# Coward explained — Short Fiction

> Chapter companion for Short Fiction by Vsevolod Garshin.

## What happens

The narrator grapples with his pacifist convictions as the war drags on, facing the inevitability of his own conscription. He visits the dying Kuzma Thomich, whose suffering and tender moments with Mary Petrovna highlight the personal cost of war. A conversation with Vassili Petrovich recounts the story of a surgeon who hanged himself rather than endure the horrors of the battlefield, deepening the narrator's existential dread.

## Themes in this chapter

### Horrors of War

The narrator's visceral reaction to casualty reports and the story of the surgeon's suicide illustrate the psychological and physical brutality of war.

### Death and Mortality

Kuzma's dying moments, his fear of death, and the narrator's own dread of mortality are central to the chapter.

### Moral Ambiguity and Guilt

The narrator wrestles with guilt over his pacifism, his perceived failures toward Kuzma, and the moral conflict of being forced to kill.

## Character check-ins

### Kuzma Thomich

Dying patient, irritable and in pain, finds solace in Mary Petrovna's care; expresses fear of death and regret.

### Mary Petrovna

Tenderly nurses Kuzma, kisses him, and brings him comfort in his final moments.

### Vassili Petrovich

Cynical and surly, tells the narrator the story of a surgeon who committed suicide to escape war's horrors.

### Lvoff

Medical student and friend, pragmatic about war, performs a painful operation on Kuzma; argues with narrator about inevitability of conscription.

### Masha

Mentioned as having decided to become a hospital nurse.

## Key lines

> I shall always reproach myself that I did not take pity on him, did not appreciate his cleverness, his love, his devotion.

The narrator feels eternal guilt for not showing compassion or recognizing Kuzma's qualities.

_Reflects the narrator's remorse and the theme of moral ambiguity._

> My God, how I do not want to die!

Kuzma expresses a desperate wish to live despite his suffering.

_Highlights the universal fear of death._

> If the man could not stand even seeing such suffering, how will you be able to stand it?

Vassili Petrovich questions the narrator's ability to endure the war's horrors.

_Foreshadows the narrator's psychological struggle._

## Links

- HTML: https://www.betterreads.online/discover/short_fiction_56_se/chapters/coward
- Book: https://www.betterreads.online/discover/short_fiction_56_se
- All chapters: https://www.betterreads.online/discover/short_fiction_56_se/chapters