# Yankel — Short Fiction character guide

> Yankel in Short Fiction by Nikolai Gogol.

**Role:** supporting

**Also known as:** tall Yankel

**First appearance:** 0012-taras-bulba

## Snapshot

A Jewish merchant of Warsaw who trades with the Cossacks, speaks their language, and becomes Taras Bulba's reluctant intermediary in a hostile city.

## Who they are

Yankel is a traveling merchant whose dealings with the Zaporozhian Cossacks have made him useful and distrusted in equal measure. When Taras needs to reach his imprisoned son inside a Polish-held city, Yankel is the only man with the contacts and nerve to attempt it, though he trembles at every risk. His haggling, fear, and grudging loyalty make him the story's unlikely bridge between two worlds that despise each other.

## Relationships

### [Jew](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/short_fiction_40_se/characters/jew)

_friendship_

Yankel is a Jewish innkeeper and friend to Taras Bulba, often acting as a mediator between Jews and Cossacks.

### [Taras Bulba](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/short_fiction_40_se/characters/taras_bulba)

_friendship_

Taras Bulba trusts Yankel as a reliable ally and often relies on his help during military campaigns.

### [Taras Bulba](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/short_fiction_40_se/characters/taras_bulba)

_friendship_

Taras Bulba trusts Yankel as a reliable ally and often relies on his help during military campaigns.

### [Jew](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/short_fiction_40_se/characters/jew)

_friendship_

Yankel is a Jewish innkeeper and friend to Taras Bulba, often acting as a mediator between Jews and Cossacks.

### [Jew](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/short_fiction_40_se/characters/jew)

_friendship_

Yankel is a Jewish innkeeper and friend to Taras Bulba, often acting as a mediator between Jews and Cossacks.

## In the story

### [IV](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/short_fiction_40_se/chapters/iv)

A Jew who pleads for his life by claiming to have known Taras's brother; Taras spares him and hides him under a wagon.

### [VII](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/short_fiction_40_se/chapters/vii)

The Jew who enters the city and reports to Taras that Andrii has joined the Poles, describing Andrii's rich attire.

### [Taras's Grief and the Journey to Warsaw](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/short_fiction_40_se/chapters/x)

The Jew who Taras approaches for help; he is cautious but agrees to hide Taras for a price.

### [XI](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/short_fiction_40_se/chapters/xi)

Assists Taras in entering Warsaw and attempts to arrange a meeting with Ostap, but ultimately cannot secure his release.

## Links

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