# Martin Kesserich — Short Fiction character guide > Martin Kesserich in Short Fiction by Fritz Leiber. **Role:** supporting **Also known as:** Martin, Kesserich, Marty **First appearance:** 0007-yesterday-house ## Snapshot A great biologist who spent eighteen years reconstructing a lost love, now returning to claim her with a tenderness that terrifies everyone watching. ## Who they are Martin Kesserich is the celebrated researcher whose sisters Hani and Hilda have served an eighteen-year penance, and whose arrival on the island pulls Jack, Mary, and the sisters into a reckoning. He faces his sisters with baffled composure, calling their revenge irrational and failed, yet his real power lies in the way he turns to Mary and says 'Come, Mary' — drawing them all back toward 1933. His serene certainty that he understands what no one else can is precisely what makes him dangerous to Jack's claim on Mary. ## Relationships ### [Mary Alice Pope](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/short_fiction_19_se/characters/mary_alice_pope) _social_ Martin Kesserich and Mary Alice Pope are neighbors who exchange pleasantries and small talk. ### [Jack Barr](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/short_fiction_19_se/characters/jack_barr) _friendship_ Jack and Martin are loyal friends who often work together on community projects. ### [Jack Barr](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/short_fiction_19_se/characters/jack_barr) _friendship_ Jack and Martin are loyal friends who often work together on community projects. ### [Mary Alice Pope](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/short_fiction_19_se/characters/mary_alice_pope) _social_ Martin Kesserich and Mary Alice Pope are neighbors who exchange pleasantries and small talk. ### [Mary Alice Pope](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/short_fiction_19_se/characters/mary_alice_pope) _social_ Martin Kesserich and Mary Alice Pope are neighbors who exchange pleasantries and small talk. ### [Jack Barr](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/short_fiction_19_se/characters/jack_barr) _friendship_ Jack and Martin are loyal friends who often work together on community projects. ## In the story ### [II](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/short_fiction_19_se/chapters/ii) Great biologist, returns home at the end of the chapter. ### [III](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/short_fiction_19_se/chapters/iii) Professor Kesserich leads a speculative discussion on individuality and hints at a secret project, while noting he will be busy the next day. ### [V](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/short_fiction_19_se/chapters/v) Implants Mary's ovum into Mrs. Kesserich, marries her only to use her, then leaves her after eighteen years. ### [VI](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/short_fiction_19_se/chapters/vi) Reveals Mary is a parthenogenetic clone; charges after Mary and is caught in the rocks. ### [VII](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/short_fiction_19_se/chapters/vii) Martin is mentioned as possibly having been pulled down by the sea along with Mary. ### [The Night of the Long Knives](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/short_fiction_19_se/chapters/the-night-of-the-long-knives) Caught in the crossfire of the night's betrayals. ### [I](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/short_fiction_19_se/chapters/i) Seen stripped to the waist with a black wig and braids, looking like an American Indian, prompting the narrator's curiosity. ### [II](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/short_fiction_19_se/chapters/ii) Doubling as Second Witch; prompts the cast to take their places. ### [III](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/short_fiction_19_se/chapters/iii) Martin is an actor in the company, likely playing Macbeth; Greta is invested in his performance and feels he would not forgive her if she missed it. ### [IV](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/short_fiction_19_se/chapters/iv) Plays Lady Macbeth; delivers a convincing performance that impresses the narrator, making her believe boys can play girls well. ### [V](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/short_fiction_19_se/chapters/v) Martin visits Greta in her sleeping closet, discusses the properties of the number eight, and offers her a stage role in the company. ### [VI](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/short_fiction_19_se/chapters/vi) Rehearses Julius Caesar in Latin with Sid, helps the narrator into costume, and supports her decision. ### [VII](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/short_fiction_19_se/chapters/vii) Martin performs as Lady Macbeth, delivering the sleepwalking scene with a candle. ### [VIII](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/short_fiction_19_se/chapters/viii) Martin explains the Spider-Snake war to Greta, defends their actions, and urges her to trust the cause. ## Links - HTML: https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/short_fiction_19_se/characters/martin_kesserich - Book: https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/short_fiction_19_se - All characters: https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/short_fiction_19_se/characters