Fathers and Children characters

Appears from the start

A mild, affectionate landowner waiting anxiously for his son to return from university. He manages the Maryino estate with uneven success and worries that age and changing ideas have put distance between him and Arkady.

Appears from the start

Nikolai's newly graduated son, returning to Maryino with his admired friend Bazarov. Eager to seem modern and independent, he repeats Bazarov's rejection of inherited authority while remaining deeply attached to his family.

First appears in chapter 2

Arkady's friend, a medical student and self-declared nihilist who accepts no principle merely because society reveres it. Blunt, industrious, and confident in natural science, he immediately unsettles the older generation at Maryino.

First appears in chapter 4

Nikolai's proud, impeccably dressed elder brother, a former guards officer who has retired to Maryino. His faith in dignity, principle, and cultivated manners puts him in immediate opposition to Bazarov's contempt for established values.

First appears in chapter 5

A quiet young woman of modest background who lives with Nikolai at Maryino and is the mother of his small son, Mitya. Nikolai loves her but is embarrassed to explain the household arrangement to Arkady.

First appears in chapter 12

An eager acquaintance of Bazarov who calls himself a nihilist and treats Bazarov as an intellectual leader. His fashionable enthusiasms are louder and less disciplined than the ideas he imitates.

First appears in chapter 14

A wealthy young widow whom Arkady and Bazarov meet at a provincial ball. Intelligent, composed, and strongly attached to an orderly life, she invites them to visit her country estate at Nikolskoye.

Also known as Katya

First appears in chapter 16

Anna Odintsova's younger sister, reserved and observant, who lives with her at Nikolskoye. She is less socially commanding than Anna and spends much of her time with music, books, and the household animals.

First appears in chapter 20

Bazarov's elderly father, a retired army surgeon living on a small property. Talkative and proud of his medical knowledge, he adores his son and tries to restrain his excitement when Yevgeny comes home.

First appears in chapter 20

Bazarov's devout and tender mother. She loves her only son with an almost fearful intensity and welcomes his rare return while trying not to burden him with her emotion.