The Queen of Spades characters

Appears from the start

A young officer of German ancestry who watches his companions gamble but refuses to risk his modest capital. Controlled, calculating, and intensely ambitious, he becomes fixated on a story that an elderly countess possesses a secret sequence of three winning cards.

Also known as The old Countess

Appears from the start

An elderly aristocrat who, according to her grandson Tomsky, once recovered a large gambling loss in Paris by using the secret of three winning cards. She still attends society functions and dominates her household, though age has made its routines burdensome.

Also known as Lizaveta

First appears in chapter 2

The Countess's young, poorly paid companion. She endures constant demands and little freedom, and longs for escape from a dependent place in the old woman's household. Her position makes her vulnerable when an unknown officer begins watching her window and sending letters.

Appears from the start

The Countess's grandson and one of the officers at Narumov's card party. He relates the family story about his grandmother's extraordinary recovery at the gaming table, giving Hermann the idea that governs the rest of his conduct.

Appears from the start

An officer who hosts the late-night card game at which Hermann listens without playing. His gathering supplies the setting for Tomsky's account of the Countess and her secret.

Appears from the start

A celebrated Parisian adventurer whom Tomsky credits with giving the young Countess the secret that rescued her from a crushing card debt. He belongs to the story's earlier generation and appears only through this account.

First appears in chapter 6

A wealthy and experienced Moscow gambler who presides over a fashionable game with polished courtesy. Hermann approaches his table when he is finally ready to stake money on the three-card secret.