why does Varvara Petrovna Stavrogina plan for Stepan Trofimovich Verkhovensky to marry Dasha? He thinks it is to cover up for her son, which make me think Dasha may be pregnant by Nikolai, who is certainly the father of Shatov’s wife’s baby.

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My recollection is that Varvara Petrovna seeks to remove the compromised Dasha as an object of temptation for her highborn son, Stavrogin.

Thanks. That makes sense.

His suspicion must still be that she is pregnant ("other men's sins"). But it is a very odd relationshipe between Mr Verkhovensky and Mrs Stavrogin (as they are called in the translation I read) with a degree of jealousy no doubt.

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Originally Posted by JonathanB

His suspicion must still be that she is pregnant ("other men's sins").

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Why pregnancy? The sin of the aristocratic Stavrogin may just be promiscuity or fornication, which is bad enough.

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Originally Posted by JonathanB

But it is a very odd relationship between Mr Verkhovensky and Mrs Stavrogin (as they are called in the translation I read) with a degree of jealousy no doubt.

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She see herself as a patron of the arts and, like her son, is emotionally less than stable.