# Gromov — Short Fiction character guide

> Gromov in Short Fiction by Anton Chekhov.

**Role:** supporting

**Also known as:** Ivan Dmitritch Gromov, Ivan, Ivan Dmitritch

**First appearance:** 0000-a-living-chattel

## Who they are

A man whose sharp intelligence and fractured grip on reality make him both a puzzle and a mirror for everyone who tries to reach him.

## In the story

### [Ward No. 6](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/short_fiction_5_se/chapters/ward-no-6)

A patient in Ward No. 6, described as morose and intelligent, who interacts with the former sorter.

### [I](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/short_fiction_5_se/chapters/i)

Ivan Dmitritch Gromov, a gentleman by birth, suffers from persecution mania; he is agitated, courteous, and speaks passionately about the baseness of mankind.

### [II](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/short_fiction_5_se/chapters/ii)

Ivan Dmitritch Gromov, the central figure of the chapter, suffers a series of family tragedies and struggles with poverty and illness, becoming a bitter but respected intellectual in the town.

### [Chapter III](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/short_fiction_5_se/chapters/iii)

Ivan Dmitritch Gromov, the protagonist of this chapter, descends into paranoid delusions after seeing convicts.

### [VI](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/short_fiction_5_se/chapters/vi)

Mentioned in passing as Ivan Dmitritch, who read rapidly in the past, contrasting with Ragin's slow reading.

### [IX](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/short_fiction_5_se/chapters/ix)

Engages in a heated philosophical debate with the doctor, expressing his love for life and anger at his confinement.

### [Chapter X](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/short_fiction_5_se/chapters/x)

Passionately argues against the doctor's philosophy, asserting that suffering is a fundamental human experience and that the doctor's views stem from a sheltered life.

### [Chapter XI](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/short_fiction_5_se/chapters/xi)

Argues with Andrey Yefimitch about suffering and reality, maintaining a hostile but condescending tone.

### [XV](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/short_fiction_5_se/chapters/xv)

Ivan Dmitritch is visited twice by Andrey Yefimitch but is unusually excited and ill-humoured, rudely telling the doctor to leave him in peace and asking for solitary confinement.

### [XVII](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/short_fiction_5_se/chapters/xvii)

Wakes up and mocks the doctor for being imprisoned in the ward.

### [Chapter XVIII](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/short_fiction_5_se/chapters/xviii)

Ivan Dmitritch Gromov, Andrey Yefimitch's fellow inmate, mocks his philosophy and joins in protesting their confinement.

### [IV](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/short_fiction_5_se/chapters/iv)

Not present in this chapter.

## Links

- HTML: https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/short_fiction_5_se/characters/gromov
- Book: https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/short_fiction_5_se
- All characters: https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/short_fiction_5_se/characters