# Seryozha — The Faraway Bride character guide > Seryozha in The Faraway Bride by Stella Benson. **Role:** major **Also known as:** Seryozha, young Seryozha, III Seryozha, V Seryozha, VI Seryozha **First appearance:** 0002-the-faraway-bride ## Snapshot A newly married young man who traded his mother's house for a beautiful stranger, only to find adulthood a trap baited with orchids and wide draughty days. ## Who they are Seryozha has come home to Manchuria with a wife, Tanya, and a feverish longing to crawl back into the egg of yesterday. He kicks stones, whistles flatly, and watches his dog splash in a toy river that mirrors the golden spring of his childhood. His marriage is exquisite and unbearable; a stranger can lie in his arms all night and never be known. His reluctant maturity pulls the whole family's waiting into motion. ## Relationships ### [Old Sergei](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_faraway_bride_se/characters/old_sergei) _family_ Old Sergei and Seryozha are probably father and son or grandfather and grandson, with a warm and frequent connection. ### [Wilfred Chew](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_faraway_bride_se/characters/wilfred_chew) _friendship_ Seryozha and Wilfred Chew are close friends or allies, interacting often in a supportive manner. ### [Anna Semionovna](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_faraway_bride_se/characters/anna_semionovna) _family_ Anna Semionovna and Seryozha have a strong family relationship, likely as mother and son or aunt and nephew. ### [Tatiana Ostapenko](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_faraway_bride_se/characters/tatiana_ostapenko) _romantic_ Seryozha and Tatiana Ostapenko are involved in a romantic relationship, with frequent interactions suggesting deep affection. ### [Pavel Ostapenko](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_faraway_bride_se/characters/pavel_ostapenko) _rivalry_ Pavel Ostapenko and Seryozha are competitors or enemies, likely due to romantic or family conflicts. ### [Anna Semionovna](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_faraway_bride_se/characters/anna_semionovna) _family_ Anna Semionovna and Seryozha have a strong family relationship, likely as mother and son or aunt and nephew. ### [Old Sergei](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_faraway_bride_se/characters/old_sergei) _family_ Old Sergei and Seryozha are probably father and son or grandfather and grandson, with a warm and frequent connection. ### [Wilfred Chew](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_faraway_bride_se/characters/wilfred_chew) _friendship_ Seryozha and Wilfred Chew are close friends or allies, interacting often in a supportive manner. ### [Old Sergei](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_faraway_bride_se/characters/old_sergei) _family_ Old Sergei and Seryozha are probably father and son or grandfather and grandson, with a warm and frequent connection. ### [Pavel Ostapenko](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_faraway_bride_se/characters/pavel_ostapenko) _rivalry_ Pavel Ostapenko and Seryozha are competitors or enemies, likely due to romantic or family conflicts. ### [Wilfred Chew](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_faraway_bride_se/characters/wilfred_chew) _friendship_ Seryozha and Wilfred Chew are close friends or allies, interacting often in a supportive manner. ### [Tatiana Ostapenko](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_faraway_bride_se/characters/tatiana_ostapenko) _romantic_ Seryozha and Tatiana Ostapenko are involved in a romantic relationship, with frequent interactions suggesting deep affection. ## In the story ### [The Faraway Bride](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_faraway_bride_se/chapters/the-faraway-bride) Travels to Seoul with Wilfred Chew, leaving his mother Anna behind. ### [I](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_faraway_bride_se/chapters/i) Follows his father unwillingly, sings while crossing fords, buries the dead with flowers, chants mock blessings, pretends to go home but doubles back. ### [III](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_faraway_bride_se/chapters/iii) Seryozha dismisses his father's advice, whistles through the conversation, and reveals his plan to travel to Seoul to fetch forgotten money, showing his youthful defiance and independence. ### [V](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_faraway_bride_se/chapters/v) Defiant and hopeful; rejects curd cakes, longs to escape, and ultimately embraces his mother when the journey is approved. ### [VI](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_faraway_bride_se/chapters/vi) Travels with Wilfred, catches a salmon by hand, haggles with the innkeeper, and expresses a naturalistic view of the Korean grave festivities. ### [VIII](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_faraway_bride_se/chapters/viii) Visits the Ostapenko house for the feast; learns of Alexander Weber's suicide; feels a disconnect between Tatiana and the tragedy; defends women against Pavel's criticism. ### [IX](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_faraway_bride_se/chapters/ix) Sends a bald letter announcing his marriage to Tatiana Pavlovna Ostapenko; Anna imagines him as a victim of Tatiana's 'death-like' allure. ### [X](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_faraway_bride_se/chapters/x) Sits in a dreamy state, absorbed in his silent connection with Tatiana, only half-listening to Pavel's boasts. ### [XI](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_faraway_bride_se/chapters/xi) Reflects on the loss of childhood innocence and the unease of adulthood; frees a bird from a clay ball; shares a moment of intimacy with Tanya. ### [XIII](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_faraway_bride_se/chapters/xiii) Struggles with self-consciousness in marriage, feels trapped by domesticity, and impulsively joins Pavel's expedition. ### [XIV](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_faraway_bride_se/chapters/xiv) Returns home after marriage, feeling ideally treated for the first time but quickly sullen upon seeing his mother. ### [I](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_faraway_bride_se/chapters/i) Tobias, son of Tobit and Anna. ### [II](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_faraway_bride_se/chapters/ii) Sent by Tobit to find a poor man; reports the strangled countryman. ### [Tobit's Anxiety and Tobias's Return](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_faraway_bride_se/chapters/x) Tobias (Seryozha) insists on returning to his parents despite Raguel's offer to send word, showing his filial concern. ### [XI](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_faraway_bride_se/chapters/xi) Tobias returns to Nineveh, heals his father's blindness with the fish gall, and recounts his journey. ## Links - HTML: https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_faraway_bride_se/characters/seryozha - Book: https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_faraway_bride_se - All characters: https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_faraway_bride_se/characters