Short Fiction · Character

Olyessia

A forest witch of the Polissian woods whose untamed love for a visiting gentleman collides with her grandmother's warnings and the drawing rooms of society.

major

Also known as Olyessia

First appearance: the witch

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

A central figure in the Polyessie tales, embodying natural wisdom and tragic love.

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Olyessia belongs to the old forest of legends and mysterious powers, where her grandmother's occult authority and the villagers' fear keep her both rooted and isolated. Her love for the narrator is fearless and unguarded, yet she is caught between his world and her own, sensing his hesitation even as she dismisses her grandmother's prophecy that he will ruin and desert her. Her willingness to leave everything behind forces the reader to confront what her lover will risk in return.

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Character Web

9 connections

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

Relationship types

Family
Other

Character groups

Witches and Fishermen
Biblical and Romantic Figures
Diverse Ensemble of Characters
Spies, Priests, and Performers

+4 more in the full Character Web

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Narrative arc

Story tension across the book.

Setup
Escalation
Breaking point
Aftermath
Closing

This is the story's dramatic climax because Vera Nikolayevna, who has previously dismissed Zheltkov’s love as…

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Relationships

Manuilikha
family · ambivalent
Manuilikha is Olyessia's grandmother, a stern and protective figure who raises her in… How this plays out →
Manuilikha
family · ambivalent
Manuilikha is Olyessia's grandmother, a stern and protective figure who raises her in… How this plays out →
Manuilikha
family · ambivalent
Manuilikha is Olyessia's grandmother, a stern and protective figure who raises her in… How this plays out →

Relationship notes

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See Olyessia in the witch

In the story

Olyessia appears across 13 companion beats. Open any chapter in the free preview to see the notes beside the text.

Short Fiction
A central figure in the Polyessie tales, embodying natural wisdom and tragic love.
III
A tall, beautiful young woman with dark eyes and a proud demeanor. She keeps tame birds and is wary of outsiders but agrees to let the narrator visit.
IV
Tells the narrator's fortune, revealing her mystical abilities and belief in fate; describes her inherited power to see death in faces.
V
Demonstrates her supernatural abilities: cuts the narrator's arm and heals it, causes him to fall through a psychological trick, and discusses her grandmother's witchcraft. Shows natural grace and eloquence despite being illiterate.
VI
Olyessia shares her mystical beliefs and fears about marriage and city life, showing her independent nature and deep attachment to the forest.
VII
Appears anxious and troubled, avoids sharing the problem, and later parts coldly from the narrator, feeling ashamed of her grandmother's begging.
VIII
Implied as the younger woman living with Manuilikha, described by the sergeant as 'a perfect little bud'.
IX
Olyessia becomes distant and constrained, avoiding the narrator's attempts at intimacy and appearing burdened by his company.
X
Reunites with the narrator after his illness, confesses her love, and walks with him in the forest despite her grandmother's disapproval.
XI
The narrator's lover, a forest-dwelling girl who rejects his marriage proposal due to her perceived unworthiness and fear of the church.
XII
Olyessia is attacked by the village women after attending church, accused of witchcraft, and barely escapes being tarred.
XIII
Lying in bed, feverish and traumatized after being attacked by the mob; insists on leaving Perebrod due to fate and fear of persecution.
XIV
Her fears of retribution are realized after the hailstorm; she and her grandmother have fled, leaving only a string of red beads as a memento.

Chapter companion notes

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