# Zoya Nikitishna Mueller — On the Eve character guide

> Zoya Nikitishna Mueller in On the Eve by Ivan Turgenev.

**Role:** supporting

**Also known as:** Zoya, ideal Zoya Nikitishna, Zoya Nikitishna, Zoé

**First appearance:** 0001-ii

## Snapshot

A pretty German companion whose placid smiles and phlegmatic charm make her the household's living ornament — and Shubin's maddening, inexhaustible subject.

## Who they are

Zoya Nikitishna Mueller attends Anna Vassilyevna as a paid companion, forever at her mistress's side yet never quite part of the family's emotional weather. She answers Shubin's comic despair with the same unruffled smile, plays Weber for a weeping Anna Vassilyevna, and sits alone at the piano when the young people flee to the garden. Her serene surface — pretty, obliging, faintly knowing — makes her a foil for Elena's restless depth and a running provocation for the sculptor who can neither capture nor dismiss her.

## In the story

### [II](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/on_the_eve_se/chapters/ii)

A young woman of eighteen who comes to fetch the friends for dinner; she is flirtatious with Shubin but annoyed by his teasing.

### [IV](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/on_the_eve_se/chapters/iv)

The pretty German companion, plays piano obediently and responds to Shubin's teasing with a phlegmatic smile.

### [V](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/on_the_eve_se/chapters/v)

Mentioned as the girl Shubin was caught kissing.

### [X](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/on_the_eve_se/chapters/x)

Zoya sits by Anna Vassilyevna while she rests, with her hands clasped on her knees.

### [XII](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/on_the_eve_se/chapters/xii)

Zoya is present during the visit; she asks about Insarov's age and later plays piano for the company.

### [XIII](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/on_the_eve_se/chapters/xiii)

Appears briefly, walking on tiptoe to indicate that Anna Vassilyevna is still asleep.

### [XV](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/on_the_eve_se/chapters/xv)

Zoya flirts with Shubin, plays with his cigar-case, and is described as coquettish; she helps write invitation notes.

### [XIX](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/on_the_eve_se/chapters/xix)

Enters the room and Elena finds her charming, reflecting Elena's heightened emotional state.

### [XXXI](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/on_the_eve_se/chapters/xxxi)

Waits devotedly on Anna Vassilyevna, inwardly questioning Elena's choice of Insarov.

## Links

- HTML: https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/on_the_eve_se/characters/zoya
- Book: https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/on_the_eve_se
- All characters: https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/on_the_eve_se/characters