The Village of Stepanchikovo MCQs

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Author: Nasir Iqbal | Assistant Professor of English Literature

The Village of Stepanchikovo MCQs
Updated on: November 1, 2025
Estimated Reading Time: 18 min

The Village of Stepanchikovo MCQs

1. What is Colonel Rostanev’s primary characteristic upon retiring to Stepanchikovo?

A. Highly suspicious
B. Benign and compliant
C. Fiercely intellectual
D. Easily angered

B. Benign and compliant.
The retired Colonel possessed a remarkably kind and compliant nature, easily adapting to his new life.

2. How many serfs did the Colonel inherit with the Stepanchikovo estate?

A. Two hundred and fifty
B. Six hundred
C. One hundred
D. Eight hundred

B. Six hundred.
The Colonel’s inherited estate of Stepanchikovo increased his total holdings to approximately six hundred serfs.

3. What social title did the General’s Lady prize most highly?

A. General’s Lady
B. Baroness
C. Matriarch
D. Second Wife

A. General’s Lady.
Her greatest delight in life came from enjoying the esteemed privileges afforded by her husband’s title.

4. How did General Krakhotkin treat his wife during their marriage?

A. With profound respect
B. With open mockery
C. With quiet devotion
D. With polite indifference

B. With open mockery.
The irritable and ill-tempered General had no respect for his wife, mocking her mercilessly at every opportunity.
5. What was Foma Fomich Opiskin’s initial position in the General’s house?

A. Financial advisor
B. Literary editor
C. Pickthank/reader
D. Estate overseer

C. Pickthank/reader.
Foma joined the household as a desperate pickthank, primarily serving the bedridden General as a reader.

6. Before his service to the General, what profession had Foma allegedly attempted?

A. Government service
B. Farming
C. Literature
D. Military officer

C. Literature.
Rumours suggested Foma had previously tried his hand at a literary career in Moscow, meeting with failure.

7. What eccentric ritual did the dying General perform just before his death?

A. He kissed Foma’s feet.
B. He blessed his wife.
C. He tugged his daughter’s hair.
D. He confessed his sins.

C. He tugged his daughter’s hair.
The General grasped his stepdaughter, Praskovya Ilyinichna, by the hair and viciously tugged it three times.

8. What did Foma realize he could become once he moved to the weak Colonel’s estate?

A. A respected gentleman
B. A military leader
C. A religious authority
D. A local tsar

D. A local tsar.
Foma immediately realized that in the environment of the Colonel’s weakness, he could elevate himself to the position of supreme ruler.

9. What fueled Foma Fomich’s monstrous, boundless vanity?

A. Literary ambition
B. Past humiliation and insults
C. His high birth
D. His spiritual depth

B. Past humiliation and insults.
His vanity was specifically described as being nurtured by deep, long-festering insults suffered in the past.
10. What sin did the General’s Lady and Foma persuade the Colonel he was guilty of?

A. Adultery
B. Wastefulness
C. Extreme egoism
D. Gluttony

C. Extreme egoism.
They impressed upon the benign Colonel that he was impatient, inconsiderate, and an egoist in the extreme.

11. What body hair did Foma order the Colonel to remove for patriotic reasons?

A. Eyebrows
B. Beard
C. Moustache
D. Side whiskers

D. Side whiskers.
Foma ordered the Colonel to shave off his reddish-brown side whiskers, claiming they made him look unpatriotic.

12. What large sum did Foma falsely claim was his salary which he donated to charity?

A. Five hundred rubles
B. Twenty thousand rubles
C. Ten thousand versts
D. One hundred thousand serfs

B. Twenty thousand rubles.
Foma boasted to the peasants that his Ministry salary was twenty thousand rubles, donated to state education.

13. What spiritual concept did Foma demand the Colonel affirm he had awakened within him?

A. Divine fire spark
B. True friendship
C. Literary talent
D. Martial spirit

A. Divine fire spark.
Foma asked the Colonel if he had successfully “kindled a spark of the divine fire” in the Colonel’s soul.

14. The narrator, Sergey, was financing his university education through whom?

A. His mother
B. General Krakhotkin
C. Colonel Rostanev
D. His own work

C. Colonel Rostanev.
Sergey was an orphan, and his generous Uncle (the Colonel) had brought him up and paid for his university studies.
15. What was the Colonel’s earnest request in his alarming letter to Sergey?

A. To settle his debts
B. To marry the governess
C. To criticize Foma publicly
D. To become a writer

B. To marry the governess.
The Colonel wrote an agitated letter earnestly entreating Sergey to marry his former ward, the governess Nastasya.

16. What was Tatyana Ivanovna’s financial status, making her desirable to the plotters?

A. She owned vast forests.
B. She was due a large pension.
C. She had half a million rubles.
D. She managed the General’s wealth.

C. She had half a million rubles.
Foma and the General’s Lady were plotting for Uncle to marry the spinster due to her substantial half a million ruble dowry.

17. What was the name of the fat, irritable landowner Sergey met at the blacksmith’s?

A. Korovkin
B. Obnoskin
C. Bakhcheyev
D. Mizinchikov

C. Bakhcheyev.
The stout gentleman waiting for his calash repair was Stepan Alekseyevich Bakhcheyev, a fellow landowner.

18. Why did the peasant Vasilyev lament his misfortune to Bakhcheyev?

A. He was drunk and trapped.
B. His tools were stolen.
C. Foma was to become his new owner.
D. His carriage broke down.

C. Foma was to become his new owner.
Vasilyev complained that the Colonel was about to transfer the Kapitonovka estate to Foma Fomich.

19. How did Bakhcheyev describe the effect Foma’s tyranny would have on the Colonel?

A. He would get thin overnight.
B. He would lose his title.
C. He would be laughed at by everyone.
D. He would shed tears of blood.

D. He would shed tears of blood.
Bakhcheyev ominously warned Sergey that Foma would make the Colonel “shed tears of blood yet.”
20. What happened to Uncle’s old servant, Gavrila’s, French exercise book?

A. He studied it diligently.
B. He hid it from Foma.
C. The Colonel ordered it burnt.
D. He taught others from it.

C. The Colonel ordered it burnt.
In a moment of resolve, the Colonel furiously commanded Gavrila to “Burn it, tear it up, destroy it!”

21. What subject did the Colonel attempt to teach the Kapitonovka peasants?

A. Mineralogy
B. Astronomy
C. Agriculture
D. French grammar

B. Astronomy.
Uncle delighted in trying to teach the ignorant peasants how far it was to the sun.

22. Who was the foppish manservant who struggled with his surname?

A. Falaley
B. Gavrila
C. Korotky
D. Vidoplyasov

D. Vidoplyasov.
Vidoplyasov, the pale, perfumed manservant, complained that his surname was vulgar and unbecoming.

23. What was the reason the General’s Lady’s hanger-on, Perepelitsyna, disliked Nastasya?

A. Nastasya was poor.
B. Nastasya criticized her title.
C. She was jealous of the Colonel’s attention.
D. Nastasya mocked Foma.

C. She was jealous of the Colonel’s attention.
Mizinchikov theorized that Perepelitsyna spread rumors due to jealousy, having once had designs on the Colonel herself.

24. What was Yezhevikin’s real, non-jester motive for visiting Stepanchikovo?

A. To entertain Foma
B. To report on town gossip
C. To take Nastasya away
D. To get a job as a steward

C. To take Nastasya away.
Nastasya revealed her father came intending to take her away because the situation had become intolerable.
25. Why did Foma prohibit the house-boy Falaley from dancing the kamarinsky?

A. It was bad for his posture.
B. It was a foreign dance.
C. It depicted vileness and immorality.
D. It was too loud after dinner.

C. It depicted vileness and immorality.
Foma denounced the dance, claiming it was an apotheosis of drunkenness and depicted a highly immoral peasant.

26. What specific, seemingly innocent detail did Foma use to condemn Falaley’s dreams?

A. White bull
B. A red coach
C. Lost sheep
D. Gold coins

A. White bull.
Foma raged that Falaley’s dream of a white bull proved his boorishness, low birth, and ignorance.

27. Which historical figure did Foma Fomich praise for writing Frol Silin?

A. Pushkin
B. General Krakhotkin
C. Karamzin
D. Captain Cook

C. Karamzin.
Foma admired Karamzin greatly, specifically for composing Frol Silin, which he called a grand epos.

28. The Colonel’s daughter, Sasha, erupted in rage primarily to defend whom?

A. Nastasya
B. Ilyusha
C. Her mother
D. Her father

D. Her father.
Sasha loudly declared she was defending her father because he couldn’t defend himself against the wicked Foma.

29. What did Foma declare he would become if the Colonel refused to call him “Your Excellency”?

A. A vagabond
B. A fool
C. A misanthrope
D. A general

A. A vagabond.
Foma dramatically stated he would be forced to wander the world as an exile, leaning on his staff.
30. What was the Colonel’s stated, noble reason for refusing to call Foma “Your Excellency” initially?

A. It would be too expensive.
B. It would disrespect the Tsar’s decrees.
C. Foma wasn’t a military man.
D. He feared Foma’s revenge.

B. It would disrespect the Tsar’s decrees.
The Colonel argued that promoting Foma to a general’s title would be an encroachment upon the highest decrees of Providence.

31. What financial asset did Mizinchikov primarily seek in his plan to marry Tatyana Ivanovna?

A. Her inheritance
B. Her jewels
C. Her estate deeds
D. Her bonds

A. Her inheritance.
Mizinchikov calculated he needed a hundred thousand in cash and decided marriage to the wealthy Tatyana was necessary.

32. Who did Mizinchikov confess to first regarding his plot to abduct Tatyana Ivanovna?

A. Colonel Rostanev
B. Vidoplyasov
C. Obnoskin
D. The Narrator

C. Obnoskin.
Mizinchikov confessed, with great vexation, that he had foolishly mentioned his scheme to Obnoskin first.

33. Who actually succeeded in eloping with the wealthy Tatyana Ivanovna?

A. Mizinchikov
B. Obnoskin
C. Korovkin
D. Sergey Aleksandrovich

B. Obnoskin.
The chase was organized because the fortune hunter Obnoskin had run off with Tatyana Ivanovna before dawn.

34. Why did Tatyana Ivanovna, the wealthy spinster, experience deteriorating mental health?

A. Family abuse
B. Excessive wealth after poverty
C. Military trauma
D. Foma’s manipulations

B. Excessive wealth after poverty.
Her sudden, enormous inheritance, following a life of suffering, finalized her separation from common sense.
35. Where did Bakhcheyev encounter the runaway couple that morning?

A. In the village of Mishino
B. Near the Colonel’s stables
C. On the main highway
D. At the blacksmith’s shop

C. On the main highway.
Bakhcheyev saw them speeding by in a tarantas near the highway, interrupting his trip to the monastery.

36. How did Tatyana Ivanovna react when she saw the Colonel in Obnoskin’s location?

A. She refused to speak.
B. She cried and begged to be rescued.
C. She defended Obnoskin passionately.
D. She demanded her money back.

B. She cried and begged to be rescued.
She immediately cried out, embraced the Colonel, and demanded he take her away from that location immediately.

37. How did Anfisa Petrovna react when the Colonel tried to take Tatyana Ivanovna away?

A. She fainted tragically.
B. She screamed, defending her son and attacking the Colonel.
C. She meekly apologized for her son.
D. She demanded Obnoskin be compensated.

B. She screamed, defending her son and attacking the Colonel.
Anfisa Petrovna burst in screaming, accusing the Colonel of using ruffians to terrorize her and abduct the lady.

38. What highly insulting gossip did Anfisa Petrovna scream about the Colonel and Nastasya?

A. Nastasya was stealing money.
B. The Colonel kept Nastasya as a mistress.
C. Nastasya was Obnoskin’s relative.
D. Nastasya was Foma’s secret wife.

B. The Colonel kept Nastasya as a mistress.
Anfisa yelled that the Colonel kept Nastasya, the governess, as a mistress under everyone’s nose.

39. The Colonel revealed he had sent Foma Fomich a letter asking for what specific favour?

A. Money for the wedding
B. Intercession with his mother
C. Advice on Korovkin
D. Foma to leave the house

B. Intercession with his mother.
He wrote Foma asking him to intercede with the General’s Lady regarding his proposal to Nastasya.
40. Why was Foma Fomich waiting to leave with a cart early on the day of Ilyusha’s name-day?

A. He genuinely planned to travel.
B. He was conducting a “test” of their faith.
C. He was afraid of Korovkin.
D. He accepted the Colonel’s money.

B. He was conducting a “test” of their faith.
Foma was engaging in dramatic posturing, intending to demonstrate his noble spirit and martyrdom by leaving.

41. What was the Colonel’s final act that broke Foma’s dramatic speech?

A. He hit Foma.
B. He publicly proposed marriage.
C. He tore up Foma’s luggage.
D. He threatened his mother.

B. He publicly proposed marriage.
The Colonel declared his love for Nastasya and solemnly pleaded at her feet for her hand in marriage.

42. When the Colonel proposed, what was the General’s Lady’s immediate reaction?

A. She gave her blessing.
B. She fainted again.
C. She knelt and begged for Foma’s return.
D. She demanded Nastasya leave.

C. She knelt and begged for Foma’s return.
The aged lady fell to her knees, begging Nastasya not to marry Yegor, but instead to bring Foma back.

43. How was Foma physically removed from the house by the Colonel?

A. Dragged out by servants
B. Hurled through a window
C. Carried away gently
D. Forced into a carriage

B. Hurled through a window.
The enraged Colonel grabbed Foma by the shoulders and violently hurled him through the French window.

44. Foma returned from the storm because he was terrified after leaving whom?

A. The General’s Lady
B. Nastasya
C. Gavrila
D. His staff

C. Gavrila.
Foma, “limping away on a stick,” became utterly terrified soon after Gavrila left him and immediately turned back.
45. What was Foma Fomich’s ultimate final condition for granting the blessing and staying?

A. Nastasya must admit her guilt.
B. The Colonel must give him money.
C. He forgave the white bull dream.
D. Bakhcheyev must leave.

C. He forgave the white bull dream.
As his act of final magnanimity, Foma forgave Falaley’s dream, stating, “I’m staying! . . . My children, embrace me.”

46. How did the educated Korovkin react after sobering up and recalling his appearance?

A. He demanded revenge.
B. He lamented his disgrace and departed.
C. He apologized profusely to Foma.
D. He stayed for the wedding feast.

B. He lamented his disgrace and departed.
He bawled and declared he was unworthy of humanity, departing secretly, too ashamed to stay.

47. What did Tatyana Ivanovna offer Nastasya as a wedding gift?

A. Her house
B. Her diamond ring
C. Thirty thousand rubles
D. Five hundred serfs

C. Thirty thousand rubles.
Overwhelmed by joy at the “romance,” Tatyana Ivanovna insisted on giving Nastasya thirty thousand rubles.

48. What eccentric behaviour did Foma develop later in life that frightened the household?

A. Violent outbursts
B. Hour-long trances
C. Speaking only French
D. Burning his manuscripts

B. Hour-long trances.
Foma began having unexpected fits, where he would stop, paralyzed in a posture, for up to an hour.

49. What became of the fortune-hunting former hussar, Mizinchikov?

A. He married Praskovya Ilyinichna.
B. He started a literary journal.
C. He became a prosperous estate manager.
D. He joined the army again.

C. He became a prosperous estate manager.
Mizinchikov managed a Count’s estate, then acquired his own, becoming a successful and wealthy landowner.
50. Despite Foma’s tyranny, how did the Colonel and Nastasya regard him even after his death?

A. With grudging respect
B. With deep loathing
C. With loving veneration
D. With polite indifference

C. With loving veneration.
The couple cherished Foma, speaking of him only in tones of deep feeling, and paying homage at his tomb.

Brief Overview

The Village of Stepanchikovo is a novel by Fyodor Dostoevsky, first published in 1859. The story is a satirical comedy focused on the domestic tyranny inflicted upon the benevolent Colonel Yegor Ilyich Rostanev. The Colonel lives on his large estate with many dependents.

The Colonel’s life is dominated by his mother and her companion, Foma Fomich Opiskin. Foma is a supremely vain man who uses his former status as a poor dependent to become a harsh, spiritual master in the house. He constantly makes the Colonel feel guilty and portrays him as selfish.

Foma and the Colonel’s mother try to force the Colonel into a marriage with a wealthy, eccentric lady named Tatyana Ivanovna.

The Colonel resists this plan because he is in love with Nastasya Yevgrafovna, a poor governess. He invites his nephew (the narrator) to marry Nastasya as a means of protecting her.

The tension eventually peaks when Foma Fomich falsely accuses the Colonel of having an improper relationship with Nastasya. The Colonel becomes enraged. He violently grabs Foma and throws him out of a window.

Foma returns and makes a dramatic show of forgiveness and nobility. He grants his “permission” for the Colonel and Nastasya to marry.

The Colonel and Nastasya marry and find happiness, but Foma remains in the house and keeps his powerful, authoritative position until his death seven years later.

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