A bureaucrat who entered an ordinary but bright civil service life after studying law. Until the time he passed away at forty-five, he tried to emulate perfectly that ideal, correct, honest, and reputable bourgeois life that 'everyone applauded.' At the height of his domestic life, which he had brought into line with his success in the service and increasing income, he fell off a ladder while hanging curtains in his newly purchased house. The simple blow to his side gradually turned into a lethal affliction, an incomprehensible melting away. During his illness, the fakeness of his family began to stand out to him; along with the physical agony he endured, he discovered how false and meaningless his life actually was.
In his youth, he was a very talented, cheerful, and social young man, nicknamed the 'phoenix of the family.' He attended the School of Jurisprudence, legitimizing even his minor youthful indiscretions by conforming to the norms of the authorities. Following his legal studies, he climbed the ranks of the bureaucracy, becoming a man who, as he gained rank and money, played to the gallery rather than focusing on his own heart.
He was once a respectable-looking, bearded man with elegant, strong arms, wearing stylish uniforms or well-cared-for dressing gowns. After becoming ill, he has turned into a living corpse; a wretch with a wax-yellow forehead, sunken temples, twisted lips, and a sharpened nose—stinking, melting, and left only with oversized, angry eyes.
Liza
His indifferent daughter, whose youth throws the reality of death in her father's face.
Gerasim
His servant, his only consolation and the only one in whom he sees a human face.
Piotr İvanoviç
A school friend who thinks of his own interests at his funeral.
Vladimir İvanoviç
His son, who understands his father and in whose eyes he sees tears and feels love.
Praskovya Fedorovna Golovina
His wife, whom he finds insufferable, hypocritical, and selfish, but for whom he once felt passion.