Ivan Vasilyevich Lomov is a Russian landowner in his mid-thirties who suffers from severe hypochondria and psychosomatic ailments. Seeking an orderly and stable domestic life, he approaches marriage as a practical social transaction rather than a romantic pursuit. Despite his pragmatic intentions, his profound anxiety and inability to regulate his physical responses make him highly reactive during social interactions.

Nataliya Stepanovna is the 25-year-old unmarried daughter of Stepan Stepanovich Chubukov. Educated, fiercely proud, and highly capable in estate management, she is deeply invested in her family's social standing and historical property claims. She desires the practical benefits of marriage but refuses to subordinate her pride or concede an argument.

Stepan Stepanovich Chubukov is a rural Russian landowner and patriarch of the Chubukov family. He is a gregarious, somewhat unpolished man who swings rapidly between warm hospitality and explosive hostility. He is deeply motivated by the practical desire to see his daughter married and their estates consolidated, though his temper frequently overrides his diplomatic intentions.

Dasher is Ivan Vasilyevich Lomov's prized hunting dog, purchased for 125 rubles. Despite being criticized by the Chubukovs as old and having a short bite, he represents Lomov's participation in traditional aristocratic pursuits.

Splasher is Stepan Stepanovich Chubukov's hunting dog, purchased for 85 rubles. Championed by the Chubukov family as a pedigreed thoroughbred, his physical traits and hunting abilities become a proxy for the family's social standing.