In this story, we read the dynamics
of romantic love almost at the Platonic level. It tries to show that ‘love’ as
such is not bound by m arital relations. In a country house, there were three
persons having breakfast. Alyohin, the narrator, and his guests Burkin and Ivan
Ivanych. Just then Nikanor the cook came in asked what to prepare for dinner.
According to Alyohin, Pelageya loved this cook. She did not want to marry him
but was ready to live with him just so. The cook was deeply religious and
therefore he was ready to live with her if she married him.
Alyohin thinks that love is a
hindrance and a source of dissatisfaction and irritation. To prove this, he
starts telling his own story. Alyhin has been living a farmer’s life at Sofyino
since he graduated from the University. As a graduate, he was not fit for rough
work but his father had spent a lot of money on his education by mortgaging the
estate. So, he had to work hard until he paid off the debt. Although he was a
landowner, he would work with his men and women like a present. He also tried
to maintain his civilized life by reading books and by drinking coffee and liqueur
after lunch and dinner. Later in summer, he would be so tired that he could not
go upstairs to his bed. He would sleep anywhere and began to eat in the
servant’s kitchen.
He had been elected honorary
magistrate many years before. And sometimes he had to go to town to take part
in court sessions. Then he would lead a luxurious life and meet educated
persons. He made friends in the town. One of the friends was Luganovich, who
unexpectedly invited him to dinner. In his house, he met Anna Alexeyevna,
Luganov’s wife. Her first baby was born just six months before. She was a
young, beautiful, kind, intelligent, fascinating woman. When he was near her,
he felt as if he had been familiar with her long ago in his childhood. Her
husband was good-natured and simple-minded. He could not express his personal
opinion on the decision of the court even at dinner and in private conversation.
Both the husband and the wife entertained the guest. Their active participation
made him think that they lived in peace and harmony. Alyohin spent the whole
summer at Sofyino. Her memory remained in his mind all those months. He felt as
if her shadow was lying lightly in his soul.
In the late autumn, Alyohin attended
a charity show in the town and he saw Anna there. She looked wonderfully
beautiful with her lovely and caressing eyes and she gave him the same feeling
of nearness. She said that he looked dull and old and that she expected that he
would come to the theater. The next day he lunched with the Luganoviches. After
that, he would visit the family every time he went to town. He went into their
house as though he were one of the family. She would welcome him and ask why he
hadn’t seen them for so long. Her gaze, her beautiful hand, her simple dress,
her hairstyle, her voice her gait would make him feel new, extraordinary, and
very important. They would talk for hours. if she was not in the home, he would
wait for her. When she came home from the market, he would take all her parcels
from her as a boy. Alyohin, an educated person, was not devoted to scholarship
or literary work, but worked on the farm and yet was penniless. This distressed
the Luganoviches. The considered that Alyohin tried to hide his sufferings.
They requested him to borrow some money from them. But he never accepted money
from them.
Alyohin was unhappy. He wondered why
Anna had married Luganovich, not him. Luganovich was not energetic, but old and
obedient. Whenever he went to the town, he would find that she was expecting
him. They would talk for a long time, but they never told that they loved each
other. They tried to conceal it. He loved her deeply but had no strength to
fight against it. He supposed that his gentle love could ruin the life of her
husband, her children and it was not a good thing. If he had married her, she
would not have been happier in his country house. They might not have loved
each other afterward. Anns also might have thought like this. She might not
make him happy because she was not young enough for him and not laborious to
start a new life. So, she would ask her husband to find a suitable girl for
Alyohin. He would come to the Luganoviches’ and he was warmly welcomed there.
He would to the theatre with her. In the hall, they would sit side by side, and
he felt that she was his own. But when came out, they would go separately as
strangers.
Anna’s behavior had been changed
recently. She would frequently go to her mother and sister. She began to be
moody. She felt that her life was unsatisfactory and ruined. At such times she
did not care to see her husband and her children. She was being treated for
nervous tiredness. She would disagree with Alyohin and wanted to tease him
knowingly. Luganovich was transferred to the western provinces and Anna had to
go to Crimea for her treatment. A lot of people had come to the railway station
to see Anna off. She had said goodbye to her husband and her children. But she
had almost forgotten her basket. Alyohin ran into her compartment with it and
then he had to say goodbye. When their eyes met together, their spiritual
strength left them. He took her in his arms. She pressed her face to his
breast, and tears flowed from her eyes. kissing her face, he said that he loved
her. Now he realized that the thing that stopped them from loving each other
was unimportant. He understood that one should reason about love from the
higher level and that one should not think of happiness or unhappiness, sin, or
virtue. He kissed her for the last time, pressed her hand, and separated from
her ever. The train was already moving. He went into another empty compartment.
Until he reached the next station, he sat crying. Then he walked home to
Sofyino.
The rain stopped and the sun came out. Burkin and Ivan enjoyed the scene outside. At the same time, they were sorry for Alyohin. He could make his life happier by doing something else instead of working on the farm. They also thought of Anna’s sorrowful face.
Reviewed by Bijay Munikar
on
July 08, 2020
Rating:
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