Marfa

Marfa is the protagonist of Frost and the Maiden, the fairy tale told by Dunya to Marina and her four eldest children in The Bear and the Nightingale at the beginning of the story.

Frost and the Maiden
Marfa's mother died shortly after giving birth to her. Her father, Boris Borisovich later remarries but Marfa is still "as motherless as an orphan." Despite being a handsome woman with a good reputation, Marfa's stepmother, Darya Nikolaevna, has a cold and cruel heart. She hates Marfa for her beauty and goodness and prefers her own ugly, lazy daughter Liza.

Darya attempts to make Marfa ugly through hard work. However, this backfires as Marfa is strong and does her work uncomplainingly. It is alluded that she may also have some magic which helps her accomplish her work and make her continue to grow more beautiful every day.

When Darya announces that it is time for Marfa to be wed, she is initially excited. However, she and her father are both horrified by Darya's choice of bridegroom: Morozko, the winter demon. Despite his reservations, Marfa's father acquiesces Darya's demands and takes Marfa deep into the forest where he leaves her at the foot of a fir tree.

Like with the difficult housework, Marfa bears her fate uncomplainingly and waits by the tree. Later, Morozko arrives with a gust of cold wind, asking if she is warm. Marfa politely answers that she is warm. He makes it colder and asks her again, to which she insists she is warm. After he asks her a third time, creating a wind so cold that she almost can't speak, Marfa continues to insist that she is warm.

Taking pity on her and admiring her character, Morozko wraps her in his cloak and takes her in his sledge. He then drops her at her doorstep with a chest of treasure. While she and her father are relieved and happy that she survived, Darya and Liza are angry and jealous.

Darya sends Liza into the forest expecting even greater treasures. However, Morozko kills her with coldness for she is rude and disrespectful and upon seeing her dead body, Darya dies as well.

Personality and appearance
"'She was beautiful as sunshine in June, and brave and good-hearted besides.' — Dunya describing Marfa at the beginning of the story"

Marfa is beautiful, resilient, kind, and polite.

Trivia

 * Marfa's character parallels Vasya.