# Gautami — Short Fiction character guide

> Gautami in Short Fiction by Ivan Bunin.

**Role:** major

**Also known as:** Gautami the Lean

**First appearance:** 0030-gautami

## Snapshot

A submissive, tall maiden known as Gautami the Lean, whose quiet compliance with a king's son leads her from riverside trysts to concubinage and motherhood.

## Who they are

Gautami is a maiden of simple raiment and tall stature, called 'the Lean,' who yields to the king's son by the deserted river and becomes his concubine, bearing his child. Her dark eyes, always the same yet full of enchantment, and her unbroken submissiveness define her, even as she leaves the palace to give birth in the hot groves and returns with her newborn. Her story of quiet surrender and maternal ecstasy shapes the tale's early-middle arc.

## In the story

### [Figures](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/short_fiction_30_se/chapters/figures)

Present during the quarrel, possibly a family member or caretaker.

### [II](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/short_fiction_30_se/chapters/ii)

The grandmother who supports the uncle's refusal, warning the boy that a policeman will come if he persists.

### [IV](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/short_fiction_30_se/chapters/iv)

The grandmother who struggles to remain seated, torn between sympathy and adherence to the adults' decision.

### [An Evening in Spring](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/short_fiction_30_se/chapters/an-evening-in-spring)

The young gray-eyed married woman who gives the beggar a trifle and dances with her little girl.

### [Gautami](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/short_fiction_30_se/chapters/gautami)

The protagonist, a simple and submissive woman nicknamed 'Gautami the Lean', who becomes the concubine of a king's son and later a mother.

## Links

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