Тhe article analyses functions of female characters in Andrei Platonov's Chevengur. On the level of plot, the article traces the motif of substitution of the communist idea with the desire of a woman. This substitution gives to the novel's heroes a hope to overcome the "horror of being an orphan". From this perspective, a deep similarity between Rosa Luxemburg, Sonia Mandrova, and Fekla Stepanovna is revealed. The motif of plant-like metamorphoses correlates with the ability of these heroines to replace mother figures in the imagination of male characters. Taken together these functions and motifs shape, according to the article, a lyrical plot which manifests Andrey Platonov's vision of the "transfiguration" of human personalities by the revolution.