Pyotr Ivanovich Vyvertov

The retired colonel who narrates the story's frame tale to three young ladies, recalling himself in 1843 as a dashing, skirt-chasing young second lieutenant nicknamed for his exploits across the district. A self-mythologizing, unreliable narrator -- the surname Vyvertov derives from vyvert (a twist, dodge, or contortion), fitting a storyteller who twists his own ending twice to keep his audience charmed.