Marfa Petrovna is a side character in Crime and Punishment who is madly in love with her husband Svidrigailov and introduces Luzhin to Raskolnikov's sister Dunya. She dies of a heart attack a few hours after being whipped by her husband Svidrigailov for doing so.
The name is so rare that I could never find one of those name bracelets or necklaces for myself, or find it in a name horoscope, but I came to see it as my own. Do I wish it was something more modern? Yes. Do I wish it was a more common name? No. I'm not sure that it suits me, but it is what it is.
I love this version of Martha, it sounds kinder. I especially love the diminutive "Marfusha"! I heard it in Road to Calvary and I thought it was so sweet!