Elderly lady

The elderly lady is a matchmaker between Olga and her second husband. The elderly lady, only a slight acquaintance, comes to visit Olga and to drink coffee with her one afternoon. After a brief visit from Pustovalov, Olga realizes she loves him and sends for the elderly lady to make a match between them.

Kukin

Kukin is Olga's first husband. He is the owner of an open-air theater called the Tivoli. He complains on a daily basis that the rain has once again driven away his audience, and that nobody appreciates art anyway. He is described as

a small thin man, with a yellow face, and curls combed forward on his forehead. He spoke in a thin tenor; as he talked, his mouth worked on one side, and there was always an expression of despair on his face

As the story opens, Kukin is a boarder at...