Ivan Ilyich's wife. Though once an attractive and respectable woman, after successive pregnancies and the loss of children, she has become nervous, hypochondriacal, and vain. She cares for her husband's livelihood, her daughter's engagement, and the prestige of the home. She treats her husband's fatal illness like a crude blunder that disrupts her routine, effectively accusing him of laziness and deliberate crankiness.
She married Ivan as a good candidate belonging to an elite family. Their initially happy union was damaged by financial limitations and provincial assignments, and completely shaken by consecutive pregnancies and the deaths of their children.
A woman who carries herself with dignity, not very tall, quite plump—to the point of contrasting with her husband's sickly thinness. At the funeral, she wears black lace and furs; in daily life, she wears flamboyant silk dresses that constrict her breasts with a corset.
Liza
The daughter with whom she enthusiastically pushes through the engagement process and with whom she tries to shield herself from the fatal gloom of her husband.
Piotr İvanoviç
The friend to whom she sheds crocodile tears at the funeral while asking questions about money.
İvan İlyiç Golovin
Her husband, who provided her status and security but now only produces torment and expense.