# Pani Popèlska — Short Fiction character guide > Pani Popèlska in Short Fiction by Vladimir Korolenko. **Role:** minor **Also known as:** Pani 37 Popèlska, Pani, the Pani **First appearance:** 0001-short-fiction ## Who they are A lady character, possibly a wife. ## In the story ### [The Blind Infant—The Family](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/short_fiction_54_se/chapters/i-the-blind-infant-the-family) The mother of the blind child; she is the first to suspect his blindness and reacts with deep anguish. ### [I](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/short_fiction_54_se/chapters/i) The young mother who gives birth and shows deep emotional distress, possibly sensing her child's blindness. ### [II](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/short_fiction_54_se/chapters/ii) The mother who first suspects and then learns of her son's blindness. ### [III](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/short_fiction_54_se/chapters/iii) Mother of the blind child, née Yatzènko, sister of Uncle Maxim. ### [IV](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/short_fiction_54_se/chapters/iv) The mother of the blind boy, who suffers deeply from her son's affliction and initially struggles with the instinct to overprotect him. ### [V](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/short_fiction_54_se/chapters/v) The mother, concerned by her son's distress, questions herself and others about his behavior. ### [VI](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/short_fiction_54_se/chapters/vi) The mother, who leads the boy but is distracted by the beauty of the spring landscape. ### [VIII](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/short_fiction_54_se/chapters/viii) The young mother who explains the nature of sounds to her son and observes his reactions. ### [IX](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/short_fiction_54_se/chapters/ix) The mother who gives lively but painful explanations, her own suffering visible as she tries to convey form and color to her son. ### [II: The Sources of Musical Feeling—The Blind Boy and the Melody](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/short_fiction_54_se/chapters/ii-the-sources-of-musical-feeling-the-blind-boy-and-the-melody) The mother, initially jealous of Joachim's influence, learns to express her own musical feeling and eventually competes with Joachim through piano playing. ### [III](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/short_fiction_54_se/chapters/iii) The mother who stays by Petrùsya's bedside and eventually discovers the source of his strange, happy dreams. ### [V](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/short_fiction_54_se/chapters/v) The mother who finds her son in the stable, watching him listen to Joachim's playing. ### [VII](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/short_fiction_54_se/chapters/vii) Pètrik's mother, who hopes the piano will win back her son's affection from Joachim's pipe. ### [VIII](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/short_fiction_54_se/chapters/viii) The mother who struggles with jealousy and humiliation but ultimately learns from Joachim's music, developing her own emotional expressiveness on the piano. ### [IX](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/short_fiction_54_se/chapters/ix) His mother, who watches him from the adjoining room, admiring his every movement and expression. ### [III](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/short_fiction_54_se/chapters/iii) Implied as part of the Popèlski family, though not directly named in this chapter. ### [V](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/short_fiction_54_se/chapters/v) Petrùsya's mother, who admires the girl and allows her to visit. ### [IV: Blindness—Vague Questions](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/short_fiction_54_se/chapters/iv-blindness-vague-questions) The mother of the blind boy, who realizes the value of Evelyn's friendship and observes her son's growing sensitivity. ### [I](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/short_fiction_54_se/chapters/i) The mother of the blind boy; realizes the good fortune of her son's friendship. ### [II](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/short_fiction_54_se/chapters/ii) The mother who listens to Pètrik's dream and notices his sadness. ### [VI](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/short_fiction_54_se/chapters/vi) Petrùsya's mother, who sits beside him and explains the meteor, feeling a pitiful doubt about his awareness. ### [IV](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/short_fiction_54_se/chapters/iv) Peter's mother, who looks sorrowfully at her son and entreats Maxim with a pathetic tone. ### [VII](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/short_fiction_54_se/chapters/vii) Tries to play the amiable hostess but wears a sad and guilty look. ### [IX](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/short_fiction_54_se/chapters/ix) The mother observes Peter's expression and recalls a past spring day; she notices Evelyn's gesture and blushes deeply. ### [II](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/short_fiction_54_se/chapters/ii) Anna Michàilovna, the mother, observes her son's troubled sleep and the effect of a sunbeam on him. ## Links - HTML: https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/short_fiction_54_se/characters/pani_popelska - Book: https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/short_fiction_54_se - All characters: https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/short_fiction_54_se/characters