The Cloak characters

Also known as Akaky Akakievich

Appears from the start

An obscure copying clerk in a Saint Petersburg government office. He is poorly paid, absorbed in the shapes of the documents he copies, and almost entirely without social standing. Other clerks tease him because he seems unable to defend himself, while his narrow routine shields him from ambitions he cannot afford.

Appears from the start

A tailor living up a dirty staircase whom Akaky asks to mend his failing cloak. Petrovich once belonged to a serf household and now guards his craft with stubborn pride. He refuses to disguise the garment's condition: the cloth has decayed too far to hold another patch.

Appears from the start

The older woman from whom Akaky rents his room. When he arrives home without his new coat, she listens to what happened and urges him to take the theft to a police official with enough authority to investigate it.

Appears from the start

A recently elevated official whose actual duties matter less to him than the display of rank. He receives Akaky's request about the stolen cloak while entertaining an old acquaintance and turns the interview into a performance of stern authority.

Appears from the start

A younger member of Akaky's department who begins by imitating the office's casual harassment. Hearing the pain in Akaky's protest abruptly makes him ashamed and reveals to him how readily respectable people can be cruel.