# Poor Folk — Character guide

> Key figures in Poor Folk by Fyodor Dostoevsky.

- [Makar Alexievitch Dievushkin](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/poor_folk_se/characters/makar_alexievitch.md): 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.
- [Barbara Alexievna Dobroselova](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/poor_folk_se/characters/barbara_alexievna.md): 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 c
- [Monsieur Bykov](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/poor_folk_se/characters/monsieur_bykov.md): 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, r
- [Anna Thedorovna](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/poor_folk_se/characters/anna_thedorovna.md): 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 
- [Pokrovski](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/poor_folk_se/characters/pokrovski.md): 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 e
- [Thedora](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/poor_folk_se/characters/thedora.md): 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 
- [Rataziaev](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/poor_folk_se/characters/rataziaev.md): 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 int
- [Gorshkov](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/poor_folk_se/characters/gorshkov.md): 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 sma
- [Peter Petrovitch](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/poor_folk_se/characters/peter_petrovitch.md): A distant relative of Makar who occasionally visits and offers advice.
- [Emelia Ivanovitch](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/poor_folk_se/characters/emelia_ivanovitch.md): A fellow clerk and friend of Makar who shares his troubles.
- [Theresa](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/poor_folk_se/characters/theresa.md): A servant in the building where Makar and Barbara live.
- [Phaldoni](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/poor_folk_se/characters/phaldoni.md): A servant or messenger who appears in the narrative.
- [Sasha](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/poor_folk_se/characters/sasha.md): A young girl who is a friend or acquaintance of Barbara.
- [Markov](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/poor_folk_se/characters/markov.md): A minor character mentioned in the story, possibly a tradesman.
- [Ermak](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/poor_folk_se/characters/ermak.md): A historical figure referenced in the narrative, not a direct character.
- [Petinka](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/poor_folk_se/characters/petinka.md): A young boy or minor character mentioned in passing.
- [Zuleika](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/poor_folk_se/characters/zuleika.md): A character from a story within the book, possibly fictional.
- [Madame Chiffon](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/poor_folk_se/characters/madame_chiffon.md): A dressmaker or shopkeeper mentioned in the narrative.
- [Samson Virin](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/poor_folk_se/characters/samson_virin.md): A character from a story read by Makar, the stationmaster.
- [Thedor Thedorovitch](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/poor_folk_se/characters/thedor_thedorovitch.md): A minor character, possibly a servant or acquaintance.
- [Evstafi Ivanovitch](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/poor_folk_se/characters/evstafi_ivanovitch.md): A minor character, possibly a colleague of Makar.
- [The Naval Officer](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/poor_folk_se/characters/the_naval_officer.md): A minor character who appears briefly in the narrative.
- [Pushkin](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/poor_folk_se/characters/pushkin.md): The famous poet, referenced as an author whose works are read.

HTML index: https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/poor_folk_se/characters