person
Belikov
also: Беликов
A teacher of Greek at the gymnasium and the story's title character, who encases every part of his life -- galoshes, umbrella, watch, even his opinions -- against the risk that something should come of change; his death follows a failed courtship of Varenka and a public humiliation at her brother Kovalenko's hands.
Reading notes
- The Man in a Case §5 Belikov
A teacher of Greek at the gymnasium, dead a couple of months when the story opens; his lifelong effort to seal himself off from reality behind galoshes, umbrella, and unbending rules gives the story its title and its theme.