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Quotes
Dreamer
The Dreamer is the protagonist and narrator of the story. A 26-year-old man, he lives and works in St. Petersburg, although he never reveals what he does for a job. He lives in dingy rooms…
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Nastenka (Young Woman)
Nastenka is a 17-year-old girl who lives in St. Petersburg with her extremely overprotective grandmother. She has a sensitive temperament and is imaginative and dreamy. She twice tells the Dreamer that her grandmother started…
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New Lodger
The new lodger is a man from Moscow who rents the attic room from the grandmother. He takes pity on the extremely sheltered Nastenka, sharing books from his library with her and gallantly…
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Grandmother
The grandmother is Nastenka’s only living relative and caregiver. Blind and widowed, the grandmother is so overprotective of Nastenka that she keeps her confined to the house from the age of 15. When Nastenka…
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Minor Characters
Matryona
Matryona is the Dreamer’s middle-aged housekeeper. He accuses her of neglecting her duties at the beginning of the novella, but by the end, she has cleared the dust and cobwebs from his rooms so that he can entertain guests.
Fyokla
Fyokla is the grandmother’s and Nastenka’s deaf housemaid.
