# Anna Fyódorovna Záytsef — The Death of Ivan Ilyich and Other Stories character guide

> Anna Fyódorovna Záytsef in The Death of Ivan Ilyich and Other Stories by Leo Tolstoy.

**Role:** supporting

**Also known as:** Anna Fyódorovna, Záytsef

**First appearance:** 0010-two-hussars

## Snapshot

A widow managing her estate and her dependents with anxious scruples, torn between Christian conscience and the practical demands of running a household.

## Who they are

Anna Fyódorovna presides over her estate with a steward, servants, and a tangle of obligations, deliberating endlessly over who should be sent on errands and who spared. She wants to satisfy everyone and the law, yet her indecision and reliance on others leave her exposed to the quiet judgments of those around her. Her household, with its cramped serf quarters and small economies, becomes a stage where the gap between good intentions and hard realities is played out.

## In the story

### [Two Hussars](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/leo_tolstoy_short_fiction_se/chapters/two-hussars)

The proprietress. She nostalgically remembers the old Count Toúrbin (the father) and is initially resistant to praising the new generation of officers.

### [Father Vasily](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/leo_tolstoy_short_fiction_se/chapters/father-vasily)

Father Vasily's wife. She is short-tempered, manages the household, and is angry upon his return due to financial strain revealed by their son's letter.

## Links

- HTML: https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/leo_tolstoy_short_fiction_se/characters/anna_fyodorovna
- Book: https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/leo_tolstoy_short_fiction_se
- All characters: https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/leo_tolstoy_short_fiction_se/characters