# Prepolovenskaya — The Little Demon character guide

> Prepolovenskaya in The Little Demon by Fyodor Sologub.

**Role:** supporting

**Also known as:** Efimovna Prepolovenskaya

**First appearance:** 0006-i

## Snapshot

A matchmaker and busybody whose cheerful meddling in other people's marriages makes her a comic engine of the town's gossip economy.

## Who they are

Prepolovenskaya traffics in rumours, introductions, and the small social transactions that keep provincial life humming. Her interest in arranging matches, particularly around Peredonov's long-delayed engagement, gives her a stake in nearly every household's business. She matters because she embodies the town's collective nosiness, the force that transforms private hopes into public property and helps drive the plot's domestic tensions.

## Relationships

### [Peredonov](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_little_demon_se/characters/peredonov)

_social_

Prepolovenskaya is a townswoman who Peredonov suspects of plotting against him, fueling his paranoia.

### [Peredonov](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_little_demon_se/characters/peredonov)

_social_

Prepolovenskaya is a townswoman who Peredonov suspects of plotting against him, fueling his paranoia.

### [Peredonov](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_little_demon_se/characters/peredonov)

_social_

Prepolovenskaya is a townswoman who Peredonov suspects of plotting against him, fueling his paranoia.

## In the story

### [II](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_little_demon_se/chapters/ii)

Visits and teases Volodin about his interest in Varvara, while secretly hoping to marry Peredonov to her sister.

### [III](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_little_demon_se/chapters/iii)

Watches the dancing from the window, encourages Volodin, and leaves as Grushina arrives.

### [V](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_little_demon_se/chapters/v)

Cheats at cards with her husband; advises Varvara on nettle friction; visits Peredonov's home.

### [Chapter XXV](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_little_demon_se/chapters/xxv)

Taunts Peredonov about the inspector job with a derisive smile.

## Links

- HTML: https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_little_demon_se/characters/prepolovenskaya
- Book: https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_little_demon_se
- All characters: https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_little_demon_se/characters