A Gentleman Friend (Chekhov)
Short summary
England, early 20th century. Vanda Kanavkin found herself homeless and penniless after leaving the hospital. She pawned her only jewelry, a turquoise ring, for one rouble, but this was insufficient for her needs. Desperate for fashionable clothes, she decided to visit a former gentleman friend to ask for money.
She chose to visit Finkel, a dentist who had once given her a bracelet. Upon arriving at his luxurious home, Vanda felt ashamed of her shabby appearance and lost her usual boldness. When Finkel didn't recognize her, she pretended to have a toothache.
The dentist examined her, extracted her tooth, and then charged her the very rouble she had obtained from pawning her ring. Humiliated and in pain, Vanda left his office.
She walked along the street, spitting blood, and brooding on her life, her ugly, wretched life, and the insults she had endured, and would have to endure tomorrow, and next week, and all her life, up to the very day of her death.
However, the very next day, Vanda was back at the Renaissance club, dancing in new fashionable clothes and being taken to supper by a young merchant from Kazan.
Detailed summary
Division into chapters is editorial.
Vandas desperate situation after leaving the hospital
Upon leaving the hospital, Vanda found herself in an unfamiliar predicament: she had no home and no money. Her first action was to visit a pawnbroker where she pawned her only piece of jewelry, a turquoise ring, receiving just one rouble for it.
She felt as though the very horses and dogs were staring and laughing at the plainness of her dress. And clothes were all she thought about: the question what she should eat and where she should sleep did not trouble her in the least.
The search for a gentleman friend to help her
Vanda's thoughts turned to finding a gentleman friend who might give her money. She knew none would refuse her, but she couldn't go to the Renaissance club in her shabby dress without a hat, where she might have met such acquaintances in the evening.
After much deliberation, Vanda decided to visit one of her gentleman friends directly to ask for money. She considered her options carefully. Misha was married and therefore out of the question.
The old man with red hair would be at his office at this time of day.
Finally, Vanda remembered Finkel, a dentist and converted Jew who had once given her a bracelet. She had previously emptied a glass of beer on his head during a supper at the German Club. She was pleased with this choice, believing he would surely help her if she found him at home.
The visit to dentist Finkel and Vandas shame
Before ringing Finkel's bell, Vanda had planned to run laughing up the stairs and boldly demand twenty-five roubles. However, as she touched the bell, her confidence vanished. She suddenly felt timid and humiliated, ashamed of her everyday clothes that made her look like a beggar or working girl.
When she rang the bell hesitantly, a porter answered and ushered her into the hall, helping her remove her coat.
And it seemed strange to Vanda that, now that she was humbly dressed and looked like a laundress or sewing girl, she felt ashamed, and no trace of her usual boldness and sauciness remained, and in her own mind she no longer thought of herself as Vanda...
A maidservant showed Vanda into the consulting room and informed her that the doctor would arrive shortly.
Vanda sank into a soft armchair, planning to ask Finkel for a loan. She felt uncomfortable with the maidservant present and wished she would leave.
The painful tooth extraction and humiliation
When Finkel entered, he appeared different from how Vanda remembered him. At the Renaissance and German Club, he had been tipsy and generous with women, tolerating their pranks. Now he looked solemn and frigid, chewing something with a cross, sleepy expression.
Finkel asked what he could do for her, not recognizing Vanda. Embarrassed by the maidservant's presence and Finkel's formal demeanor, Vanda claimed she had a toothache. The dentist examined her mouth, probing a tooth with his tobacco-stained fingers.
Finkel advised against saving the tooth and proceeded to extract it without further discussion. Vanda felt a sharp pain and clutched his hand, but he reassured her the tooth wasn't worth keeping. The maidservant held a basin for Vanda to rinse her mouth as Finkel showed her the extracted tooth.
As Vanda turned to leave, Finkel jokingly reminded her about his fee. Blushing with shame, she handed him the rouble she had received for her ring.
Reflection on the street: contemplating a wretched life
When Vanda left the dentist's office, she felt even more ashamed than before. However, her shame was no longer about her poverty or lack of fashionable clothes. Walking along the street and spitting blood, she reflected on her miserable life and the insults she had endured.
She contemplated the suffering she would continue to face tomorrow, next week, and throughout her entire life until death. The realization of her situation filled her with despair.
Return to familiar patterns: back at the Renaissance
Despite her reflections on her wretched life, the very next day Vanda was back at the Renaissance, dancing as before. She wore an enormous new red hat, a fashionable jacket, and bronze shoes. A young merchant from Kazan took her out to supper.
Next day, however, she was back at the Renaissance, and dancing there. She had on an enormous new red hat, a new fashionable jacket, and bronze shoes. And she was taken out to supper by a young merchant up from Kazan.