# Dina — The Death of Ivan Ilyich and Other Stories character guide

> Dina in The Death of Ivan Ilyich and Other Stories by Leo Tolstoy.

**Role:** supporting

**First appearance:** 0036-a-prisoner-in-the-caucasus

## Snapshot

The Tartar chief's daughter, dressed in blue and jingling with Russian coins, who watches the captive Zhílin as if he were a wild animal.

## Who they are

Dina is the daughter of the man holding Zhílin prisoner, a girl with clear black eyes and a long blue gown trimmed in red, her black braid woven with ribbon and silver coins. Curiosity pulls against her father's authority: she crouches with her knees at her head, staring wide-eyed while Zhílin drinks, then bolts at a word from him. Her small, secret kindnesses turn the captivity story from a simple ordeal into a study of how sympathy crosses enemy lines.

## In the story

### [A Prisoner in the Caucasus](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/leo_tolstoy_short_fiction_se/chapters/a-prisoner-in-the-caucasus)

Abdul's young daughter who forms a secret bond with Zhílin. She risks herself to bring him food, cakes, and finally provides the pole for his successful escape from the pit.

## Links

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