# The General — The Gambler character guide > The General in The Gambler by Fyodor Dostoevsky. **Role:** major **Also known as:** General, the unhappy General, Madame General **First appearance:** 0000-i ## Who they are A ruined Russian aristocrat mortgaged to his creditors, waiting on his dying aunt's fortune with a French fiancée at his elbow. ## Relationships ### [Alexei Ivanovitch](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_gambler_se/characters/alexei_ivanovitch) _professional_ 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](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_gambler_se/characters/polina_alexandrovna) _family_ Polina is the General's stepdaughter, and their relationship is marked by mutual resentment and financial dependency. ### [Grandmother](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_gambler_se/characters/grandmother) _family_ Grandmother is the General's wealthy aunt, and she wields her fortune to control and humiliate him, reveling in his desperation. ### [Baroness Burmergelm](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_gambler_se/characters/baroness_burmergelm) _social_ The General is socially obligated to the Baroness and her husband, and her insult by Alexei causes him great embarrassment. ### [The Frenchman](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_gambler_se/characters/the_frenchman) _psychological_ The Frenchman (De Grieux) manipulates the General financially, holding his debts and exerting control over him. ### [Mr. Astley](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_gambler_se/characters/mr_astley) _social_ Mr. Astley and the General are polite acquaintances, with Astley observing the General's financial ruin with detached pity. ### [Alexei Ivanovitch](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_gambler_se/characters/alexei_ivanovitch) _professional_ 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](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_gambler_se/characters/alexei_ivanovitch) _professional_ 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](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_gambler_se/characters/grandmother) _family_ Grandmother is the General's wealthy aunt, and she wields her fortune to control and humiliate him, reveling in his desperation. ### [Polina Alexandrovna](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_gambler_se/characters/polina_alexandrovna) _family_ Polina is the General's stepdaughter, and their relationship is marked by mutual resentment and financial dependency. ### [Grandmother](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_gambler_se/characters/grandmother) _family_ Grandmother is the General's wealthy aunt, and she wields her fortune to control and humiliate him, reveling in his desperation. ### [Baroness Burmergelm](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_gambler_se/characters/baroness_burmergelm) _social_ The General is socially obligated to the Baroness and her husband, and her insult by Alexei causes him great embarrassment. ## In the story ### [Chapter I](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_gambler_se/chapters/i) Greets Alexei coldly, warns him about gambling, and appears financially strained yet putting on a wealthy front. ### [II](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_gambler_se/chapters/ii) Warns Alexei against gambling, saying it would compromise him; observed playing at the casino with aristocratic composure. ### [III](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_gambler_se/chapters/iii) Desperate and moody over the unanswered telegram about his mother; in love with Mlle. Blanche and financially ruined. ### [IV](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_gambler_se/chapters/iv) Shows unease at Alexei's losses and scolds him for criticizing Russia. ### [V](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_gambler_se/chapters/v) Mentioned as being mortgaged to De Griers and in love with Mlle. Blanche. ### [VI](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_gambler_se/chapters/vi) Anxious and desperate to avoid scandal, he pleads with Alexei to stop, revealing his precarious situation. ### [VII](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_gambler_se/chapters/vii) Mentioned as being anxious about scandal due to his planned marriage to Mlle. Blanche, prompting De Griers' intervention. ### [VIII](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_gambler_se/chapters/viii) Mentioned as being deeply entangled with Mlle. Blanche, in debt, and awaiting his mother's death to secure an inheritance. ### [IX](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_gambler_se/chapters/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](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_gambler_se/chapters/x) Stays hidden among the spectators with Polina, De Griers, and Mlle. Blanche. ### [Chapter XI](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_gambler_se/chapters/xi) Pleading with Alexei to save his family from ruin due to the Grandmother's gambling; desperate and pitiful. ### [XII](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_gambler_se/chapters/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](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_gambler_se/chapters/xiii) Found laughing with Mlle. Blanche; later attempts to confront the Grandmother about her gambling, but is turned out with her stick. ### [XV](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_gambler_se/chapters/xv) Mentioned as having gone out of his mind and paraded the hotel in tears due to family affairs. ### [XVI](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_gambler_se/chapters/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](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_gambler_se/chapters/xvii) Briefly mentioned as frivolous and helped by De Griers. ## Links - HTML: https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_gambler_se/characters/the_general - Book: https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_gambler_se - All characters: https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_gambler_se/characters