# Count Ladislas — Short Fiction character guide

> Count Ladislas in Short Fiction by Mary Shelley.

**Role:** supporting

**Also known as:** Ladislas, the happy Ladislas

**First appearance:** 0000-a-tale-of-the-passions

## Snapshot

The happy Ladislas, a nobleman whose charm and good fortune make him the bright foil against which darker fates are measured.

## Who they are

Ladislas moves through the collection as the figure of enviable ease — the man whose luck and grace others invoke when they imagine a life untouched by misfortune. His presence sharpens the contrast with characters like Lorenzo and Woodville, who are shaped by exile, grief, and obsession. Whether as rival, friend, or cautionary mirror, he matters because he shows what the stories' more burdened figures have lost, or never had.

## In the story

### [The Pole](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/short_fiction_38_se/chapters/the-pole)

The Polish fugitive hero; confronts Princess Dashkhoff for aid and falls in love with Idalie.

## Links

- HTML: https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/short_fiction_38_se/characters/ladislas
- Book: https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/short_fiction_38_se
- All characters: https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/short_fiction_38_se/characters