# Alexei Petrovich — Short Fiction character guide

> Alexei Petrovich in Short Fiction by Vsevolod Garshin.

**Role:** supporting

**First appearance:** 0041-nadejda-nicolaievna

## Snapshot

A man who visits a doctor's flat, pockets a revolver and cartridges under a servant's gaze, then sits through the night rehearsing his own death as a performance.

## Who they are

Alexei Petrovich writes and abandons a letter to Peter Nicolaivich, sends Dunyasha for water, and steals the revolver from its holster above the sofa with the deftness of long deliberation. Alone, he mocks himself for apostrophizing even as he dies — 'For whom, and before whom, are you posing?' — and discovers the cartridges have fallen through a hole in his pocket. His self-loathing and theatrical despair matter because they turn a private crisis into a study of how a man can despise his own sincerity.

## In the story

### [Short Fiction](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/short_fiction_56_se/chapters/short-fiction)

Contemplates suicide and hears church bells, recalling childhood memories.

### [A Night](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/short_fiction_56_se/chapters/a-night)

Contemplates suicide and experiences a flashback to childhood memories triggered by church bells.

### [I](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/short_fiction_56_se/chapters/i)

The unnamed narrator, a miserable man contemplating his life and death, reaches for a revolver.

### [II](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/short_fiction_56_se/chapters/ii)

Protagonist in a suicidal crisis, steals a revolver from a friend's house.

### [III](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/short_fiction_56_se/chapters/iii)

Contemplates suicide, writes a farewell letter, and is distracted by the star Arcturus and a distant bell.

### [IV](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/short_fiction_56_se/chapters/iv)

Contemplates suicide, hears a church bell, and experiences a flood of childhood memories.

### [V](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/short_fiction_56_se/chapters/v)

The central figure of the chapter, reminiscing about his childhood and his father.

### [VI](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/short_fiction_56_se/chapters/vi)

Protagonist undergoing intense psychological turmoil, recalling his childhood and father, experiencing a spiritual crisis and eventual death.

### [The Scarlet Blossom](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/short_fiction_56_se/chapters/the-scarlet-blossom)

Contemplates suicide and hears church bells, recalling childhood memories.

### [I](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/short_fiction_56_se/chapters/i)

The new patient who is brought to the asylum in a straitjacket, subjected to a forced bath and blister, and experiences extreme terror and delusions.

### [II](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/short_fiction_56_se/chapters/ii)

The patient who awakens in the asylum, recalling his recent madness and experiencing a moment of clarity.

### [IV](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/short_fiction_56_se/chapters/iv)

The new patient who understands he is in a madhouse but is engulfed by delusions, fixated on the red poppy.

### [The Action at Aislar](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/short_fiction_56_se/chapters/the-action-at-aislar)

Referenced in the chapter, possibly reflecting on the war.

## Links

- HTML: https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/short_fiction_56_se/characters/alexei_petrovich
- Book: https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/short_fiction_56_se
- All characters: https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/short_fiction_56_se/characters