Kulygin is Masha’s good-natured, loyal, unflappable husband. A high school teacher, he seemed intimidatingly clever when Masha first married him, but after a few years of marriage, he no longer seems very intelligent to her. Though he is aware of Masha’s affair with Vershinin all along, he tenderly forgives her and accepts her back after Vershinin leaves. Though he loves Masha unwaveringly, he once comments that he might have just as happily married Olga, with whom he has a warm friendship. He often jokes around to bring comic relief.