# Walter Schnaffs — Short Fiction character guide

> Walter Schnaffs in Short Fiction by Guy de Maupassant.

**Role:** supporting

**First appearance:** 0003-short-fiction

## Snapshot

A terrified Prussian soldier who longs to be captured alive, yet keeps blundering into situations that make him look like a hero.

## Who they are

Walter Schnaffs is a reluctant conscript in the invading Prussian army, a man of appetite and comfort who dreads battle far more than he dreads shame. His consuming desire is to be taken prisoner, and his comic desperation drives him to hide, surrender, and improvise in ways that keep backfiring. His cowardice, treated with sly sympathy, anchors the story's early comedy and sets up its ironic reversals.

## In the story

### [Walter Schnaffs' Adventure](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/short_fiction_23_se/chapters/walter-schnaffs-adventure)

The protagonist, a stout, fearful Prussian soldier who longs for his family and home, hides from battle, and ultimately surrenders to become a prisoner.

### [Timbuktu](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/short_fiction_23_se/chapters/timbuktu)

Not present; no matching character for the major. Omitted.

## Links

- HTML: https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/short_fiction_23_se/characters/walter_schnaffs
- Book: https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/short_fiction_23_se
- All characters: https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/short_fiction_23_se/characters