Characters in the Play

• Alexandr Valdimirovitch Serebryakov (a retired Professor)

• Yelena Andreyevna (his wife, aged 27)

• Sofya Alexandrovna (Sonya) (his daughter by his first wife)

• Marya Vassilyevna Voynitsky (widow of a Privy Councillor and mother of Professor’s first wife)

• Ivan Petrovitch Voynitsky (her son)

• Mihail Lvovitch Astrov (a Doctor)

• Ilya Ilyitch Telyegin (a Landowner reduced to poverty)

• Marina (an old Nurse)

• A Labourer

The action takes place on Serebryakov’s estate.