concept
Dvoryanka (gentlewoman)
gentlewoman
also: дворянка
A woman of the hereditary noble estate (dvoryanstvo) in Imperial Russia; a claim to this status sharpens the pathos of a character's fall into poverty or vice.
Reading notes
- Words, Words, and Words §13 gentlewoman
"Dvoryanka," a woman of the hereditary noble estate (dvoryanstvo) -- Katya's claim to have been born into the gentry sharpens the pathos of her fall into prostitution and casual domestic service.