person
Ilya Loshadin
Loshadin
also: Лошадин, Илья Лошадин, Consterble, Цоцкай, Consterble, Ilya Loshadin
The old village constable (sotsky) who has carried official papers on foot for thirty years since the Emancipation. His own mangled pronunciation of "sotsky" as "Consterble" becomes, by the story's final scene, effectively his name; his patient, uncomplaining service and his merging with Lesnitsky in Lyzhin's dream give the story its moral weight.
Reading notes
- On Official Business §3 Ilya Loshadin
The old village constable who has carried official papers on foot for thirty years; his patient, self-effacing loyalty runs through the whole story and shapes its close.
- On Official Business §5 Consterble
Loshadin's own mangled pronunciation of "sotsky" (constable), which he even signs at the post office; by the story's final scene it has become, in effect, his own name.