Mr. Pavlikovsky Character Analysis in The Goldfinch

is Boris’s father. He works in mining, a job that takes him all over the world. An alcoholic, he drinks so much that he has lost the nerve endings in his feet and has to walk with a cane. Although Mr. Pavlikovsky beats Boris, Boris is surprisingly nonchalant and forgiving about this, claiming it is not a big deal.

Mr. Pavlikovsky Character Timeline in The Goldfinch

The timeline below shows where the character Mr. Pavlikovsky appears in The Goldfinch. The colored dots and icons indicate which themes are associated with that appearance.

Theo imagined Mr. Pavlikovsky to be muscular and tough-looking, and is surprised to find that he is actually thin... (full context)

...explains that he told his father that he would be staying at Theo’s house while Mr. Pavlikovsky is away at the mine. He says that he lied about Theo’s address and gave... (full context)

...Andy, but Kitsey says they have to go and hangs up. After Thanksgiving, Theo sees Mr. Pavlikovsky a couple more times and has brief but pleasant enough interactions with him. However, one... (full context)

Boris and Mr. Pavlikovsky have a fight, which mostly consists of Mr. Pavlikovsky yelling at Boris, until he unexpectedly... (full context)

On the playground, Boris tells Theo that Mr. Pavlikovsky has killed people, and once beat a man to death at the mine in Papua... (full context)

Theo comments that what Mr. Pavlikovsky did to Boris was “crazy,” but Boris brushes it off, saying he “provoked him on... (full context)

...“so much dirtier and unfriendlier than [he’d] remembered.” He craves a drink, and longs for Mr. Pavlikovsky ’s readily available supply of vodka. He is so hungry that he turns into an... (full context)