# The Dark Forest — Character guide

> Key figures in The Dark Forest by Hugh Walpole.

- [Unknown Narrator](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_dark_forest_se/characters/unknown_narrator.md): He arrives at the Warsaw station to meet Trenchard and is swept at once into the drama of the unit's departure, surrendering to it despite himself. His double position—observer and comrade—lets him see the vanity, courag
- [John Trenchard](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_dark_forest_se/characters/john_trenchard.md): Trenchard arrives in Petrograd newly engaged to Marie Ivanovna, only to be gently set aside for Semyonov, a humiliation he bears with a dignity no one quite credits. Semyonov despises him, the Sisters spoil him, and the 
- [Alexei Petrovitch Semyonov](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_dark_forest_se/characters/alexei_petrovitch_semyonov.md): Semyonov rules the Otriad by the sheer force of his contempt for sentiment, and his judgment of the others as a worthless bundle of rubbish has been accepted by nearly everyone. His love for Marie Ivanovna is the one emo
- [Marie Ivanovna](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_dark_forest_se/characters/marie_ivanovna.md): Marie Ivanovna arrives at the unit radiant with excitement, engaged to Trenchard within a night of meeting him, and soon transfers that engagement to Semyonov without ever quite understanding what she has done. Her ignor
- [Dr. Nikitin](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_dark_forest_se/characters/dr_nikitin.md): Nikitin moves through the Otriad like a king travelling in disguise, tall, remote, and absorbed in visions the others cannot share. His first operation reveals a surgeon of the first rank, and Semyonov recognises it at o
- [Andrey Vassilievitch](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_dark_forest_se/characters/andrey_vassilievitch.md): Andrey Vassilievitch wakes the narrator with news of the advance, his fat hand trembling on the bed, and admits in the same breath that he is frightened and cannot say of what. He mourns his remarkable wife, treasures hi
- [The Otriad](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_dark_forest_se/characters/the_otriad.md): The Otriad is less a unit than a weather system: it expects shame from those it treats, gets excited by results rather than causes, and dissolves into helpless laughter at the gravest moments. Its collective voice is pet
- [Molozov](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_dark_forest_se/characters/molozov.md): A soldier or officer mentioned in the unit, possibly a patient or subordinate.
- [Mr. Durward](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_dark_forest_se/characters/mr_durward.md): An Englishman associated with Trenchard, appearing in the narrative.
- [Doctor Semyonov](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_dark_forest_se/characters/doctor_semyonov.md): Another doctor in the unit, possibly distinct from Alexei Petrovitch Semyonov.
- [Russians](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_dark_forest_se/characters/russians.md): Collective group of Russian soldiers or civilians in the narrative.
- [Anna Petrovna](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_dark_forest_se/characters/anna_petrovna.md): A nurse in the unit, one of the sisters.
- [The Feldsher](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_dark_forest_se/characters/the_feldsher.md): A medical assistant or paramedic in the unit.
- [Alexandra Pavlovna](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_dark_forest_se/characters/alexandra_pavlovna.md): A woman mentioned in the narrative, possibly a patient or acquaintance.
- [The Stout Doctor](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_dark_forest_se/characters/the_stout_doctor.md): A doctor seen earlier in the narrative, possibly a recurring figure.
- [Goga](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_dark_forest_se/characters/goga.md): A character mentioned in the narrative, possibly a patient or soldier.
- [Krylov](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_dark_forest_se/characters/krylov.md): A character mentioned in the narrative, possibly a patient or officer.
- [Colonel Maximoff](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_dark_forest_se/characters/colonel_maximoff.md): A colonel in the Russian army, mentioned in the narrative.

HTML index: https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_dark_forest_se/characters