# Blacksmith Vakoola — Short Fiction character guide

> Blacksmith Vakoola in Short Fiction by Nikolai Gogol.

**Role:** supporting

**Also known as:** Vakoola

**First appearance:** 0010-the-night-of-christmas-eve

## Snapshot

A lovesick blacksmith and sometime painter of church walls who, mocked by Oxana, vows to win her even if it takes the devil's help.

## Who they are

Vakoola is the village blacksmith, strong-armed, devout in his way, and hopelessly devoted to the beautiful Oxana, who toys with him while favoring no one. His frustration curdles into a reckless resolve when she demands the Tsaritsa's slippers, a task no sane man would attempt. His willingness to bargain with unholy powers sets the story's comic machinery in motion.

## In the story

### [The Night of Christmas Eve](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/short_fiction_40_se/chapters/the-night-of-christmas-eve)

The blacksmith and son of Solokha, who is in love with Oxana and decides to fly to the Czarina on the Devil's back.

## Links

- HTML: https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/short_fiction_40_se/characters/vakoola
- Book: https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/short_fiction_40_se
- All characters: https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/short_fiction_40_se/characters