# Marfa Strogoff — Michael Strogoff character guide

> Marfa Strogoff in Michael Strogoff by Jules Verne.

**Role:** supporting

**Also known as:** old Marfa, Marfa

**First appearance:** 0013-part-i-xiv-mother-and-son

## Snapshot

Michael's aged mother in Omsk, the one person he loves, and the pull of home that his duty to the Czar forces him to ride past.

## Who they are

Old Marfa Strogoff still lives in the house at Omsk where she and the huntsman Peter raised their son, and she has never been willing to leave it. Michael, absent three years on imperial service, has always spent his furloughs with her no matter how many versts separated them — until this mission sends him east through her own country without permission to stop. Her presence on the route turns the courier's iron discipline into a test of the heart.

## Relationships

### [Michael Strogoff](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/michael_strogoff_se/characters/michael_strogoff)

_family_

Marfa is Michael's mother, deeply devoted to him and enduring great hardship for his sake.

### [Ivan Ogareff](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/michael_strogoff_se/characters/ivan_ogareff)

_rivalry_

Ivan Ogareff cruelly torments Marfa, using her to get to Michael.

### [Ivan Ogareff](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/michael_strogoff_se/characters/ivan_ogareff)

_rivalry_

Ivan Ogareff cruelly torments Marfa, using her to get to Michael.

### [Michael Strogoff](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/michael_strogoff_se/characters/michael_strogoff)

_family_

Marfa is Michael's mother, deeply devoted to him and enduring great hardship for his sake.

### [Michael Strogoff](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/michael_strogoff_se/characters/michael_strogoff)

_family_

Marfa is Michael's mother, deeply devoted to him and enduring great hardship for his sake.

### [Ivan Ogareff](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/michael_strogoff_se/characters/ivan_ogareff)

_rivalry_

Ivan Ogareff cruelly torments Marfa, using her to get to Michael.

## In the story

### [Michael Strogoff Meets the Czar](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/michael_strogoff_se/chapters/part-i-iii-michael-strogoff-meets-the-czar)

Michael Strogoff's mother, living in Omsk, whom he promises not to see to avoid recognition.

### [Duty Before Everything](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/michael_strogoff_se/chapters/part-i-xiii-duty-before-everything)

Mentioned as Michael's mother; described as brave and energetic; believed to have possibly left Omsk due to the invasion.

### [Mother and Son](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/michael_strogoff_se/chapters/part-i-xiv-mother-and-son)

Interrogated by Ivan Ogareff, she bravely denies that the young man she called her son was Michael Strogoff, even under threat of torture.

### [The Marshes of the Baraba](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/michael_strogoff_se/chapters/part-i-xv-the-marshes-of-the-baraba)

Michael's mother, who is captured by Ivan Ogareff after recognizing her son at Omsk, though her fate is unknown to Michael.

### [A Tartar Camp](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/michael_strogoff_se/chapters/part-ii-i-a-tartar-camp)

Mentioned as a prisoner at Omsk, causing Michael concern.

### [Correspondents in Trouble](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/michael_strogoff_se/chapters/part-ii-ii-correspondents-in-trouble)

Old Siberian prisoner, stoic and guarded; receives silent care from Nadia, unaware of her son's fate.

### [Blow for Blow](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/michael_strogoff_se/chapters/part-ii-iii-blow-for-blow)

Remains defiant under interrogation, refusing to identify her son despite threat of the knout.

### [IV: The Triumphal Entry](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/michael_strogoff_se/chapters/part-ii-iv-the-triumphal-entry)

Present as a prisoner, pale with fear for her son; she is brutally pushed by guards and singled out by Ogareff to stay.

### [Look While You May!](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/michael_strogoff_se/chapters/part-ii-v-look-while-you-may)

Witnesses her son's blinding and falls senseless to the ground.

### [Conclusion](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/michael_strogoff_se/chapters/part-ii-xv-conclusion)

Awaiting Michael and Nadia in Omsk; she knew the truth about Michael's sight and embraces Nadia as her daughter.

## Links

- HTML: https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/michael_strogoff_se/characters/marfa_strogoff
- Book: https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/michael_strogoff_se
- All characters: https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/michael_strogoff_se/characters