Martyrs (Chekhov)
Short summary
Russia, late 19th century. Lizotchka Kudrinsky suddenly fell ill with stomach spasms after eating a carrot and turnip. Her husband Vassya stayed home from work to care for her.
While bedridden, Lizotchka had morbid thoughts about her own death and funeral. To cheer her up, Vassya performed a Jewish impression that made her laugh. Soon they were playing together, forgetting her supposed illness.
The young pair, roaring with laughter, forgetting the illness, chase one another about the room... After one particularly passionate embrace Lizotchka suddenly remembers that she is seriously ill... ‘What silliness!’
Vassya stayed awake all night caring for his wife. The next day, admirers visited with flowers and novels. The doctor prescribed rest, but by the following morning, Lizotchka was already dressing to attend a theater rehearsal.
Exhausted from two sleepless nights, Vassya went to work with a terrible headache. His concerned boss sent him home to rest, unaware that his wife's illness had been largely exaggerated.
Detailed summary
Division into chapters is editorial.
Lizotchkas illness and its alleged cause
Lizotchka Kudrinsky, a young married lady, suddenly fell seriously ill. Her husband Vassily Stepanovitch (Vassya) did not go to his office, and a telegram was sent to her mother in Tver. Lizotchka explained that she had visited her aunt in Lyesnoe, then went to her cousin Varya's home where she participated in amateur theatricals. During her stay, she drank cold lemon squash with brandy and went horseback riding with Adolf Ivanitch in damp, windy weather, which she believed caused her to catch cold.
After returning home to check on Vassya and retrieve a silk dress, Lizotchka went to the kitchen where she found some carrots and turnips. She ate a small amount of these vegetables, which allegedly caused her to experience severe spasms. Her husband rushed home from his office in distress, and a doctor was called. By six o'clock that evening, Lizotchka had fallen asleep and slept soundly until two in the morning.
The first night: Vassyas care and Lizotchkas imagination
At two o'clock in the morning, Lizotchka awoke in her bed, wearing a white lace cap that stood out against her red cushion. Vassya sat at her feet, relieved that his wife was home but worried about her condition. When he asked how she felt, Lizotchka claimed she was better but couldn't sleep. Vassya changed her compress with reverent care while she moaned about her nerves, insisting the doctor had misdiagnosed her stomach trouble.
‘It’s my nerves, Vassya, I am a very nervous woman. The doctor has prescribed for stomach trouble, but I feel that he doesn’t understand my illness. It’s nerves and not the stomach, I swear that it is my nerves.’
Lizotchka then expressed concern that her illness might take a bad turn and spoke dramatically about dying, saying she would be sorry for Vassya who would be left alone as a widower. Though Vassya was actually accustomed to solitude and rarely enjoyed his wife's company, her words agitated him. She closed her eyes and began imagining her own death in elaborate detail.
Lizotchka draws a mental picture of her own death, how her mother, her husband, her cousin Varya with her husband, her relations, the admirers of her ‘talent’ press round her death bed, as she whispers her last farewell.
In her fantasy, Lizotchka imagined herself beautifully arranged in an expensive coffin surrounded by weeping admirers. She pictured her funeral procession and burial in vivid detail, until the imagined sound of hammering nails on her coffin startled her back to reality. To distract herself from these morbid thoughts, she asked Vassya to tell her something amusing.
The doctors visit and concerned admirers
Eager to cheer his wife, Vassya performed a comedic Jewish accent, pretending to examine her watch and declaring it couldn't be fixed. Lizotchka was delighted by his performance, praising his talent and comparing him favorably to an amateur actor named Sysunov. Caught up in the moment, she jumped out of bed to demonstrate Sysunov's peculiar walk. The couple chased each other around the room, laughing, until Lizotchka suddenly remembered her illness and reproached Vassya for his thoughtlessness.
Vassya sat meekly at her feet for the remainder of the night. At ten o'clock the next morning, the doctor arrived to check on Lizotchka. He asked about her sleep, which Vassya answered for her, reporting that she had slept poorly.
Vassya whispered to the doctor about his wife's gloomy thoughts and pessimism. After examining Lizotchka, the doctor prescribed bromide of potassium and promised to return in the evening. By midday, admirers of Lizotchka's theatrical talent arrived, bringing flowers and French novels. They found her in bed wearing a snow-white cap and light dressing jacket, with an enigmatic expression suggesting she might not recover.
The second night: entertainment and recovery
At six o'clock that evening, Lizotchka fell asleep again and slept until two in the morning. Vassya continued his vigil at her feet, struggling against drowsiness, changing her compress, and performing his Jewish imitation to entertain her. After a second night of suffering, Lizotchka was up the next morning, primping before the mirror and putting on her hat.
‘Wherever are you going, my dear?’ asks Vassya, with an imploring look at her. ‘What?’ says Lizotchka in wonder, assuming a scared expression, ‘don’t you know that there is a rehearsal today at Marya Lvovna’s?’
When Vassya asked where she was going, Lizotchka expressed surprise that he didn't know about her rehearsal at Marya Lvovna's. After escorting his wife to the rehearsal, Vassya went to his office, suffering from a severe headache due to his sleepless nights. His left eye kept closing involuntarily from exhaustion.
Back to normal: rehearsal for Lizotchka, exhaustion for Vassya
At the office, Vassya's chief noticed his poor condition and inquired about it. Vassya sighed dramatically and explained that Lizotchka had been ill. The chief expressed deep sympathy, mentioning that he had lost his own wife and understood Vassya's suffering. He was alarmed by Vassya's pale face and exhausted appearance.
Concerned about his employee's health, the chief ordered Vassya to go home and rest, quoting the Roman saying "mens sana in corpore sano" (a healthy mind in a healthy body). Vassya agreed, packed up his papers, and returned home to bed, while his wife continued with her theatrical activities, having completely recovered from her brief and largely imaginary illness.