Aleksei Nikolayevich Belyaev
Aleksei Nikolayevich Belyaev is a new young tutor of Natalya's son Kolya. He is a 21-year-old student, thin, slender, with a vital, bold look. Islaev calls him wild, but it is this naturalness that Natalya likes so much. Belyaev frankly tells Natalia about his origin: no one was engaged in his upbringing, because his father was busy, traveled around his neighbors, providing his services and thus earning his own bread. Belyaev is shown in the play as a man of progressive views who asks Rakitin to read the magazine, but not for the sake of poems or stories, but for the sake of critical articles. This Turgenev seeks to weaken the role of the student in the play and reinforce her psychological motives instead of social motives. Belyaev is naive and does not immediately understand the intrigues of love in the house. But in the finals it seems to him that he seemed to have brought a plague into this house.
Mikhail Aleksandrovich Rakitin
Mikhail Aleksandrovich Rakitin is a family friend. Rakitin expresses the author's point of view. His arguments about love are repeated in other works of Turgenev. Rakitin considers love (both happy and unhappy) a real disaster, if you give yourself completely to it. He compares love to a disease, from which the lover wants to get rid of, wants peace. Rakitin believes that to love is to be enslaved, infected, that slavery is tedious and shameful. He resignedly resigns the estate. Rakitin is in love with nature, delicately feels its beauty.
Arkadiy Sergeyevich Islayev
Arkadiy Sergeyevich Islayev is a rich landowner, husband of Natalya. He is an honest and frank person. He loves his wife so much that he would not have survived the separation from her. Islaev prefers a direct conversation with a friend, a rival, without sinking to jealousy and cunning, while at the same time sparing his wife as much as possible. Islaev does not feel subtle nuances of human relations, does not spin intrigue and does not see this in others. Thus, he does not even suspect about his wife's love for Belyaev, does not understand the hints of Rakitin.
Natalia Petrovna
Natalia Petrovna is a vivid image of the "Turgenev" woman. She is intelligent and passionate, her feelings are deep. Her "terrible feeling" towards Belyaev is increasing, gradually increasing. For her, as for Rakitin, love is like a disease that causes lying and dodging, making others unhappy. Love pushes Natalya to act deceitfully. She divulges the secret of Vera, luring her half-recognition that Vera is in love with Belyaev. Natalia realizes the pettiness of her behavior, contrasting Belyaev's nobility with her insignificance. She admires her beloved, praises him. Falling in love, Natalia reveals many negative qualities, she does not recognize herself. She is amazed at being jealous of Vera, wants to marry her to an old man: "My God, do not let me despise myself!" She even asks herself to die. At the end of the play Natalia covers her face with her hands and goes into despair. She stayed in trouble, there was no one to help, everyone who knew about her love was leaving.
Verochka
Verochka is a ward of Natalia. She is pure and naive, her love, perhaps, is not even realized by her. According to Vera, Natalia's insidious behavior turns her into a woman capable of revenge. Her marriage with Bolshintsov is the only way out, so that she and Natalya can not burden each other. The reader understands that such a marriage will contribute to the dissatisfaction of Vera and her transformation in the future into the likeness of Natalia.
Bolshintsov
Bolshintsov is characterized in the play as a stupid, heavy man. He is a fine candidate for marriage by calculation, but Vera, who agreed to such a marriage because of the inability to live with Natalya, is unlikely to be happy.
Doctor Shpigelsky and Lizaveta Bogdanovna
Doctor Shpigelsky and Lizaveta Bogdanovna - a contrasting couple, deciding on a marriage by calculation and not looking for love. Shpigelsky is a cunning and quirky person, who always has his own advantage and easily comes to a compromise with his conscience. For the contract of marriage with Vera Bolshakov promises him three horses. He is aware of everything, but he uses circumstances for himself. It is this couple - the bearers of the comedy beginning of the play.
