MADAM ULANBÉKOV,[1] _an old woman of nearly sixty, tall, thin, with a large nose, and thick, black eyebrows; of an Eastern type of face, with a small mustache. She is powdered and rouged, and dressed richly in black. She is owner of two thousand serfs._
[Footnote 1: The name hints at a Circassian origin and a tyrannical disposition. Ostróvsky frequently gives to the persons in his plays names that suggest their characteristics.]
LEONÍD, _her son, eighteen years old, very handsome, resembling his mother slightly. Wears summer dress. Is studying in Petersburg._
VASILÍSA PEREGRÍNOVNA, _a toady of_ MADAM ULANBÉKOV'S, _an old maid of forty. Scanty hair, parted slantingly, combed high, and held by a large comb. She is continually smiling with a wily expression, and she suffers from toothache; about her throat is a yellow shawl fastened by a brooch._
POTÁPYCH, _the old steward. Tie and vest, white; coat black. Has an air of importance._
NADÉZHDA[2] (_called_ NÁDYA), _seventeen years old, favorite protégée of_ MADAM ULANBÉKOV; _dressed like a young lady._
GAVRÍLOVNA, _the housekeeper; an elderly woman, plump, with an open countenance._
GRÍSHA, _a boy of nineteen, a favorite of the mistress, dandified in dress, wearing a watch with a gold chain. He is handsome, curly-headed, with a foolish expression._
NEGLIGÉNTOV, _a clerk in a government office; a very disreputable young man._
LÍZA, _a housemaid, not bad-looking, but very stout and snub-nosed; in a white dress, of which the bodice is short and ill-fitting. About her neck is a little red kerchief; her hair is very much pomaded._
_A peasant girl, a footman, and a housemaid: mute personages._
_The action takes place in the springtime, at the suburban estate of_ MADAM ULANBÉKOV
_Part of a densely grown garden; on the right benches; at the back a rail fence, separating the garden from a field._
NÁDYA. No, Líza, don't say that: what comparison could there be between country and city life!
LÍZA. What is there so specially fine about city life?
NÁDYA. Well, everything is different there; the people themselves, and even the whole social order are entirely different. [_She sits down on a bench_.] When I was in Petersburg with the mistress, one had only to take a look at the sort of people who came to see us, and at the way our rooms were decorated; besides, the mistress took me with her everywhere; we even went on the steamer to Peterhof, and to Tsarskoe Selo.