Short Fiction · Character

Manuilikha

A forest-dwelling witch with cold birdlike eyes and a beggar's greed, she guards her granddaughter Olyessia and distrusts every stranger who stumbles to her door.

supporting

Also known as Granny Manuilikha, granny, Granny, old Manuilikha

First appearance: The Witch

As a supporting figure in Short Fiction, Manuilikha is not background color—the story leans on what they do once the chapter opens.

The old woman suspected of being a witch, encountered in the forest.

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Manuilikha lives apart from the village in a hut on chicken legs, surviving on marsh water and the occasional coin from those who seek her fortune-telling. She is fiercely protective of Olyessia and hostile to intruders, yet her poverty makes her vulnerable to silver — she pockets a sixpence in her jaw even as she warns the visitor away. Her secretive past and her refusal to speak of it cast a shadow over the forest household, making her the story's gatekeeper between the ordinary world and something older and stranger.

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See Manuilikha in The Witch

Character Web

40 connections

A slice of how Manuilikha sits in the book — open the reader for the full interactive map.

Relationship types

Family
Social
Other

Character groups

Biblical and Romantic Figures
Witches and Fishermen
Fishermen and Nobility
Spies, Priests, and Performers
Officers and Society Women

+35 more in the full Character Web

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Narrative arc

Story tension across the book.

Setup
Escalation
Breaking point
Aftermath
Closing

This is the story's dramatic climax because Vera Nikolayevna, who has previously dismissed Zheltkov’s love as…

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Relationships

Olyessia
family · ambivalent
Manuilikha is Olyessia's grandmother, a stern and protective figure who raises her in… How this plays out →
Buzyga
social · ambivalent
Olyessia
family · ambivalent
Manuilikha is Olyessia's grandmother, a stern and protective figure who raises her in… How this plays out →
Buzyga
social · ambivalent
Olyessia
family · ambivalent
Manuilikha is Olyessia's grandmother, a stern and protective figure who raises her in… How this plays out →
Buzyga
social · ambivalent

Olyessia
Manuilikha is Olyessia's grandmother, a stern and protective figure who raises her in isolation.
Buzyga
Buzyga is a neighbor to Manuilikha, interacting with her occasionally but maintaining a wary distance.
Olyessia
Manuilikha is Olyessia's grandmother, a stern and protective figure who raises her in isolation.
Buzyga
Buzyga is a neighbor to Manuilikha, interacting with her occasionally but maintaining a wary distance.
Olyessia
Manuilikha is Olyessia's grandmother, a stern and protective figure who raises her in isolation.
Buzyga
Buzyga is a neighbor to Manuilikha, interacting with her occasionally but maintaining a wary distance.

Relationship notes

How these ties play out is in the reading companion — open the free preview.

See Manuilikha in The Witch

In the story

Manuilikha appears across 15 companion beats. Open any chapter in the free preview to see the notes beside the text.

The Witch
The old woman suspected of being a witch, encountered in the forest.
II
The witch driven from the village, now living in the marsh near Devil's Corner; Yarmola blames her for causing harm and a child's death.
III
The old woman, feared as a witch, lives in a remote hut with her granddaughter. She tells the narrator's fortune after being bribed.
IV
The old woman, initially hostile to the narrator but softened by his gift of tea and sugar.
V
The grandmother, a reputed witch, prepares a meal and is described as old but clever, with a vast knowledge of herbs and charms. She is reluctant to talk about her past.
VI
The old woman continues grumbling but is appeased by the narrator's gifts and Olyessia's intercession.
VII
Describes the policeman's visit and eviction order, pleads with the narrator for help, and is annoyed by Olyessia's pride.
VIII
Referenced as one of the two poor defenseless women the narrator is trying to protect from eviction.
X
Grumbles and disapproves of Olyessia going with the narrator, hinting at ongoing quarrels.
XI
Olyessia's grandmother, who is hostile to the narrator and warns Olyessia that he will abandon her.
XII
Mentioned as the mother of the witch the villagers attacked; the bailiff confuses her name with Samoilikha.
XIII
Accuses the narrator of causing Olyessia's suffering; weeps over her granddaughter's condition and agrees they must flee.
XIV
Her prediction of the storm proves accurate; she and Olyessia have fled the hut to escape the mob.
The Garden of the Holy Virgin
Not directly present; the chapter focuses on the Holy Virgin and symbolic flowers, not this character.
I
The old woman (mother or grandmother) who is frightened by a calf and rescued by the captain.

Chapter companion notes

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See Manuilikha in The Witch