# Mary Ivanovna (Mariette) — Resurrection character guide

> Mary Ivanovna (Mariette) in Resurrection by Leo Tolstoy.

**Role:** supporting

**Also known as:** Mary Ivanovna, Mary

**First appearance:** 0018-xv

## Snapshot

A married woman whose practiced charm and easy intimacy test Nekhludoff's new resolve, offering temptation dressed as hospitality.

## Who they are

Mariette glides through the social world with the assurance of a woman who knows exactly what her smiles are worth. Her flirtation with Nekhludoff is casual, mutual, and dangerous precisely because it feels so natural—a reminder of the appetites he is trying to renounce. She embodies the pull of the old life, the one that made Katyusha possible and then discarded her.

## In the story

### [XXVIII](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/resurrection_se/chapters/xxviii)

Nekhlúdoff considers his deceitful relationship with her and her husband.

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

An old acquaintance of Nekhlúdoff, now married to a general; agrees to help with Lydia Shoustova's case despite her reluctance to interfere.

### [Chapter XVI](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/resurrection_se/chapters/xvi)

Recalled by Nekhlúdoff with unease; their earlier smiles symbolize the seductive pull of Petersburg society.

### [Chapter XVIII](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/resurrection_se/chapters/xviii)

Sends a note to Nekhlúdoff informing him that her husband has arranged for the release of an unjustly imprisoned woman.

### [XXIV](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/resurrection_se/chapters/xxiv)

Coquettishly engages Nekhlúdoff; discusses Selenin and Shoustova's release; jokes about the Siberian Governor.

### [XXVIII](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/resurrection_se/chapters/xxviii)

Meets Nekhlúdoff at the theatre, displays her beauty and deceit, lives with a husband who profits from suffering.

## Links

- HTML: https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/resurrection_se/characters/mariette
- Book: https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/resurrection_se
- All characters: https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/resurrection_se/characters