Characterization of Boris Ivanovich

Outer characterization

Boris Ivanovich is the main character in the short story “The Rejection” by Woody Allen. Boris is married to Anna, and they have a three-year-old son named Mischa. Boris and Anna live in Manhattan, New York’s richest neighborhood. His name, as well as the names of the people in his social circle, suggest he might be of Russian origin.

Boris works at an investment bank called Bear Stearns (p. 139, l. 9). He is wealthy at the beginning of the story, as suggested, for example, by Anna shopping at Prada and Armani (p. 140, ll. 43-46), which are luxury fashion brands. Boris’ physical appearance is not described. 

Inner characterization

Mischa’s rejection letter affects Boris deeply: “he and his wife, Anna, turned pale” (p. 139, ll. 1-2). Boris is “stricken” (p. 139, l. 4) by the news and begins to imagine how his colleague, Siminov, will mock him for being so ignorant that he did not feel it was necessar...