Short Fiction · Character

Roman

A domineering merchant father who drags his son Shasha around by the hair, baffled by the boy's sullen silence and stubborn pride.

supporting

First appearance: short fiction

As a supporting figure in Short Fiction, Roman is not background color—the story leans on what they do once the chapter opens.

Shasha's wealthy and abusive father, a merchant who beats his son and laments his behavior.

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Roman is a loud, self-made merchant who boasts about his son to guests and then beats him the moment they leave, unable to understand why Shasha answers only with cryptic defiance. He wants a son who will take pride in the family's wealth and ways, but Shasha's stiff bows and hissed vows of future reckoning only enrage him further. Their brutal, baffled contest of wills anchors the story's portrait of merchant life and the wounds it leaves in the young.

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Narrative arc

Story tension across the book.

Setup
Escalation
Breaking point

The "Endnotes" chapter functions as the narrative climax because it strips away the story's pretense of direct…

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In the story

Roman appears across 1 companion beat. Open any chapter in the free preview to see the notes beside the text.

I Say Nothing

Chapter companion notes

Spoil-light check-ins for Roman unlock in the free preview.

See Roman in short fiction

See Roman in I Say Nothing