Short Fiction · Character

Jim Soolivan

A man whose drunken fall and mistaken burial set off a comedy of errors in which his widow mourns a corpse that isn't his.

supporting

Also known as Jim, Jim Soolivan

First appearance: the dead sexton

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

The long-suffering husband who leaves home after a violent fight with Nell, is presumed dead, and later returns to find his wife remarried.

In the storyJim Sulivan’s Adventures in the Great SnowOpen this moment free

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Jim Soolivan is the absent centre of a grimly funny Irish tale: a traveller whose body, mangled beyond recognition and dressed like Jim, is carried home and waked as him while his wife laments his supposed suicide. The real Jim is nowhere to be found, and the neighbours, the priest, and a hopeful cousin named Jim Mallowney all proceed as if the matter is settled. His eventual return—or the question of it—drives the story's dark comedy about grief, gossip, and how quickly a widow can be persuaded to marry again.

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The fuller portrait of Jim Soolivan sits in Reading Lens — open the free preview to keep reading with notes on the page.

See Jim Soolivan in the dead sexton

Character Web

9 connections

A slice of how Jim Soolivan sits in the book — open the reader for the full interactive map.

Relationship types

Romantic
Other

Character groups

Supernatural encounters
Diverse ghostly witnesses
Ghost story narrators
Protagonist

+4 more in the full Character Web

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Narrative arc

Story tension across the book — this chapter sits in Falling action.

Setup
Escalation
Breaking point
Aftermath
Closing

This is the story's dramatic climax because it marks the psychological peak of the narrator's horror and the r…

Full beat labels and climax notes unlock in the reader.

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Relationships

Nell Gorman
romantic · positive
Jim Soolivan and Nell Gorman are lovers, their relationship filled with passion and… How this plays out →
Nell Gorman
romantic · positive
Jim Soolivan and Nell Gorman are lovers, their relationship filled with passion and… How this plays out →
Nell Gorman
romantic · positive
Jim Soolivan and Nell Gorman are lovers, their relationship filled with passion and… How this plays out →

Relationship notes

How these ties play out is in the reading companion — open the free preview.

See Jim Soolivan in the dead sexton

In the story

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

Jim Sulivan’s Adventures in the Great Snow

Chapter companion notes

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

See Jim Soolivan in the dead sexton

See Jim Soolivan in Jim Sulivan’s Adventures in the Great Snow