# Marya Alekséyevna — What Is to Be Done? character guide > Marya Alekséyevna in What Is to Be Done? by Nikolay Chernyshevsky. **Role:** supporting **Also known as:** Marya Alekséyevna Rozalskaïa, Alekséyevna **First appearance:** 0006-part-i-the-life-of-vi-ra-pavlovna-in-her-parents-family ## Snapshot Viéra's mother, a pawnbroker who reads her daughter as an asset and switches between ferocity and cunning the moment a better buyer appears. ## Who they are Marya Alekséyevna runs a pawn shop, a household, and a campaign to marry Viéra to the highest bidder, and the passage catches her mid-calculation when Julie and Serge arrive at her shabby stairs. She is delighted by the word 'spouse,' loud enough for Viéra to hear, and instantly converts her rage into a truce when a colonel's uniform enters the room. Her mixture of greed, performance, and genuine blindness to her daughter's inner life makes her the pressure that Viéra must escape. ## In the story ### [What Is to Be Done?](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/what_is_to_be_done_se/chapters/what-is-to-be-done) Represents the oppressive bourgeois family structure Vera seeks to escape. ### [Part I: The Life of Viéra Pavlovna in Her Parents’ Family](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/what_is_to_be_done_se/chapters/part-i-the-life-of-vi-ra-pavlovna-in-her-parents-family) Viéra's domineering and pragmatic mother, who schemes to secure a wealthy match for her daughter. ### [I](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/what_is_to_be_done_se/chapters/i) Viéra's domineering mother, who uses manipulation and threats to secure a wealthy match for her daughter. ### [II](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/what_is_to_be_done_se/chapters/ii) Marya Alekséyevna is unaware of the restaurant scene; she is at home, angry with Vera and snoring after drinking rum punch. ### [III](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/what_is_to_be_done_se/chapters/iii) Tries to force the sleigh ride, becomes furious at Viéra's defiance, then considers compromise. ### [IV](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/what_is_to_be_done_se/chapters/iv) Initially suspicious of Julie and Serge, but becomes grateful after learning of Storeshnikof's plot; reveals her mercenary nature. ### [V](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/what_is_to_be_done_se/chapters/v) Mentioned as the mother whose drugging was part of Storeshnikof's original scheme. ### [VI](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/what_is_to_be_done_se/chapters/vi) Marya Alekséyevna does not complain about Viérotchka's refusal of the sleigh ride after learning that Storeshnikof is not as foolish as she thought. ### [VII](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/what_is_to_be_done_se/chapters/vii) Eagerly accepts the proposal on Vera's behalf, then becomes furious and threatening when Vera refuses. ### [IX](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/what_is_to_be_done_se/chapters/ix) Wavers between believing Viérotchka is a cunning intriguer and fearing she truly refuses Storeshnikof; beats her husband Pavel for revealing the refusal. ### [Part II: First Love, and Legal Marriage](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/what_is_to_be_done_se/chapters/part-ii-first-love-and-legal-marriage) Vera's mother, who schemes to marry Vera to Storeshnikof for financial gain. ### [I](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/what_is_to_be_done_se/chapters/i) Viérotchka's mother, who is scheming to marry her daughter to a rich man and is described as flattering the bridegroom and planning to oust his mother. ### [II](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/what_is_to_be_done_se/chapters/ii) Mentioned in connection with her 'bibliographical investigations' into Lopukhóf's books. ### [Chapter III](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/what_is_to_be_done_se/chapters/iii) Fawns over the officer Storeshnikof, invites Lopukhóf to Vera's birthday party, forms a favorable opinion of him due to his frugality. ### [IV](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/what_is_to_be_done_se/chapters/iv) Wants to give a great party to show off the bridegroom but compromises on a small gathering; hosts the birthday party. ### [V](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/what_is_to_be_done_se/chapters/v) Mentioned as Vera's tipsy mother who inadvertently developed Vera's ideas about living by deceit and theft. ### [VI](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/what_is_to_be_done_se/chapters/vi) Scheming and calculating, she interrogates Lopukhóf about his fictional bride, believing him a fortune-hunter and planning to flatter him to reduce his lesson fee. ### [VII](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/what_is_to_be_done_se/chapters/vii) Displays cunning and suspicion, testing Lopukhóf's intentions by examining the books he brings and negotiating a lower price for lessons. ### [VIII: The Temptation of Hamlet](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/what_is_to_be_done_se/chapters/viii-the-temptation-of-hamlet) Eavesdrops on Viéra and Lopukhóf's conversation, approving of Lopukhóf's rational advice. ### [IX](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/what_is_to_be_done_se/chapters/ix) Depicted as a vulgar, self-interested woman who misinterprets Lopukhóf's rational egoism as identical to her own crude pragmatism; her drunken confession and scheming are central to the chapter's farcical tone. ### [XI](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/what_is_to_be_done_se/chapters/xi) Returns during the conversation and is later placated by Lopukhóf's deliberate loss at cards. ### [XIII](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/what_is_to_be_done_se/chapters/xiii) Vera's mother, who is forcing a wealthy suitor on her and would likely oppose the governess arrangement. ### [XIV](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/what_is_to_be_done_se/chapters/xiv) Mentioned as the mother whose consent is required for Viérotchka to leave home; her potential suspicions are a concern for the couple. ### [XV](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/what_is_to_be_done_se/chapters/xv) Suspicious of Vera and Lopukhóf's sudden return together, she scrutinizes them but is gradually won over by Lopukhóf's flattery and expensive gifts. ### [XVI](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/what_is_to_be_done_se/chapters/xvi) Mámenka is mentioned as a source of pressure and scrutiny, driving Viérotchka's distress. ### [XVII](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/what_is_to_be_done_se/chapters/xvii) Gets drunk on ale and champagne, becomes sentimental, and is manipulated into believing Vera will marry Storeshnikof. ### [Chapter XX](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/what_is_to_be_done_se/chapters/xx) Vera's mother, who is deceived by Vera's excuse to go to the Nevsky Prospekt and is left behind when Vera escapes. ### [XXI](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/what_is_to_be_done_se/chapters/xxi) Viéra's mother, who is confronted by Viéra at Ruzanof's store. ### [XXII](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/what_is_to_be_done_se/chapters/xxii) Flies into a public rage after Vera's departure, attacks a peddler, returns home to beat servants, then devises a strategic cover story with her husband. ### [XXIII](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/what_is_to_be_done_se/chapters/xxiii) Plots revenge, then pragmatically assesses her losses and negotiates with Lopukhóf, ultimately dreaming of his wealth. ### [XXIV: A Word of Praise for Marya Alekséyevna](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/what_is_to_be_done_se/chapters/xxiv-a-word-of-praise-for-marya-aleks-yevna) The narrator delivers a direct, ironic eulogy of her practical intelligence and moral limitations, acknowledging her as a product of her environment. ### [II](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/what_is_to_be_done_se/chapters/ii) Reconciles with Vera after learning of her connection to a general; hosts a cold meeting. ### [III: Viéra Pavlovna’s Second Dream](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/what_is_to_be_done_se/chapters/iii-vi-ra-pavlovna-s-second-dream) Appears in the dream to defend her actions and conjure a vision of an alternative life. ### [XXIII](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/what_is_to_be_done_se/chapters/xxiii) Mentioned as having acknowledged Lopukhóf as a 'monopolist,' but not directly present in the chapter. ### [VI](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/what_is_to_be_done_se/chapters/vi) Mentioned in a simile comparing Pólozof's new regard for Kirsánof to her earlier view of Lopukhóf. ## Links - HTML: https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/what_is_to_be_done_se/characters/marya_aleksyevna - Book: https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/what_is_to_be_done_se - All characters: https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/what_is_to_be_done_se/characters