# Kornéy Vasílyef — The Death of Ivan Ilyich and Other Stories character guide

> Kornéy Vasílyef in The Death of Ivan Ilyich and Other Stories by Leo Tolstoy.

**Role:** major

**Also known as:** Kornéy

**First appearance:** 0078-korn-y-vas-lyef

## Snapshot

A prosperous peasant returning home to a village full of rumors about his wife, whose simmering jealousy drives him toward a crime he cannot undo.

## Who they are

Kornéy Vasílyef comes back to his village in his cloth coat and sheepskin, a man of some means and considerable pride. On the road, the drunken driver Kouzmá whispers that Kornéy's wife Martha has taken her former lover Justin as a laborer and is living with him. Kornéy says little, but his dark eyes and lowering brows betray a jealousy that will not be reasoned away, and the story follows the terrible logic of a man who cannot bear to be made a fool.

## In the story

### [Kornéy Vasílyef](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/leo_tolstoy_short_fiction_se/chapters/korn-y-vas-lyef)

The protagonist. A once-prosperous, strong cattle-dealer whose jealousy leads him to violence and flight. He returns years later as a broken, repentant pilgrim seeking forgiveness before his death.

## Links

- HTML: https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/leo_tolstoy_short_fiction_se/characters/korney_vasilyef
- Book: https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/leo_tolstoy_short_fiction_se
- All characters: https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/leo_tolstoy_short_fiction_se/characters