of the Islayevs. Having told a story of a girl with two suitors who knew she was in love but did not know with whom, he draws from Natalya the question whether it is possible to love two people at once. He perceives Natalya’s relationship with Rakitin. At times, he seems like a basso buffo in a comic opera, but his serious side is made evident in the long conversation during which he proposes to Lizaveta. He confesses that although he plays the clown, it is a calculated playing, and he is in reality ingratiating himself with the rich people from whom he may gain rewards without revealing what he thinks of them. He serves as a marriage broker for Bolshintsov.

Adam Ivanitch Schaaf

Adam Ivanitch Schaaf (ah-DAHM ih-VAHN-ihch schahf), a phlegmatic, rather grumpy German tutor. He is ridiculous in his attempts to be romantic with Katya, who spurns him.

Afanasy Ivanovitch Bolshintsov

Afanasy Ivanovitch Bolshintsov (ah-fah-NAH-sihy ih-VAH-no-vihch bohl-SHIHN-tsof), a neighbor. Shy with women, he promises Shpigelsky three horses if the doctor can arrange for him a marriage with Vera. Rakitin thinks him fat, foolish, and tedious, and to Vera he is laughable, though she finally agrees to marry him.

Anna Semyonovna Islayev

Anna Semyonovna Islayev (AHN-nah seh-MYOH-nov-nah ihs-lah-YEHF), Arkady’s mother. She is disturbed by the belief that Natalya and Rakitin are more than friends and at the end by the news that Lizaveta may soon be leaving her.

Lizaveta Bogdanovna

Lizaveta Bogdanovna (lih-zah-VEH-tah bohg-DAH-nov-nah), Anna’s companion. Her remarks to Anna at the end of the play suggest that shortly she will marry Shpigelsky.

Katya

Katya (KAH-tyah), a maid courted by both Schaaf and Matvey. She likes Belyayev.

Matvey

Matvey (maht-VAY), a manservant in love with Katya.

Vera Alexandrovna Vera is Natalya and Islayev's adopted daughter. As a seventeen-year-old, Vera is caught in the precarious situation of still being considered a naive child, when in fact she proves to be a perceptive and precocious young woman. Vera is smitten with Beliayev and when she comes to believe that he loves only Natalya, she agrees to marry Bolshintsov, who had been previously undesirable to her.

Alexei Nikolayich Beliayev Beliayev is a twenty-one-year-old student hired by Natalya to tutor Kolya. In contrast to other characters in the play who profess their honorable nature, Beliayev's honor appears to be genuine when it comes to caring about others. He describes himself as lazy; however, his intelligence and ingenuity contrast with this quality. His translation of a book into French without knowing the language attests either to his facility with languages or his willingness to misrepresent himself and his capabilities.

Lizaveta Bogdanovna Liza is a lady companion who plays cards with Anna and Schaaf, teaches Kolya piano, and becomes involved with Shpigelski. Liza accepts Shpigelski's marriage proposal, although the audience might wonder why she does this. During the proposal scene, she tells him that she is only thirty-years-old when in fact she is thirty-seven. She is apparently self-conscious of her age, and this is perhaps her motivation for accepting Shpigelski as a suitor and a husband.

Afanasy Ivanovich Bolshintsov Bolshintsov is the forty-year-old single neighbor of Islayev and Natalya. He is not highly regarded by most of the characters and is quite nervous throughout the play about his courtship of Vera.

Anna Semyenovna Islayev Anna is Islayev's fifty-eight-year-old mother. She spends her time leisurely and is suspicious of Natalya's behavior. She is concerned for her son and feels that Natalya's youth does not work in his favor.

Arkady Sergeyich Islayev Arkady is a wealthy landowner in his mid-thirties, who spends much of his time working. His work keeps him away from his wife, who develops an interest in Rakitin, a family friend. He is not a jealous man, nor does he handle his wife's behavior with suspicion or malice once he learns of Rakitin's love for her.

Kolya Islayev Kolya is Natalya and Islayev's ten-year-old son. He is an energetic youth who loves to play and is dazzled by his new tutor, Beliayev.

Katya Katya is a twenty-year-old maidservant who acts as Vera's confidant. She entertains advances from Schaaf and seems to always be in the right place to overhear the conversations of the other characters in the play.

Matvey Matvey is a forty-year-old servant who plays a small role introducing characters and announcing meals.

Natalya Petrovna Natalya is the complicated main character of the play. She is a married twenty-nine-year-old who finds herself bored with much of the life and people around her. From childhood she has lived a structured and hence seemingly constrained life from which she would like to break free. Her domineering father kept her in line as a child, and it seems that her choice in marrying Islayev has continued her feeling of confinement. The claustrophobic feeling that she has is replicated in her relationship with Rakitin. When she hires a new tutor for her son; however, she sees a glimpse of a different life. Beliayev is a breath of fresh air for Natalya and through him, she hopes to give her son the fun, happiness, and freedom she never had. In the process, she develops a yearning to capture these things for herself as well. Ultimately she does not attain the freedom that she seeks, and she must accept her life as it is.

Mikhail Alexandrovich Rakitin Rakitin is a thirty-year-old friend of Natalya and Islayev. While Islayev considers Rakitin a close friend to him, Rakitin most certainly has a stronger affinity for Natalya. After admitting his love for Natalya to Islayev, Rakitin departs the estate. In his lecture to Beliayev, Rakitin reveals his belief that a woman's honor is very important; however, his lecture can also be seen as self-serving. Rakitin recognizes his devotion to Natalya and is perplexed by her coolness toward him. He sees only his passion for her and does not understand how such feelings are not mutual. On one level, he does the honorable thing by leaving Natalya; however, he also knows that he is welcome to return.

Adam Ivanich Schaaf Schaaf is a forty-five-year-old German tutor who is playfully smitten with Katya. In the first scene, he demonstrates his skill at the card game Hearts as well as his willingness to attribute his loss to someone else.

Ignaty Ilyich Shpigelski Shpigelski is the forty-year-old doctor who calls on the family and is interested in marrying Lizaveta. Though his public persona is one of an accommodating, thoughtful, and jovial country doctor, his private persona is quite different. He expresses disdain and dislike for the other characters in the play. He uses people for what they can provide for him and does not see himself as particularly kind, talented, or romantic. He has clear views about a wife's and a woman's place in society and prides himself on his honesty.