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Anfisa Ivanovna
Grandmother Anfisa
also: Анфиса Ивановна, бабушка Анфиса
The midwife who delivered the Zhilins' son Fedya; an old woman invited by Zhilin himself, then grumbled at as a freeloader and made an unwilling witness to his tirade at dinner.
Reading notes
- A Father of a Family §3 Grandmother Anfisa, who delivered our Fedya
A traditional village or town midwife (повивальная бабка), often called simply 'grandmother' (бабушка) as an honorific regardless of blood relation; her ongoing presence in the household after the birth reflects the informal, semi-dependent position such women often occupied in family life.