Three Lives · Character

Anna Federner

A small, spare German servant with lightning in her light blue eyes, who scolds teamsters and loves dogs with the same fierce, unappeasable loyalty.

major

Also known as the good Anna, Anna, Poor Anna

First appearance: The Good Anna

See Anna Federner in The Good Anna Book page

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The good Anna runs Miss Mathilda's household for five years, ruling kitchen and street with a strained voice, a glittering eye, and the friendship of every policeman on the beat. She is worn thin by under-servants, by Miss Mathilda's faint-hearted refusal to scold, and by her own rigid sense of how things ought to be. Her arduous, troubled life — its small tyrannies and its deep devotions — carries the first of Stein's three lives and sets the book's tone of patient, unglamorous endurance.

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See Anna Federner in The Good Anna

Character Web

27 connections

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Relationship types

Friendship
Romantic
Other

Character groups

Protagonist
Extended household and community
Anna's domestic circle
Melanctha's social circle

+22 more in the full Character Web

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Narrative arc

Story tension across the book.

Setup
Breaking point

In this excerpt, the narrative climax occurs as Lena’s passive, uncomplaining patience is pushed to its emotio…

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Relationships

Melanctha Herbert
friendship · ambivalent
Peter
romantic · negative
Molly
friendship · positive
Julia Lehntman
social · ambivalent
Sallie
friendship · positive
Baby
family · negative
Melanctha Herbert
friendship · ambivalent
Melanctha Herbert
friendship · ambivalent
Julia Lehntman
social · ambivalent
Baby
family · negative
Sallie
friendship · positive
Sallie
friendship · positive

Melanctha Herbert
Anna and Melanctha share a brief but intense friendship, with Anna drawn to Melanctha's vitality while disapproving of her behavior.
Peter
Anna has a brief, unsatisfying romantic involvement with Peter, a man who fails to meet her emotional needs.
Molly
Molly is a kind but ineffectual friend to Anna, offering sympathy but unable to help her escape her destructive patterns.
Julia Lehntman
Julia, Mrs. Lehntman's daughter, is a casual acquaintance of Anna, often caught in the middle of Anna's obsession with her mother.
Sallie
Sallie is a loyal but pragmatic friend to Anna, trying to guide her toward healthier choices.
Baby
Anna's baby is the child she desperately clings to, but her unstable life leads to the baby's death from neglect.
Melanctha Herbert
Anna and Melanctha share a brief but intense friendship, with Anna drawn to Melanctha's vitality while disapproving of her behavior.
Melanctha Herbert
Anna and Melanctha share a brief but intense friendship, with Anna drawn to Melanctha's vitality while disapproving of her behavior.
Julia Lehntman
Julia, Mrs. Lehntman's daughter, is a casual acquaintance of Anna, often caught in the middle of Anna's obsession with her mother.
Baby
Anna's baby is the child she desperately clings to, but her unstable life leads to the baby's death from neglect.
Sallie
Sallie is a loyal but pragmatic friend to Anna, trying to guide her toward healthier choices.
Sallie
Sallie is a loyal but pragmatic friend to Anna, trying to guide her toward healthier choices.

Relationship notes

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See Anna Federner in The Good Anna

In the story

Anna Federner appears across 5 companion beats. Open any chapter in the free preview to see the notes beside the text.

Three Lives
Introduced as 'the good Anna,' a devoted servant whose life is defined by self-sacrifice and routine.
The Good Anna
The central figure of the chapter, a German servant devoted to Miss Mary Wadsmith, known for her strictness and self-sacrifice.
I
The good Anna, a small, spare German woman about forty, who manages Miss Mathilda's house with a sharp voice and firm hand.
II: The Life of the Good Anna
The protagonist, a hardworking German servant who manages households and forms deep attachments to her employers and friends.
III: The Death of the Good Anna
Anna struggles to make a living as a boarder-keeper, works herself to exhaustion, and dies after an operation.

Chapter companion notes

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See Anna Federner in The Good Anna