Simon Shashava Character Analysis in The Caucasian Chalk Circle

A foot soldier who is in love with the servant-girl and protagonist, Grusha. After proposing marriage to Grusha early on in the play, before the Fat Prince’s coup, Simon is quickly separated from his beloved when he is called away to war. Grusha promises Simon she will wait for him, but after she adopts Michael Abashwili as her own, she finds herself helpless and needing to secure a husband and a home for herself and her child. When Simon returns from war years later, he finds Grusha living in the Northern mountains, married and caring for a young son (which he assumes is a product of the marriage). Simon is distraught, but later supports Grusha when she is brought to trial in Nuka. In the end, Simon and Grusha are happily reunited, and the judge Azdak divorces Grusha from her husband so that she is free to marry Simon.

Simon Shashava Quotes in The Caucasian Chalk Circle

The The Caucasian Chalk Circle quotes below are all either spoken by Simon Shashava or refer to Simon Shashava. For each quote, you can also see the other characters and themes related to it (each theme is indicated by its own dot and icon, like this one:

). Note: all page numbers and citation info for the quotes below refer to the University of Minnesota Press edition of The Caucasian Chalk Circle published in 1999.

“While you fought in the battle, soldier, the bloody battle, the bitter battle, I found a helpless infant. I had not the heart to destroy him. I had to care for a creature that was lost. I had to stoop for breadcrumbs on the floor. I had to break myself for that which was not mine, that which was other people’s. Someone must help! For the little tree needs water. The lamb loses its way when the shepherd is asleep and its cry is unheard!”

Related Characters: (speaker), (speaker), ,

Page Number and Citation: 61

Explanation and Analysis:

Simon Shashava Character Timeline in The Caucasian Chalk Circle

The timeline below shows where the character Simon Shashava appears in The Caucasian Chalk Circle. The colored dots and icons indicate which themes are associated with that appearance.

...river with a bundle in her arms. The girl’s name is Grusha Vashnadze. The soldier, Simon Shashava, teases her about not attending church. She tells him that she had to fetch... (full context)

Simon appears, and searches for Grusha. He finds her and asks her what she plans to... (full context)

Simon stops Grusha from leaving and asks if she still has living parents—Grusha tells him that... (full context)

Simon shows Grusha a cross on a chain made of silver, and asks her to wear... (full context)

...and where she is headed—she tells him the truth, that she is going to meet Simon, one of the Palace Guards back in Nuka. The Corporal teases Grusha rather lewdly before... (full context)

...has found a man who can be her husband. Grusha protests—she wants to wait for Simon, her betrothed—but Lavrenti insists that Grusha needs a “man on paper.” He has found the... (full context)

Grusha asks Lavrenti to promise her that he will send Simon right to her, if Lavrenti should find him. Lavrenti agrees to do so. The peasant... (full context)

...the awkwardness of the situation. Grusha is newly married, even as her lover, the soldier Simon, is on his way home to her. (full context)

...whom he claims is both his wife and not his wife. He tells her that Simon is never coming for her, and expresses his disgust for the fact that Grusha is... (full context)

...even more time, sings a song in which he describes Grusha waiting and waiting for Simon to come for her, but he never does, and with each “passing moon” his face... (full context)

...violent game, and when they all scatter and begin to chase each other, she notices Simon standing on the opposite bank of the river. (full context)

Simon and Grusha greet each other happily but with a stiff formality. Grusha thanks God that... (full context)

Arkadi sings the things that Simon and Grusha cannot say out loud to one another. He sings the story of Simon’s... (full context)

Simon tells Grusha to give him back the cross he gave her on the day of... (full context)

...Grusha if Michael is her child, and she tells them that he is. At this, Simon turns and leaves. Grusha calls out for him to stay. The soldiers tell Grusha that... (full context)

...believed that Natella would never find them. The cook tells Grusha that she has wronged Simon, who has also arrived back in Nuka, and who is now approaching Grusha and the... (full context)

Simon appears behind Grusha and offers to swear in court that he is the child’s father.... (full context)

Simon speaks up and says that he is the child’s father. The cook once again speaks... (full context)

Azdak asks Grusha why she married in the mountain village if she was engaged to Simon, and she confesses that she married to keep a roof over Michael’s head while Simon... (full context)

...Grusha from Jussup rather than divorcing the elderly couple. Before leaving, Azdak reminds Grusha and Simon of the forty piasters they owe him for speaking out of order in his court.... (full context)

Simon, Grusha, and Michael rejoice at being all together at last. Grusha dances with Michael, Simon... (full context)