figure
Sofya
also: Софья
Fyodor's plain, sickly wife, who lives at her father-in-law Dyudya's house, weeps constantly, and grieves for her son Grishutka, taken from her into factory bondage; late at night she and Varvara whisper about poisoning their tormentors.
Reading notes
- Peasant Women §2 plain and sickly woman
The Russian "баба" (baba) is used repeatedly through the story as a plain, often dismissive term for a peasant married woman -- roughly "wife" or "married woman" in register, but carrying overtones of coarseness or contempt depending on context; see the note at loc. 23 for its fullest discussion. The story's Russian title, "Бабы" ("Baby"), is the plural of this word.