Aunt Julia is a much respected, clever woman, with a great deal of character. Her sisters say of her: "Julie est une femme de beaucoup d'esprit, mais elle manque de cœur. C'est tout le contraire d'Annette."
Aunt Julia is an irreproachable wife, housewife, and mother. She has brought up her two elder children extremely well—Vova, a rosy-faced cavalry officer, and Zina, who has been educated at Trouba's.[3] And Vova and Zina are the pride and joy of their mother's life, to whom, however, the Lord has sent a trial in the person of her youngest daughter Vava, a sickly, capricious, fanciful girl. They doctor her up and correct her, but all to no purpose. Up to now Vava is the nightmare, plague, and cross of Aunt Julia's life.
[3] A famous ladies' school, that was under the patronage of the late Grand Duchess Helen.
When mamma and Mimotchka enter Aunt Julia's lilac drawing-room, they find a great many ladies there and a few young men, friends of Vova's. A cross-fire of conversation is going on in the room.
"And so you're going again to Merekule?"[4]
"Yes, to Merekule. We're always faithful to Merekule. And you?"
"Oh, je n'aime pas à avoir une datcha; j'aime mieux rester ici. Then I can go to one place one day and another the next."
[4] A seaside resort in Finland.
"Et Louise?... Elle est toujours à Naples?"