A Transgression (Chekhov)
Short summary
Russia, presumably late 19th century. Collegiate assessor Miguev was walking home when he discovered a baby left on his doorstep. He immediately suspected his former housemaid Agnia, who had recently threatened to leave her baby at his door unless he paid her five thousand roubles.
Terrified of scandal, Miguev decided to leave the baby on someone else's doorstep. As he carried the infant through dark streets, he began feeling guilty about abandoning his own child. He looked at the sleeping baby and noticed it had his aquiline nose. His conscience troubled him as he imagined the child growing up unloved in a foundling hospital.
"'Oh, come what will! Damn it all! I'll take him, and let people say what they like!' Miguev took the baby and strode rapidly back. 'Let them say what they like,' he thought. 'I'll go at once, fall on my knees...'"
Miguev returned home, fell on his knees before his wife, and confessed his affair with Agnia. However, before his wife could respond, he fled outside in shame. There, the porter informed him that the washerwoman Aksinya had briefly left her baby on the steps, and someone had taken it. Miguev realized his mistake and hurriedly explained to his bewildered wife that it was all a joke.
Detailed summary
Division into chapters is editorial.
Miguevs discovery of the baby
During his evening walk, collegiate assessor Miguev stopped at a telegraph post and sighed deeply. A week earlier, his former housemaid Agnia had confronted him at this very spot, threatening to leave her baby at his doorstep and expose his infidelity to his wife unless he deposited five thousand roubles in her name. Miguev regretted his momentary indiscretion that had caused him such distress.
Upon returning to his bungalow around ten o'clock, Miguev sat on the doorstep to rest. The street was deserted, with elderly summer visitors already in bed and younger ones walking in the woods. As he searched his pockets for a match, his elbow touched something soft on the step. Looking down, he discovered a bundle wrapped in what felt like a wadded quilt. When he reached inside, he felt something warm and damp.
"'She has left it!' he muttered wrathfully through his teeth, clenching his fists. 'Here it lies... Here lies my transgression! O Lord!' He was numb with terror, anger, and shame... What was he to do now?"
Miguevs panic and plan to abandon the baby
Miguev was overwhelmed with fear about the consequences of this discovery. He worried about his wife finding out, his colleagues at the office mocking him, and his reputation being ruined if the incident became public knowledge. Through the open window, he could hear his wife preparing supper, while the porter Yermolay played the balalaika in the yard. If the baby woke and cried, his secret would be immediately exposed.
Desperate to avoid discovery, Miguev decided to take the baby and leave it on someone else's doorstep before anyone noticed. He picked up the bundle and walked down the street, trying to appear casual while frantically considering where to abandon the child.
"A collegiate assessor walking down the street with a baby! Good heavens! if anyone sees me and understands the position, I am done for... I'd better put it on this doorstep... No, stay, the windows are open..."
Eventually, Miguev decided to take the baby to the merchant Myelkin's villa, reasoning that wealthy merchants were kindhearted and might adopt the child.
Miguevs journey and growing attachment
As Miguev walked through a dark, deserted alley lined with lime trees, he began to feel guilty about his actions. He questioned the morality of abandoning an innocent baby who had done him no harm. He worried about the child's future in a foundling hospital, growing up without love or care, perhaps becoming a shoemaker despite being the son of a collegiate assessor.
"'How mean it is really!' he thought. 'So mean that one can't imagine anything meaner... Why are we shifting this poor baby from door to door? It's not its fault that it's been born. It's done us no harm."
When Miguev emerged from the shade into the moonlight, he opened the bundle to look at the baby. He noticed the child had an aquiline nose like his own. The baby was sleeping peacefully, unaware that his father was looking at him. Miguev felt emotional and apologetic toward the innocent child.
Throughout his journey to the Myelkins' villa, Miguev's conscience troubled him. He imagined how different his life could be if he were honest and brave enough to confess to his wife and ask her to adopt the child. He pictured himself at home with the boy playing nearby, and felt something warm and tender in his heart alongside his fears of social consequences.
Miguevs change of heart
Upon reaching the Myelkins' villa, Miguev carefully placed the baby on the verandah step and started to walk away. He felt another emotional pang and muttered an apology to the child. But after taking just a few steps, he suddenly changed his mind.
With newfound resolve, Miguev decided to face the consequences of his actions. He picked up the baby and hurried back home, determined to confess everything to his wife. He thought they could raise the child together, naming him Vladimir if a boy or Anna if a girl, finding comfort in their old age.
"Weeping and almost faint with shame and terror, full of hope and vague rapture, he went into his bungalow, went up to his wife, and fell on his knees before her... 'I have sinned! This is my child...'"
The unexpected revelation
Without waiting for his wife's response, Miguev ran outside, planning to stay there until she had time to process his confession. As he stood outside, the porter Yermolay passed by twice, looking at him strangely and shrugging his shoulders.
Finally, Yermolay explained that the washerwoman Aksinya had recently left her baby on the doorstep while she visited him, and someone had taken it. Shocked by this revelation, Miguev returned to his wife, who was still staring at the baby in amazement and anger.
Realizing his mistake, Miguev quickly claimed that his confession had been a joke. He insisted that the baby belonged to the washerwoman, not to him, and told his wife to take it to the porter. His dramatic moral crisis had been resolved by an unexpected twist of fate.