# Markelych — Short Fiction character guide

> Markelych in Short Fiction by Vladimir Korolenko.

**Role:** minor

**Also known as:** Titus, our old Markelych, the corridor philosopher and veteran of the days of Nicholas, Nicholas

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

## Who they are

An old philosopher and veteran.

## In the story

### [III](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/short_fiction_54_se/chapters/iii)

The narrator's chum and old schoolfellow who shares his room; he is sedate and practical, yet enraptured by the narrator's poem.

### [XI](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/short_fiction_54_se/chapters/xi)

The narrator's roommate, found asleep with papers, worn out from studying for a reexamination.

### [XII](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/short_fiction_54_se/chapters/xii)

Roommate who notes the train whistle and derailment, then suggests tea.

### [XIII](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/short_fiction_54_se/chapters/xiii)

The porter who brings news to Titus; he is devoted to Titus and reproachful toward the narrator.

### [XIII](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/short_fiction_54_se/chapters/xiii)

Titus Ivanich, the narrator's roommate, who is deeply affected by the news of a suicide and refuses to go see the scene.

### [XIV](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/short_fiction_54_se/chapters/xiv)

Mentioned as having sat up late with the narrator the night before.

### [XVI](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/short_fiction_54_se/chapters/xvi)

Titus anxiously asks the narrator what is wrong and prepares tea for him.

### [XVII](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/short_fiction_54_se/chapters/xvii)

The narrator's schoolfellow, who studies laboriously by rote to earn his diploma and support his mother and invalid sister. He is depicted as good-natured, devoted, and physically strained by his efforts.

### [XVIII](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/short_fiction_54_se/chapters/xviii)

Referenced in comparison to the sub-inspector, whom the narrator feels towards as he does towards Titus.

### [XIX](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/short_fiction_54_se/chapters/xix)

The narrator's roommate, whose snoring and mechanical obedience contribute to the narrator's sense of horror and isolation.

### [Chapter XX](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/short_fiction_54_se/chapters/xx)

Titus invites the narrator to a meeting, is rebuffed with irony, and later attends and gives a speech, returning emotionally stirred.

### [XXI](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/short_fiction_54_se/chapters/xxi)

Titus meets the narrator with a gloomy and furtive yet relieved glance when he returns home from the station.

### [XXIII](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/short_fiction_54_se/chapters/xxiii)

Titus has undergone a transformation, throwing himself into philosophical discussions and becoming a loud, disruptive presence in debates. He tries to share his exploits with the narrator but is rebuffed.

### [XXIV](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/short_fiction_54_se/chapters/xxiv)

Speaks at the student meeting, quoting Zaitzev and discussing the people, but his speech is incoherent and causes uproar.

### [XXV](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/short_fiction_54_se/chapters/xxv)

Titus cares for the narrator during his illness, reads Tonia's letter, and expresses despair over the narrator's philosophical state.

## Links

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