# Bezsonow — Short Fiction character guide > Bezsonow in Short Fiction by Vsevolod Garshin. **Role:** major **Also known as:** V Bezsonow, Mr. Bezsonow **First appearance:** 0041-nadejda-nicolaievna ## Snapshot A journalist of two years' leader-writing who commands every subject and no one's heart, pursuing Nadejda Nicolaievna with a tenderness that turns to rough command when refused. ## Who they are Bezsonow moves between the artist's studio and the disreputable crowd around Nadejda Nicolaievna, speaking with a new and strange tenderness one moment and ordering her home the next. His eloquence on politics and foreign affairs masks a man who cannot bear to be dismissed, and Nadejda's public contempt — 'I am sick of you. Leave me alone' — exposes the gap between his public authority and private helplessness. He drives the emotional plot precisely because his control keeps slipping. ## Relationships ### [Nadejda Nicolaievna](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/short_fiction_56_se/characters/nadejda_nicolaievna) _psychological_ Bezsonow is obsessively fixated on Nadejda, creating a tense and manipulative dynamic. ### [Serge Vassilivich](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/short_fiction_56_se/characters/serge_vassilivich) _rivalry_ Bezsonow and Serge Vassilivich are locked in a tense rivalry, often competing for influence or Nadejda's attention. ### [Charlotte Corday](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/short_fiction_56_se/characters/charlotte_corday) _psychological_ Bezsonow is morbidly fascinated by Charlotte Corday, viewing her as a symbol of his own dark fantasies. ### [Nadejda Nicolaievna](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/short_fiction_56_se/characters/nadejda_nicolaievna) _psychological_ Bezsonow is obsessively fixated on Nadejda, creating a tense and manipulative dynamic. ### [Serge Vassilivich](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/short_fiction_56_se/characters/serge_vassilivich) _rivalry_ Bezsonow and Serge Vassilivich are locked in a tense rivalry, often competing for influence or Nadejda's attention. ### [Charlotte Corday](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/short_fiction_56_se/characters/charlotte_corday) _psychological_ Bezsonow is morbidly fascinated by Charlotte Corday, viewing her as a symbol of his own dark fantasies. ### [Nadejda Nicolaievna](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/short_fiction_56_se/characters/nadejda_nicolaievna) _psychological_ Bezsonow is obsessively fixated on Nadejda, creating a tense and manipulative dynamic. ## In the story ### [Short Fiction](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/short_fiction_56_se/chapters/short-fiction) Confronts Nadejda Nicolaievna, reflecting moral ambiguity. ### [A Night](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/short_fiction_56_se/chapters/a-night) Confronts Nadejda Nicolaievna, expressing jealousy and anger, leading to a violent scene. ### [II](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/short_fiction_56_se/chapters/ii) A critic who disapproves of the narrator's choice of subject for his painting. ### [III](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/short_fiction_56_se/chapters/iii) Bezsonow is writing at his desk, engages in a philosophical argument about art and morality, reveals his knowledge of the narrator's engagement, and refuses to introduce him to a model. ### [IV](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/short_fiction_56_se/chapters/iv) Seen at the establishment, whispering animatedly to a woman in black silk. ### [V](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/short_fiction_56_se/chapters/v) Jealous and controlling, he confronts Nadejda Nicolaievna in the haunt and is rebuffed. ### [VI](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/short_fiction_56_se/chapters/vi) Confronts the narrator early in the morning, forbidding him to paint Nadejda Nicolaievna and threatening to reveal the narrator's past. ### [VII](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/short_fiction_56_se/chapters/vii) Discussed by Nadejda Nicolaievna and the narrator; she expresses dislike and fear of him. ### [VIII](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/short_fiction_56_se/chapters/viii) Mentioned as a man who views Nadejda as a 'fallen woman' who can never return, having known her longer than Helfreich. ### [IX](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/short_fiction_56_se/chapters/ix) Arrives unexpectedly during a sitting, causing Nadejda to turn pale. ### [Chapter X](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/short_fiction_56_se/chapters/x) Visits the studio, examines the painting with astonishment, speaks tenderly to Nadejda Nicolaievna, and later dominates dinner conversation with political lectures. ### [XI](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/short_fiction_56_se/chapters/xi) Narrates the diary entry; expresses guilt, jealousy, and a manipulative plan to separate Lopatin and Nadejda. ### [XII](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/short_fiction_56_se/chapters/xii) Mentioned as having confronted Nadejda; the Captain says he lived at his hotel and has a weakness for women. ### [XV](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/short_fiction_56_se/chapters/xv) Narrates the diary entry, analyzing his own feelings and observing Nadejda's change. ### [XVII](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/short_fiction_56_se/chapters/xvii) Visits occasionally, appears calm but hides inner turmoil; later revealed to be plotting with his mother against the narrator. ### [XVIII](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/short_fiction_56_se/chapters/xviii) Diary author; consumed by jealousy and self-loathing over his passion for Nadejda Nicolaievna. ### [XIX](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/short_fiction_56_se/chapters/xix) Jealous rival; breaks into the studio, threatens Lopatin, and shoots Nadejda before being killed himself. ## Links - HTML: https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/short_fiction_56_se/characters/bezsonow - Book: https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/short_fiction_56_se - All characters: https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/short_fiction_56_se/characters