Dreams (Chekhov)
Short summary
Rural Russia, late 19th century. Two peasant constables were escorting a nameless tramp to the district town through a foggy, muddy landscape. The tramp refused to reveal his identity, claiming he couldn't remember his name.
During their journey, the curious constable Andrey Ptaha questioned the tramp about his background.
Eventually, the tramp revealed his story: his mother was a house serf who accidentally (or perhaps intentionally) poisoned her master. Both were sentenced to penal servitude, but the tramp had escaped. He refused to disclose his name to avoid being sent back to hard labor. Instead, he dreamed of being exiled to Siberia, where he could start a new life with land, a house, and simple pleasures like fishing.
Into the tramp's mind thronged clear and distinct pictures more terrible than that expanse. Before him rose vividly the picture of the long legal delays and procrastinations, the temporary and permanent prisons...
The constable Nikandr shattered these dreams by pointing out the tramp's physical weakness, saying he would never survive the journey to Siberia. Realizing the truth of this, the tramp began trembling in fear. The three continued their journey in silence, with the tramp more bent and broken than before.
Detailed summary
Division into chapters is editorial.
Introduction to the travelers in the foggy wilderness
Two peasant constables escorted a tramp who refused to remember his name to the district town. The first constable, Andrey Ptaha, was a stubby man with exceptionally short legs and a frivolous air. The second constable, Nikandr Sapozhnikov, was long, thin, and had a grave demeanor.
The travellers had been a long while on their way, but they seemed to be always on the same small patch of ground. In front of them there stretched thirty feet of muddy black-brown mud, behind them the same...
The mysterious tramps refined manners and background
The tramp they escorted was a frail, sickly-looking man over thirty with small, colorless features. He had scanty eyebrows, a mild expression, and barely a trace of mustache. He spoke in an ingratiating tenor and continually coughed. His appearance did not match the typical conception of a tramp, as he was more refined in manner.
Ptaha was puzzled by how a sober man could forget his own name. When questioned, the tramp confirmed he was an Orthodox Christian who observed religious duties. He explained that he was a peasant by birth, but his mother had been a house serf who worked as a nurse for the gentry. She had raised him with refined manners, taught him to read and write, and instilled the fear of God in him from childhood.
Revelations of a criminal past and escape from prison
After walking nearly five miles, the constables and the tramp sat down on a mound to rest. The tramp sighed and explained that revealing his name would only make things worse for him. He confessed that he had been a convict who had served four years with his head shaved and fetters on his legs.
When Ptaha asked about his crime, the tramp revealed that when he was eighteen, his mother had poisoned his master by accidentally putting arsenic instead of soda in his glass. He explained that there were many boxes in the storeroom, making it easy to mistake one substance for another. However, he hinted that perhaps his mother had done it deliberately because the master had taken another mistress.
The trial lasted nearly two years. His mother was sentenced to twenty years of penal servitude, while he received seven years as an accomplice since he had handed the glass to the master. The tramp then revealed that he had escaped from prison with thirteen other convicts. He pleaded with the constables not to tell anyone, as he would be sent back to penal servitude, which he described as unbearable for a refined man like himself.
Dreams of freedom in Siberia
The tramp explained that he was not afraid of being sent to Eastern Siberia. Unlike the crowded, hellish conditions of penal servitude, in a settlement he would be a member of a commune like other people. The authorities would give him his share of land, which he could use to build a life.
"In a settlement I shall be a member of a commune like other people. The authorities are bound by law to give me my share... They say the land costs nothing, no more than snow; you can take what you like!"
With growing enthusiasm, the tramp described how he would plough fields, sow seeds, have cattle and bees, build a house, buy icons, get married, and have children. His greatest pleasure, he explained, was fishing. He described in detail the special techniques for catching different types of fish and reminisced about fishing in the rivers near the prison while other convicts slept.
The tramp's little mouth was screwed up in a smile. His eyes and little nose and his whole face were fixed and blank with blissful anticipation of happiness in the distant future. The constables listened...
As the tramp spoke, the constables listened gravely and with sympathy. They too began to imagine a free life they had never experienced, picturing the broad rivers, impenetrable forests, and boundless steppes. They envisioned a man walking along a steep bank at dawn, surrounded by ancient pines, facing rocks and thorny bushes without fear, strong in body and bold in spirit.
The crushing return to reality
Nikandr Sapozhnikov was the first to break the silence. He looked sternly at the tramp and told him that he would never reach those plenteous regions. Before traveling two hundred miles, the weakling would die. The tramp turned slowly toward Nikandr, and the blissful smile vanished from his face.
The man who had forgotten his name looked at the stern, unconcerned faces of his sinister companions, and without taking off his cap, hurriedly crossed himself... He trembled, his head shook, and he began twitching...
Ptaha agreed that the tramp would die, as he was too weak to make such a journey. The tramp, confronted with this harsh reality, began to tremble. His head shook, and he twitched all over like a caterpillar when stepped upon. Nikandr announced it was time to go, and a minute later they were walking along the muddy road. The tramp was more bent than ever, thrusting his hands further up his sleeves, while Ptaha walked in silence.