# Jim Soolivan — Short Fiction character guide

> Jim Soolivan in Short Fiction by J. Sheridan Le Fanu.

**Role:** supporting

**Also known as:** Jim, Jim Soolivan

**First appearance:** 0096-the-dead-sexton

## Snapshot

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.

## Who they are

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.

## Relationships

### [Nell Gorman](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/short_fiction_31_se/characters/nell_gorman)

_romantic_

Jim Soolivan and Nell Gorman are lovers, their relationship filled with passion and conflict.

### [Nell Gorman](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/short_fiction_31_se/characters/nell_gorman)

_romantic_

Jim Soolivan and Nell Gorman are lovers, their relationship filled with passion and conflict.

### [Nell Gorman](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/short_fiction_31_se/characters/nell_gorman)

_romantic_

Jim Soolivan and Nell Gorman are lovers, their relationship filled with passion and conflict.

## In the story

### [Jim Sulivan’s Adventures in the Great Snow](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/short_fiction_31_se/chapters/jim-sulivan-s-adventures-in-the-great-snow)

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

## Links

- HTML: https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/short_fiction_31_se/characters/jim_soolivan
- Book: https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/short_fiction_31_se
- All characters: https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/short_fiction_31_se/characters