The General

Alexei Ivanovitch

Alexei is employed as a tutor to the General's children, but their relationship is strained by the General's financial desperation and Alexei's disdain for his employer.

Polina Alexandrovna

Polina is the General's stepdaughter, and their relationship is marked by mutual resentment and financial dependency.

Grandmother

Grandmother is the General's wealthy aunt, and she wields her fortune to control and humiliate him, reveling in his desperation.

Baroness Burmergelm

The General is socially obligated to the Baroness and her husband, and her insult by Alexei causes him great embarrassment.

The Frenchman

The Frenchman (De Grieux) manipulates the General financially, holding his debts and exerting control over him.

Mr. Astley

Mr. Astley and the General are polite acquaintances, with Astley observing the General's financial ruin with detached pity.

Alexei Ivanovitch

Alexei is employed as a tutor to the General's children, but their relationship is strained by the General's financial desperation and Alexei's disdain for his employer.

Alexei Ivanovitch

Alexei is employed as a tutor to the General's children, but their relationship is strained by the General's financial desperation and Alexei's disdain for his employer.

Grandmother

Grandmother is the General's wealthy aunt, and she wields her fortune to control and humiliate him, reveling in his desperation.

Polina Alexandrovna

Polina is the General's stepdaughter, and their relationship is marked by mutual resentment and financial dependency.

Grandmother

Grandmother is the General's wealthy aunt, and she wields her fortune to control and humiliate him, reveling in his desperation.

Baroness Burmergelm

The General is socially obligated to the Baroness and her husband, and her insult by Alexei causes him great embarrassment.

Chapter I

Greets Alexei coldly, warns him about gambling, and appears financially strained yet putting on a wealthy front.

II

Warns Alexei against gambling, saying it would compromise him; observed playing at the casino with aristocratic composure.

III

Desperate and moody over the unanswered telegram about his mother; in love with Mlle. Blanche and financially ruined.

IV

Shows unease at Alexei's losses and scolds him for criticizing Russia.

V

Mentioned as being mortgaged to De Griers and in love with Mlle. Blanche.

VI

Anxious and desperate to avoid scandal, he pleads with Alexei to stop, revealing his precarious situation.

VII

Mentioned as being anxious about scandal due to his planned marriage to Mlle. Blanche, prompting De Griers' intervention.

VIII

Mentioned as being deeply entangled with Mlle. Blanche, in debt, and awaiting his mother's death to secure an inheritance.

IX

Shocked and flustered by his mother's arrival; he tries to recover his composure and offer pleasantries but is repeatedly cut off.

The Grandmother Visits the Casino

Stays hidden among the spectators with Polina, De Griers, and Mlle. Blanche.

Chapter XI

Pleading with Alexei to save his family from ruin due to the Grandmother's gambling; desperate and pitiful.

XII

Appears with De Griers; is dismissed by the Grandmother after she learns of his marriage plans; visibly distressed by Mlle. Blanche's flirtation with the Prince.

XIII

Found laughing with Mlle. Blanche; later attempts to confront the Grandmother about her gambling, but is turned out with her stick.

XV

Mentioned as having gone out of his mind and paraded the hotel in tears due to family affairs.

XVI

Arrives in Paris after a fit, is manipulated by Blanche, follows her everywhere, and eventually marries her; remains in a state of senseless ecstasy.

XVII

Briefly mentioned as frivolous and helped by De Griers.