# Constantine — Short Fiction character guide

> Constantine in Short Fiction by Ivan Bunin.

**Role:** supporting

**Also known as:** Constantine Emile Du-Buis, Emile Du-Buis, Emile

**First appearance:** 0001-short-fiction

## Snapshot

A young Parisian poet of fragile health and theatrical sorrow, he attaches himself to the Maraud household and mistakes pity for passion.

## Who they are

Emile Du-Buis drifts through Constantine after a funeral, a self-styled fin de siècle poet with long hair, black clothes, and one leg shorter than the other. He plays for hours with Madame Maraud's daughters, reads sonorous poems aloud, and grows devoted to the household — but his real fixation is the mother, who calls him 'son' and feels only maternal pity. His feverish sincerity and inability to hold a pose make him both pitiable and quietly dangerous to the family's peace.

## Relationships

### [Madame Maraud](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/short_fiction_30_se/characters/madame_maraud)

_romantic_

Constantine and Madame Maraud share a passionate, possibly illicit romantic entanglement with high emotional intensity.

### [Madame Maraud](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/short_fiction_30_se/characters/madame_maraud)

_romantic_

Constantine and Madame Maraud share a passionate, possibly illicit romantic entanglement with high emotional intensity.

### [Madame Maraud](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/short_fiction_30_se/characters/madame_maraud)

_romantic_

Constantine and Madame Maraud share a passionate, possibly illicit romantic entanglement with high emotional intensity.

## In the story

### [Son](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/short_fiction_30_se/chapters/son)

Emile Du-Buis, the young man passionately in love with Madame Maraud, who suffers emotional breakdowns and is eventually sent away.

## Links

- HTML: https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/short_fiction_30_se/characters/constantine
- Book: https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/short_fiction_30_se
- All characters: https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/short_fiction_30_se/characters