# Yankel — Short Fiction character guide

> Yankel in Short Fiction by Vladimir Korolenko.

**Role:** supporting

**Also known as:** old Yankel, Yankel the Jew, The Jew, the Jew, poor Yankel, Jew, Yankel kvass

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

## Snapshot

Old Yankel, a skullcapped Jewish catcher of souls, argues sins with the devil by the dam and bets his freedom on a Christian miller's hidden guilt.

## Who they are

Yankel is a poor Jew with ringlets and a rasping scratch, snared by the devil Khapun on the dam and dragged toward the sky while he screams for his Sarah, Shlemka, Iteley, and Movshey. Quick-witted even in terror, he counts sins on his fingers alongside the devil and wagers that the Christian miller is as guilty as any Jew. His comic, desperate bargaining with the devil gives the tale its folkloric wit and its sly commentary on who truly deserves damnation.

## Relationships

### [Khapun](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/short_fiction_54_se/characters/khapun)

_friendship_

Kapun and Yankel are close companions who share many interactions, likely allies in their community.

### [Khapun](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/short_fiction_54_se/characters/khapun)

_friendship_

Kapun and Yankel are close companions who share many interactions, likely allies in their community.

### [Khapun](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/short_fiction_54_se/characters/khapun)

_friendship_

Kapun and Yankel are close companions who share many interactions, likely allies in their community.

## In the story

### [IV](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/short_fiction_54_se/chapters/iv)

The old one-eyed Jew who accompanies Joachim on bass-viol during his earlier performances.

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

The Jewish innkeeper, absent from the inn on Yom Kippur, observing the holiday in the city.

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

The miller resents Yankel, a Jewish innkeeper, and wishes the devil would take him; later he sees Khapun carrying a Jew he recognizes as the innkeeper from Novokamensk.

### [IV](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/short_fiction_54_se/chapters/iv)

The poor Jew captured by Khapun, who tries to bargain for his freedom.

### [V](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/short_fiction_54_se/chapters/v)

The innkeeper who was taken by Khapun.

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

Deceased; his murder sets the events of the chapter in motion.

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

Old Yankel is contrasted with the miller; he grovels for money and endures abuse, while the miller demands both money and respect.

### [VIII](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/short_fiction_54_se/chapters/viii)

The miller recalls Yankel, now presumably dead, and his orphaned children; the memory of the Jew's fate weighs on the miller's conscience.

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

The Jew who is carried by Khapun and argues with him about the journey and his bundle.

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

The Jew who quietly picks up the devil's discarded clothes and makes off with them.

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

Returned at dawn after the miller's strange adventure.

## Links

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