First Love characters

Appears from the start

The narrator looking back on the summer when, at sixteen, he first fell in love. Sheltered, impressionable, and eager to see himself as grown, he spends the season near Moscow with his parents while preparing for university.

Appears from the start

Vladimir's father, a handsome, self-contained man whose marriage brought him money and whose cool authority dominates his household. He treats his son with intermittent charm but preserves a distance that Vladimir both admires and fears.

Appears from the start

Vladimir's anxious mother, older than her husband and aware that she cannot command his affection. She supervises her son's studies and regards their impoverished noble neighbors with suspicion.

First appears in chapter 2

The twenty-one-year-old daughter of Princess Zasekina. Proud, playful, and socially poised despite her family's poverty, she holds a circle of male admirers under her influence. Vladimir is captivated when he first sees her teasing them in the neighboring garden.

First appears in chapter 3

Zinaida's mother, an impoverished princess whose title is more impressive than her household. Loud, disorderly, and preoccupied with petitions and money, she seeks the practical help of Vladimir's parents while ignoring many social niceties.

First appears in chapter 6

A sardonic physician and one of Zinaida's admirers. Older and more perceptive than most of her circle, he sees the danger beneath their games and speaks to Vladimir with a mixture of mockery and genuine warning.

First appears in chapter 6

A young hussar officer among Zinaida's suitors. Direct, jealous, and physically courageous, he offers her a horse and would readily risk himself for her, but he is no more able than the others to secure her love.

First appears in chapter 6

A fashionable count in Zinaida's circle, polished in manner but distrusted by both her and Doctor Lushin. He flatters, observes, and spreads insinuations, making him dangerous despite his outward courtesy.