# Nasanski — The Duel character guide

> Nasanski in The Duel by Aleksandr Kuprin.

**Role:** supporting

**Also known as:** Lieutenant Nasanski, that wretched Nasanski, XXI Nasanski

**First appearance:** 0000-i

## Snapshot

A brilliant, ruined officer whose drunken philosophy offers Romashov the one honest voice in a garrison of posturers.

## Who they are

Nasanski has read everything, lost everything, and now drinks to keep his hallucinations at bay, drifting through the regiment as a cautionary tale. He sees through the code of honor with painful clarity and urges Romashov to refuse the duel, arguing that killing a man is a wound time never closes. His tenderness toward Romashov, and his own disintegration, give the novel its sharpest counterweight to military bravado.

## Relationships

### [Sublieutenant Romashov](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_duel_2_se/characters/sublieutenant_romashov)

_friendship_

Nasanski is Romashov's philosophical and alcoholic friend, offering cynical wisdom and emotional support.

### [Sublieutenant Romashov](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_duel_2_se/characters/sublieutenant_romashov)

_friendship_

Nasanski is Romashov's philosophical and alcoholic friend, offering cynical wisdom and emotional support.

### [Sublieutenant Romashov](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_duel_2_se/characters/sublieutenant_romashov)

_friendship_

Nasanski is Romashov's philosophical and alcoholic friend, offering cynical wisdom and emotional support.

## In the story

### [IV](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_duel_2_se/chapters/iv)

Mentioned by Shurochka as an example of a hopeless sot among the officers.

### [V](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_duel_2_se/chapters/v)

Romashov visits him; Nasanski shows Romashov a letter from Alexandra Petrovna, revealing a past romantic rejection.

### [Chapter XX](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_duel_2_se/chapters/xx)

Thought of by Romashov as a potential sympathetic friend in his hour of need.

### [Chapter XXI](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_duel_2_se/chapters/xxi)

Delivers a lengthy, impassioned critique of military life and the officer corps, argues against the duel, and weeps while affirming the beauty of life.

### [Chapter XXII](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_duel_2_se/chapters/xxii)

Nasanski is mentioned by Shurochka as someone Nikoläiev told her about in connection with Romashov's earlier visit.

## Links

- HTML: https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_duel_2_se/characters/nasanski
- Book: https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_duel_2_se
- All characters: https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_duel_2_se/characters