# Vashti — Short Fiction character guide

> Vashti in Short Fiction by E. M. Forster.

**Role:** major

**First appearance:** 0027-the-machine-stops

## Who they are

A devoted worshipper of the Machine who cannot bear to look at the tunnel her own son has dared to question.

## Relationships

### [Kuno](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/short_fiction_13_se/characters/kuno)

_family_

Kuno and Vashti are mother and son, with a strained or emotionally distant relationship.

### [Kuno](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/short_fiction_13_se/characters/kuno)

_family_

Kuno and Vashti are mother and son, with a strained or emotionally distant relationship.

## In the story

### [The Machine Stops](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/short_fiction_13_se/chapters/the-machine-stops)

A contented inhabitant of the Machine, she values ideas over direct experience and is horrified by Kuno's rebellion.

### [Part I: The Airship](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/short_fiction_13_se/chapters/part-i-the-airship)

A woman fully integrated into the Machine's world, she is irritable, anxious about travel, and dismissive of the natural world. She lectures on Australian music and relies entirely on the Machine for comfort and communication.

### [Part II: The Mending Apparatus](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/short_fiction_13_se/chapters/part-ii-the-mending-apparatus)

Visits Kuno reluctantly, is horrified by his revelations and atavistic tendencies, and feels shame and disgust at having borne such a son.

### [Part III: The Homeless](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/short_fiction_13_se/chapters/part-iii-the-homeless)

Lecturer who initially dismisses Kuno's warning but later experiences the Machine's collapse firsthand; she escapes her cell and reunites with Kuno.

## Links

- HTML: https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/short_fiction_13_se/characters/vashti
- Book: https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/short_fiction_13_se
- All characters: https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/short_fiction_13_se/characters