Short Fiction · Character

David

Young, beautiful, and worshipful, David kneels to kiss the feet of a woman who warns him he will one day wish that kiss reserved for another.

supporting

Also known as Davy

First appearance: a rocket of iron

As a supporting figure in Short Fiction, David is not background color—the story leans on what they do once the chapter opens.

Mentioned as 'Davy,' a bright young figure admired by the woman.

In the storyThe Triumph of YouthOpen this moment free

See David in The Triumph of Youth Book page

Free preview opens at this moment — character cards, Character Web, and themes sit beside the text as you read.

David is the youth whose face and soul the older woman confesses she loves, and whose passion she receives with a mixture of gladness and dry foreknowledge. He bends to kiss her feet and is checked — too much like self-abasement, she says — and then told that the time will come when he wishes he had saved that kiss for someone to whom it would all be new. His white, quivering face and buried hands register the wound of being loved for his beauty by a woman who cannot believe she is loved at all.

Continue beside the text

The fuller portrait of David sits in Reading Lens — open the free preview to keep reading with notes on the page.

See David in a rocket of iron

Character Web

3 connections

A slice of how David sits in the book — open the reader for the full interactive map.

Relationship types

Romantic
Rivalry
Friendship

Character groups

Core recurring figures
Protagonist
Distinct peripheral characters

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Narrative arc

Story tension across the book — this chapter sits in Exposition.

Setup
Breaking point
Aftermath
Closing

This is the story's dramatic climax because the narrator reaches an emotional and psychological peak of anguis…

Full beat labels and climax notes unlock in the reader.

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Relationships

Effie
romantic · positive
David and Effie share a deeply intimate and possibly obsessive romantic bond, with the… How this plays out →
Bernard
rivalry · negative
Nathaniel
friendship · positive
Bernard
rivalry · negative

Effie
David and Effie share a deeply intimate and possibly obsessive romantic bond, with the highest interaction count suggesting a central, consuming relationship.
Bernard
David and Bernard's single interaction underscores a tense, competitive dynamic, likely over Effie.
Nathaniel
David and Nathaniel have a minimal but cordial connection, suggesting a casual friendship or acquaintance.
Bernard
Bernard and David have limited but pointed interactions, hinting at a rivalry possibly over Effie or status.

Relationship notes

How these ties play out is in the reading companion — open the free preview.

See David in a rocket of iron

In the story

David appears across 1 companion beat. Open any chapter in the free preview to see the notes beside the text.

The Triumph of Youth

Chapter companion notes

Spoil-light check-ins for David unlock in the free preview.

See David in a rocket of iron

See David in The Triumph of Youth