Russian Lit - Key Characters

Liza

A poor peasant/serf girl who falls in love with a wealthy aristocrat. The nature of their love is very innocent but when she loses her virginity to him, everything changes. After the aristocrat gambles all of his money playing cards in the army, and marries a rich widow, this peasant girl ends up taking her own life. Author Nikolai Karamzin intended her relationship to represent the conflict between natural goodness and corrupted society, as her feelings were often linked to the state of nature around her (pathetic fallacy).

Erast

A wealthy nobleman who is discontent with the pressures of high society, falls in love with a peasant/serf girl (or perhaps the idealistic view of nature that she represents to him). While he is aware that he is breaking social codes, he is desperate to pursue this ideal of escaping the grand monde. He ends up having sex with his lover, falling out of love, having to enlist in the army, gambling his money away, and marrying a rich widow. After his lover dies by suicide, he spends the rest of his life in sorrow.

Chatsky

A satirical character who has no interest in following the traditional Russian career paths of civil and military service, this young nobleman is hopelessly bored of Moscow and Russian high society. After spending three years away from the city, he returns to find that his lover has fallen in love with her father’s dutiful, tight-lipped, and manipulative secretary. Unable to keep his wit contained, he finds both humour and idiocy in the actions of everyone in Moscow society, denouncing their nepotistic ideals, obsession with rank and standing, posh French-speaking snobbery, and refusal to part with old ways. Ultimately, he torpedoes any chance of a career in Moscow, fails to win his lover back, and sparks a rumour that he has gone mad. This character is often praised for speaking truth to power but questions have been raised about his willingness to actually take action on his words and his inability to control his criticism. “Are these the robber barons, profiteers, and crooks protected by the law by friend and relative, whose money flows like water through a sieve to furnish palaces, import French cooks, worshipped by their clientele in exile, who hope to see, never mind how vile, the old regime restored?”

Sophie/Sofia

The daughter of a wealthy Moscow nobleman, this character falls in love with her father’s quiet and reliable secretary while her witty former lover is away from the city. When her former lover returns, she shows a disdain for the fact that he is always directing laughter and criticism towards others. She ends up starting a rumour that he is mad and continues to pursue her father’s secretary, only to find out that the secretary is in love with her maid. Some have wondered whether she could have done more to direct her former lover’s criticisms and support him, but it has also been noted that her precarious position as a woman in a highly patriarchal society means that concerns over her future had to take precedence. “Of course he hasn’t got the kind of mind that revels in display but leaves behind distaste; that some find brilliant, others hateful, that seeks attention ridiculing manners and convention. Are happy families likely, given such a mind?”

Molchalin

A vile scumbag and the secretary of a notable Moscow patriarch, this character is a hard-working, rank-obsessed, tight-lipped, and subservient man in the public eye, but a manipulative and selfish one behind closed doors. After winning the love of his employer’s daughter, he eventually makes inappropriate advances towards the household maid and reveals that he sought to marry his lover only for personal gain (he hoped this would win him extra favour with his employer and boost his rank). This character exemplifies everything wrong about Moscow society in the early 19th century, from its obsession with rank and status to its focus on public image over actual morality and decency. “It doesn’t matter if the wrong you’ve done is buried in oblivion - it only matters if it’s talked about.” (quote said by Liza (maid) to Sophie but best describes this other character). “A man of my age should not presume to have opinions of his own.”

Famusov

This character is a wealthy Moscow patriarch and a key actor in the city’s social scene who frequently hosts parties and events in his house. He is obsessed with rank and status and keen to find a suitor for his daughter who fits within these values. A representative of an older generation of Russians, he also very nepotistic and focused on past glory/tradition, but is denounced for this views by a memorable young protagonist. This character will not listen (in the play that he is from, he often puts his hands over his ears when others say stuff contrary to his beliefs) and has a strong distaste for the educated young generation of Russians (even complains about merit and suggests burning books). “Youth! Always reading! Nothing sets them straight!”

Skalozub

This character is a young merit-minded military colonel. While he is by no means progressive or particularly brilliant, he does conflict a bit with the older generation’s nepotistic views. “I’ll send over Sergeant-Major Voinikov. He’ll shake up you up, you, your crew, Prince Gregory, and Voltaire, too: he’ll line you up and drill you till you drop.”

Aleko

A world-weary and dark byronic hero who retreats from civilization to live with the Gypsies. He idealizes their unbounded freedom and falls in love with a young woman, but is unable to truly escape civilization and his internalized constructs. When his lover has an affair, he becomes consumed with rage and kills both her and the other man.

Belkin

The fictional narrator of his namesake tales, this character is a middling, modest, and liberal nobleman who tells of a poor stationmaster and his daughter that he met during his travels. An example of an unreliable narrator who perhaps makes omissions or is clouded by his own judgement.

Dunya

The daughter of a poor stationmaster, this character must frequently use her beauty to disarm men who threaten her father. She runs away/is taken away by a wealthy hussar and goes on to live a life of splendour in the city. Her story is narrated by several unreliable men so her perspective is shrouded in uncertainty, although it is implied that her life with her father may have been difficult. She never speaks during the story so it is impossible to know her exact motivations or desires.

Eugene (Onegin)

The original superfluous man, this fashionable Byronic hero lives in a state of constant boredom. He pays great attention to his appearance, often spending hours each day dressing himself, and has a reputation as a party animal and a flirt. A sort of anti-Chatsky who always tries to emulate what society wants, this character is constantly putting up different masks and facades and possibly begins to lose real meaning in the process. At the beginning of his story, he moves onto his deceased uncle’s countryside estate, where he befriends his neighbour, an idealistic Romantic poet. He also receives a letter from a young woman who professes her unadulterated love for him. He turns down her advances, but perhaps has feelings for her - when dragged to her “Name Day” party by his poet friend, he feels pity for her and becomes angry with his friend. He dances with his friend’s fiancée, resulting in a duel between the two men, in which he shoots and kills his friend. He is forced to leave the countryside. Years later, he chases after his former lover, who is now married to a prince. He writes her numerous letters, but this time it is she who rejects his advances, and that is where the story ends. This character becomes the archetype for many other characters and is legendary in Russian literature.

Lénsky

A young, idealistic, and passionate Romantic poet (educated in Germany), this fiery youth is in love with a beautiful young woman. Living in the countryside, he becomes best friends with his world-weary neighbour through “sheer ennui” (their shared boredom). This friend ends up dancing with the poet’s lover - seeing himself as a Romantic hero, he challenges his friend to a duel. He is shot and killed, and buried in the countryside, after which everyone basically forgets about him. His lover ends up quickly getting married to a military officer. He remains an open character, and the narrator speculates about whether he would have become a great man or simply settled into mediocrity and married life.

Olga

The lover of a young Romantic poet, this character represents the ideal 19th century Russian woman. However, after her poet boyfriend perishes in a duel whilst trying to protect her honour, she quickly moves on and marries an army officer. A later character with the same name also represents this shallow ideal - she plans to get married to a wealthy prince and only concerns herself with the world of appearances and facades.

Tatyana

This character, a girl from the countryside who is obsessed with reading Romantic novels, is more emotional and quiet than her sunny sister. She rejects many social conventions and is grounded in the realities of life. However, she likes the idea of being in love, as depicted in her books - so she projects these feelings onto a wealthy aristocrat who moves into the countryside. She envisions herself as the main character in a Romantic tale and pens a letter professing her love for this man. He rejects her advances, but she nonetheless uses various folkloric methods to try to find out if he is in her future. This culminates in a dream filled with monsters in which her lover takes her to bed but simply puts his head on her shoulder. However, her lover kills his friend in a duel and leaves the countryside, while she is sent to St. Petersburg in search of potential suitors. She ends up marrying a prince and settling into high society, while also getting better at hiding her true emotions. When her old lover begins to make advances towards her, she rejects him, admitting that while she still loves him she must live the life she has chosen. Many scholars have argued that she something of a main character in her famous novel rather than the book’s namesake.

Eugene (Little Man)

This poor and humble man hopes to build a future with his lover until she is killed in a flood. He sees that her home and much of St. Petersburg was washed away, except for two stone lions and a statue of Peter the Great on horseback. This man spends a year raving around in a state of madness, but momentarily regains his sanity and shakes his fist with anger at the tsarist monument. The statue chases him with fury, and he is later found dead and alone on an island off of the coast. This character established the new archetype of the “little man,” a hard-working everyday person written in opposition to power. 

Hermann

This character, an educated, thrifty, and middle-class engineer, preaches the virtues of “economy, moderation, and industry” and hopes to increase his social standing. Having never gambled in his life, he hears a rumour that an old countess has three secret cards that can win in Faro. He becomes obsessed with finding out her secret, manipulating her ward and breaking into her house at night. He ultimately interrogates the old countess and frightens her to death, but she later appears to him in a vision/dream, revealing the secret cards to be “three, seven, and ace.” This character wins massive sums of money by playing a three and seven but loses it all when he mistakenly plays a queen instead of an ace. He sees the countess’s face in the queen card and ends up going mad. Some have proposed that his story is rooted in the metaphysical and supernatural, while others say that his actions were simply driven by psychological guilt over the countess’s death.

Pechorin

A troubled proto-existentialist, this nihilistic Byronic hero is highly disillusioned with the workings of his contemporary society. He lives more with the head than with the heart, constantly judging, criticizing, and rationalizing the world. However, this ennui does not paralyze him (as it does to Eugene Onegin) - exiled to the Caucasus, this character seeks to find excitement through the rebellious exercise of his own will. However, a trail of destruction follows him and his actions bring about the ruin of others, leading him to wonder if he is the “executioner” of fate. This character is deeply reflective and documents his personal search for purpose in a journal, although he feels that his life has no meaning and that he has been let down by society.

Grushnitsky

Influenced by the works of the Romantics, this soldier in the Caucasus seeks to become the hero of a novel. This character is rather witty and very attuned to social conventions/fashions - however, he is also a shallow and spineless individual. He ultimately dies at the hand of a former friend after failing to kill him in a rigged duel.

Piskarev

A young, emotional painter who is highly influenced by Romantic ideas, this character chases after a woman on Nevsky Prospekt only to follow her back to her house and find out that she is a prostitute. Determined to reconcile her beauty with some kind of virtue, this character continues to dream and fantasize about a life with her. He falls deep into opium addiction, allowing him to sustain these dreams. When he is forced to confront the reality that she is in fact a prostitute and does not want to be “saved,” he slits his own throat.

Pirogov

This character, whose name is a play on the Russian word for pie, is an overly confident lieutenant (essentially a bureaucrat in the lower half of the Table of Ranks). He chases after a woman on Nevsky Prospekt but finds out that she is the wife of another man, and gets beaten up by her husband after he makes inappropriate advances. He proceeds to eat some puff pastries and dance the mazurka, which makes him feel better. This exemplifies Gogol’s focus on everyday life, a departure from the themes of Romanticism.

Major Kovalyov

This collegiate assessor (8th rank) wakes up one morning to find that his nose is gone. The nose goes on the loose in St. Petersburg and dresses as a military officer that outranks this character. Feeling stripped of his masculinity and his ability to climb the ranks, this man desperately tries to recover his nose. The police capture the nose and return it to him but he is unable to reattach it, only to wake up with the nose back on his face the some mornings later. This character suffers because his entire identity has been consumed by his rank and status, so the departure of his nose may show how he has nothing outside of this fabricated system.

Akaky Akakievich

This “little man” is a perfect bureaucrat who always does what he is told and spends his days copying documents. He is mocked mercilessly by his colleagues for his mild demeanour and threadbare overcoat. Determined to buy himself a new overcoat, he saves up every last cent for months and even starves himself at times, and at last gets a new coat (albeit a rather cheap and mediocre one). His colleagues invite him to a party to celebrate (to mock him) but he leaves early and has his overcoat stolen by two men who kick him down into the snow. He appeals to an Important Person to help him but is lambasted and goes home in shame, and, without a coat becomes ill from the cold of the Russian winter. He dies and returns as a ghost who steals people’s overcoats, including the coat of the Important Person.

Khlestakov

This narcissistic and feather-brained nobleman gambled away all of his money, leaving him penniless and stranded in a provincial town (unable to pay off his debts to the hotel owner). The officials of the town, anticipating the arrival of a government inspector, mistake this man for the inspector himself. This character is received hospitably by the mayor and convinces several of the officials to "loan” him money, whilst spinning outrageous tales about his St. Petersburg experiences. He gets engaged to the mayor’s daughter, and with his new money, continues on down the road - but the town officials intercept a letter he wrote and realize that he deceived them. This whole situation creates great dramatic irony and highlights corruption, greed, and stupidity, although the play that this character headlines was criticized for its utter lack of sympathetic characters.

Cecily

A wealthy teenage girl who is constantly under the watchful gaze of her mother, this character is supposed to be looking for a man to marry. The world in which she lives is very banal and appearance-based, and her self-expression is restricted by the expectations that society has for young women. Forced to keep her “mind in a corset” by her mother and the world, her true thoughts and reflections of the soul come out at night in the form of dream dialogues with a deceased man from a higher world (or possibly just her own consciousness). She becomes engaged to marry a young man who is not as rich as she, but becomes more and more ill as the marriage approaches. While she ultimately goes through with it, it seems that she must give up on her dreams and submit herself to the oppressive limits of society. Parallels have been drawn between this character and Tatyana (Onegin) for both shift from a Romantic to a Realistic outlook and come to begrudgingly accept marriage. Nonetheless, she seeks to retain a little bit of soul power and poetry for herself. Her condition is an obvious critique of the patriarchal society of 19th century Russia.

Madame Valitskaia

This mother is determined to get her teenage daughter married off to a prince - however, the prince is interested in her daughter’s best friend. This character deliberately matches her daughter’s friend off with a poor guy so that her daughter can marry the prince, only for the prince to leave Russia. She shows the overbearing nature of mothers at a time when marriage was so essential, but also elicits sympathy, for she truly thinks that her extreme actions are necessary to secure her daughter’s future.

Devushkin

A poor copyist who lives a very monotonous life, this character moved from an apartment into a crammed rooming house to free up extra money to send to a distant cousin (who he is maybe in love with). He enjoys reading but despises “The Overcoat,” for he feels that the book is making a mockery out of Akaky, a character very similar to himself. He does, however, love “The Stationmaster,” seeing himself in Samson Vyrin, although he is perhaps too attached to the sentiments of this tale. As his money dries up and his cousin gets married off to a despicable man, he descends into alcoholism. While this character is another “little man,” he directly questions the merits of the system in which he exists and acts with generosity and selflessness. This allows readers to sympathize with his plight since he goes beyond the cartoonish nature of Akaky.

Varvara

This character is a very poor orphan who is teetering on the precipice of prostitution. Her parents were serfs in the countryside who moved to the city upon being freed, yet died soon after. She frequently receives money from a distant cousin, knowing that she will otherwise have to go into prostitution to earn a living wage. She is very kind-hearted and compassionate, as revealed by an anecdote in which she gave a very poor father a complete set of Pushkin books to give to his son. However, her own poverty is taken advantage of, as a cruel man takes her as his wife only so that she can bear his heir - she needs his financial security, so she has no choice but to accept.

Samson Vyrin

An aging stationmaster/postmaster who is frequently assaulted by angry, high-ranking travellers, this character is often saved by the disarming beauty of his daughter. However, his daughter leaves with a hussar to go live in the city. He tracks her down, but is thrown out of the hussar’s house, leaving dejected and convinced that his daughter will fall into destitution. Overwhelmed by sadness, he drinks himself to death.

Lisaveta

The ward of an old countess who gets taken advantage by an engineer that seeks to learn the countess’s gambling secret. Things ultimately end up fine for her as she gets married to a civil servant.