Poor Folk · Characters
Character guide
Key figures in Poor Folk by Fyodor Dostoevsky.
Skim names here — open a free preview to see character cards and Character Web beside the page as you read.
Makar Alexievitch Dievushkin
major
Also known as Makar Alexievitch, Dearest Makar Alexievitch, Dear Makar Alexievitch, Makar Dievushkin, Dievushkin
Makar Alexievitch Dievushkin has spent thirty years as a government copyist, mocked by colleagues as a byword for every office failure, yet he clings fiercely to the small dignity of legible handwriting and honest bread. His letters to Barbara swing between self-abasement and tenderness, revealing a man who knows he is ridiculous and loves anyway. He matters because his voice—garrulous, wounded, achingly sincere—is the novel's beating heart, showing how poverty corrodes dignity while love stubbornly rebuilds it.
Barbara Alexievna Dobroselova
major
Also known as Barbara Alexievna, Barbara, little Barbara, dear Barbara, Dearest Mistress Barbara Alexievna, My Dearest Little Barbara, Barbara Dobroselova
Barbara Alexievna Dobroselova lives in a rented corner, sewing for pennies and corresponding with Makar, her only ally in a city that has already taken her family, her health, and nearly her hope. Her letters recount a childhood of loss and a present tense with obligation—she loves Makar's devotion but cannot return it as he wishes, and her pride bristles at being a burden. She matters because her voice counterpoints his: where he gushes, she measures; where he clings, she endures, and the novel's tragedy grows from that asymmetry.
Monsieur Bykov
supporting
Also known as Monsieur Bwikov, Bwikov, this Bwikov, this Monsieur Bwikov, Hospodin 1 Bwikov
Monsieur Bykov is a man of property and appetites who once wronged Barbara's family and now proposes marriage as a matter of honor and convenience. He speaks plainly, laughs at his own villainy, and offers the Steppes, riches, and respectability—on his terms. He matters because he embodies the brutal arithmetic of a world where a woman's survival may depend on accepting the very man who helped ruin her, forcing Barbara and Makar toward the novel's decisive rupture.
Anna Thedorovna
supporting
Also known as Anna, Anna Thedorovna
Anna Thedorovna is a woman of shifting loyalties and sharp elbows, a distant kinswoman whose guardianship of Barbara came with strings she still tugs. Bykov calls her a very bad woman; Barbara knows her as the source of both shelter and shame. She matters because her machinations—gossip, pressure, and convenient arrangements—drive the plot's machinery, reminding the reader that in this world kindness and exploitation often wear the same face.
Pokrovski
supporting
Also known as Pokrovski, this Pokrovski, the younger Pokrovski, young Pokrovski, the elder Pokrovski
Pokrovski boards in the same house as Barbara, teaching French and German to a rude girl named Sasha while his own health and hopes quietly fail. He is excitable, awkward, and absurdly proud of his books, and Barbara's early cruelty to him turns to remorse, then to something deeper and more painful. He matters because he is Barbara's first experience of intellectual longing and romantic grief, a memory that shadows her present and explains the melancholy she carries into every letter.
Thedora
supporting
Also known as Thedora
Thedora shares Barbara's cramped lodgings and her poverty, yet she is the one who advises, borrows, and stands ready to turn interlopers out the door. She is neither sentimental nor passive; her counsel is blunt and her presence steady. She matters because she grounds Barbara's story in the daily texture of survival—work, rent, and the small alliances that make endurance possible—and because her loyalty throws the betrayals of others into sharp relief.
Rataziaev
supporting
Also known as Rataziaev
Rataziaev is Makar's neighbor and a would-be author who hosts gatherings of mediocre literary men in his rooms. His vanity curdles into treachery when he betrays Makar's confidence, transforming a private love letter into public mockery and giving Makar the humiliating nickname that spreads through the tenement. He embodies the casual cruelty of Petersburg's petty intelligentsia, showing how quickly a man of letters can become a man of malice when another's dignity is the price of a laugh.
Gorshkov
supporting
Also known as Gorshkov, poor Gorshkov, this Gorshkov
Gorshkov lives in the same building as Makar, reduced from civil service to beggary with a wife and children who share his shame. His plight is the novel's starkest mirror: what Makar fears becoming, what Devushkin's small kindnesses cannot prevent. He matters because his suffering gives a human face to the poverty that Dostoevsky insists we see — not as statistics but as neighbors, breathing the same stale air.
Peter Petrovitch
minor
Also known as Peter Petrovitch
A distant relative of Makar who occasionally visits and offers advice.
Emelia Ivanovitch
minor
Also known as Emelia Ivanovitch, Emelia
A fellow clerk and friend of Makar who shares his troubles.
Theresa
minor
Also known as Theresa
A servant in the building where Makar and Barbara live.
Phaldoni
minor
Also known as Phaldoni
A servant or messenger who appears in the narrative.
Sasha
minor
Also known as Sasha
A young girl who is a friend or acquaintance of Barbara.
Markov
minor
Also known as Markov, Monsieur Markov
A minor character mentioned in the story, possibly a tradesman.
Ermak
minor
Also known as Ermak
A historical figure referenced in the narrative, not a direct character.
Petinka
minor
Also known as Petinka
A young boy or minor character mentioned in passing.
Zuleika
minor
Also known as Zuleika
A character from a story within the book, possibly fictional.
Madame Chiffon
minor
Also known as Madame Chiffon
A dressmaker or shopkeeper mentioned in the narrative.
Samson Virin
minor
Also known as Samson Virin, Virin
A character from a story read by Makar, the stationmaster.
Thedor Thedorovitch
minor
Also known as Thedor Thedorovitch, Thedor
A minor character, possibly a servant or acquaintance.
Evstafi Ivanovitch
minor
Also known as Evstafi Ivanovitch, Evstafi
A minor character, possibly a colleague of Makar.
The Naval Officer
minor
Also known as The naval officer, the naval officer
A minor character who appears briefly in the narrative.
Pushkin
minor
Also known as Pushkin, the Pushkin
The famous poet, referenced as an author whose works are read.
Emelia Ilyitch
minor
Also known as Emelia Ilyitch, Emelia
A different Emelia from Emelia Ivanovitch, possibly a relative.
Zinaida
minor
Also known as Zinaida
A minor female character mentioned in the story.
Old Prince
minor
Also known as old Prince PтБат ╕ ║
A minor nobleman mentioned in the narrative.
Countess V.
minor
Also known as Countess, Countess V.
A wealthy countess who takes an interest in Barbara.
Pelagea Antonovna
minor
Also known as Pelagea Antonovna
A minor female character, possibly a neighbor.
Stepan Karlovitch
minor
Also known as Stepan Karlovitch
A minor character, possibly a colleague or acquaintance.
Timothei Ivanovitch
minor
Also known as Timothei Ivanovitch
A minor character, possibly a servant or official.
