# Makar — Short Fiction character guide

> Makar in Short Fiction by Vladimir Korolenko.

**Role:** major

**First appearance:** 0001-short-fiction

## Snapshot

A miller whose cunning scheme to keep two wives and a workman's labor in one household detonates in Galya's garden with pitchforks and curses.

## Who they are

Makar has climbed from workman to miller, and the promotion has gone straight to his head: he proposes that Galya marry his hired hand Gavrilo while he himself weds Motria, so that nothing in his old life need be surrendered. Galya answers this arithmetic with a scream for the pitchfork, and he retreats over the hedge vowing to seize her hut for debt. His scheming sets the story's quarrel in motion and reveals how quickly a man's rise can curdle into greed.

## Relationships

### [The Toyon](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/short_fiction_54_se/characters/the_toyon)

_professional_

Makar is a worker or subordinate to The Toyon, a local chief or landowner.

### [The Count](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/short_fiction_54_se/characters/the_count)

_professional_

Makar interacts frequently with The Count, likely as a servant or laborer on the estate.

### [Aliosha](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/short_fiction_54_se/characters/aliosha)

_friendship_

Aliosha and Makar are friends or fellow travelers, sharing adventures or hardships.

### [The Toyon](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/short_fiction_54_se/characters/the_toyon)

_professional_

Makar is a worker or subordinate to The Toyon, a local chief or landowner.

### [The Count](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/short_fiction_54_se/characters/the_count)

_professional_

Makar interacts frequently with The Count, likely as a servant or laborer on the estate.

### [The Toyon](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/short_fiction_54_se/characters/the_toyon)

_professional_

Makar is a worker or subordinate to The Toyon, a local chief or landowner.

### [The Count](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/short_fiction_54_se/characters/the_count)

_professional_

Makar interacts frequently with The Count, likely as a servant or laborer on the estate.

## In the story

### [A Saghálinian](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/short_fiction_54_se/chapters/a-sagh-linian)

The narrator's comrade who has left, leaving the narrator alone in the yurt.

### [VI](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/short_fiction_54_se/chapters/vi)

Falls on Vasíli and the soldier during the fight.

### [VII](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/short_fiction_54_se/chapters/vii)

Narrator and leader of the escape group; makes decisions and interacts with Samárof.

### [Sketches of a Siberian Tourist](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/short_fiction_54_se/chapters/sketches-of-a-siberian-tourist)

Mentioned as a fellow traveler or local figure encountered during the journey.

### [IX](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/short_fiction_54_se/chapters/ix)

The narrator; encounters Urmánov and his wife, goes fishing with Evelyn, feels awkward and clumsy.

### [X](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/short_fiction_54_se/chapters/x)

The narrator, who walks arm-in-arm with a woman for the first time, daydreams about a girl from the Volga, and later witnesses Urmánov's outburst.

### [The Last Ray](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/short_fiction_54_se/chapters/the-last-ray)

Present in the chapter, engaged in quiet reflection as the last ray of sunlight fades.

### [I](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/short_fiction_54_se/chapters/i)

The old man teaching the boy to read; described as having a pale face, gray beard, and a goiter; patient and affectionate with the boy.

### [Makar's Dream](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/short_fiction_54_se/chapters/makar-s-dream)

The protagonist, a poor Russian peasant who dies and dreams of the afterlife. He defends his life before the Toyon and experiences a crisis of despair and self-pity.

### [Makar's Dream](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/short_fiction_54_se/chapters/makar-s-dream)

Makar's wife, a sturdy and sinewy woman who sees through his plans to drink alone on Christmas Eve.

### [In Bad Company](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/short_fiction_54_se/chapters/in-bad-company)

One of the boys in the group, participating in their activities.

### [On the Volga](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/short_fiction_54_se/chapters/on-the-volga)

Present along the Volga, engaged in the setting.

## Links

- HTML: https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/short_fiction_54_se/characters/makar
- Book: https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/short_fiction_54_se
- All characters: https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/short_fiction_54_se/characters