# A Dead Body explained — Short Fiction > Chapter companion for Short Fiction by Anton Chekhov. ## What happens Two peasants keep watch over a dead body on a misty August night. A passing pilgrim is terrified by the corpse and eventually pays one of the men to escort him to the village, leaving the simpleton Syoma alone with the body. ## Themes in this chapter ### Mortality and Legacy The dead body is a stark reminder of mortality, and the peasants' discussion of suicide versus natural death reflects concerns about the soul's fate. ### Isolation and Loneliness The solitary watch in the dark forest, the pilgrim's fear, and Syoma's simple isolation all evoke a deep sense of loneliness. ### Hypocrisy and Moral Failure The pilgrim's reluctance to donate money for the burial if the death was a suicide reveals a self-serving moral calculus. ## Character check-ins ### Syoma A simpleton peasant with a goat-beard, left alone to watch the dead body. ### The Tramp A young peasant with thick black eyebrows, who chides Syoma for his foolishness and later escorts the pilgrim. ### The Stranger A pilgrim in a monkish cassock who is terrified of the dead body and pays for an escort. ## Key lines > A dead body, covered from head to foot with new white linen, is lying under a young oak tree. A wooden icon is lying on its breast. A corpse wrapped in fresh white cloth rests beneath an oak, with an icon placed on its chest. _Opening description of the corpse and its setting._ > If he died a natural death it would go for the good of his soul; if it's a suicide it's a sin. Donating for the burial helps the soul only if the death was natural; if it was suicide, the money would be sinful. _The pilgrim's dilemma about giving alms for the dead._ > Give me a thousand roubles and I would not consent to sit here. No amount of money could make me stay here watching the corpse. _The pilgrim expresses his terror of the dead body._ ## Links - HTML: https://www.betterreads.online/discover/short_fiction_5_se/chapters/a-dead-body - Book: https://www.betterreads.online/discover/short_fiction_5_se - All chapters: https://www.betterreads.online/discover/short_fiction_5_se/chapters