person
Natalya Andreyevna Velikosvetskaya
Natalya Andreyevna
also: Наталья Андреевна Великосветская
The godmother at the christening, named by Strizhin when Dashenka asks who stood as godparents; her name -- built on 'velikosvetsky,' fashionable high society -- is a comic touch typical of Chekhov's early sketch names.
Reading notes
- An Act of Carelessness §14 Velikosvetskaya
The godmother's surname is built on "velikosvetsky," meaning fashionable or belonging to high society -- one of several comically overstuffed names in the story (compare Bessonnitsyn, built on "bessonnitsa," insomnia), a hallmark of Chekhov's early sketch-writing under his pseudonym Antosha Chekhonte.