Inside the story
Meet Arina Vassilyevna Bagrova
Stepan Mikhailovich's wife and the mother of his children. A simple, kind-hearted, and submissive woman, she manages the household while living under her husband's authority and often under the influence of her daughters. She is affectionate toward her son and later welcomes her daughter-in-law Sofya Nikolayevna, though her fear of Stepan Mikhailovich shapes much of her conduct.
On the page
A woman, elderly and stout, dressed in a silk jacket and skirt with a silk handkerchief adorned with gold sprigs over her head.
