# Yanek — The Peasants character guide

> Yanek in The Peasants by Władysław Reymont.

**Role:** supporting

**Also known as:** Mr. Yanek, Master Yanek

**First appearance:** 0003-i

## Snapshot

A young man from a wealthier household, devout and sheltered, whose overheard whispers about Yagna ignite a torment of desire and disgust he cannot pray away.

## Who they are

Yanek moves between the church, his family's prosperous farm, and the village's simmering gossip, his piety carefully tended by a loving mother. When he overhears talk of Yagna's nighttime meetings and kisses, the revelation shakes him into feverish fantasies and shame he cannot confess. His struggle between religious fervor and forbidden longing makes him a mirror of the village's own divided conscience about desire and reputation.

## Relationships

### [Yagna Borynova](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_peasants_se/characters/yagna_borynova)

_romantic_

Yagna is the object of young Yanek's infatuation, a one-sided romantic obsession from a naive boy.

### [Yagna Borynova](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_peasants_se/characters/yagna_borynova)

_romantic_

Yagna is the object of young Yanek's infatuation, a one-sided romantic obsession from a naive boy.

### [Yagna Borynova](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_peasants_se/characters/yagna_borynova)

_romantic_

Yagna is the object of young Yanek's infatuation, a one-sided romantic obsession from a naive boy.

## In the story

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

Visits Boryna's home, brings news of Antek, and gives colored wafers for Christmas decorations.

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

Collects money in the churchyard, dressed in a priest's cassock, and catches Yagna's attention.

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

The parish priest who counsels Antek and struggles with his horses grazing in Klemba's clover.

### [VIII](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_peasants_se/chapters/viii)

Arrives in a cart after the vote; Gregory informs him of the day's events.

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

Meets Yagna in the forest, returns home to his mother, helps the priest capture a swarm of bees, visits old Agata, and walks through the village.

### [Chapter XII](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_peasants_se/chapters/xii)

Confronted by his mother about Yagna; struggles with doubt and anguish; overhears Pete and Maryna; serves at the pilgrimage Mass.

## Links

- HTML: https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_peasants_se/characters/yanek
- Book: https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_peasants_se
- All characters: https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_peasants_se/characters