Not Wanted (Chekhov)
Short summary
Russia, late 19th century. Pavel Matveyitch Zaikin, exhausted after work, traveled to his family's summer villa. On the way, he complained to another summer visitor about the inconveniences of villa life.
Upon arrival, Pavel found the house empty except for his son Petya. His wife Nadyezhda had gone to a play rehearsal with her friend Olga Kirillovna, taking the servant with her. There was no dinner prepared. Hungry and irritated, Pavel scolded Petya for cutting up cards, making the boy cry.
Later that evening, Nadyezhda returned with her friend and two male amateur actors. They rehearsed their parts, sang, and recited poetry until late. Without consulting Pavel, Nadyezhda invited everyone to stay overnight. Pavel was forced to sleep in his study, where he found Petya already lying on the sofa.
"Father, why is it gnats don't go to sleep at night?" he asked. "Because... because... you and I are not wanted... We have nowhere to sleep even." "Father, and why is it Olga Kirillovna has freckles on her face?"
Unable to sleep, Pavel went outside for fresh air. There he met the same summer visitor from earlier, who was also wandering around because his mother-in-law and nieces had arrived unexpectedly. Both men stood contemplating their displacement, victims of their families' social lives.
Detailed summary
Division into chapters is editorial.
Zaikins frustrating journey to the summer villa
On a July evening, Pavel Matveyitch Zaikin trudged along with other summer visitors from the Helkovo station toward their summer villas. Despite the pleasant weather, everyone looked exhausted and ill-humored. Zaikin, a member of the Circuit Court, was particularly gloomy as he walked in his cheap cotton dust-coat.
During his walk, Zaikin struck up a conversation with another summer visitor wearing ginger-colored trousers. Zaikin explained that he only visited his holiday home two or three times a week, as his wife and son stayed there permanently. He complained that daily visits would be too expensive.
I maintain, sir, that summer holidays are the invention of the devil and of woman. The devil was actuated in the present instance by malice, woman by excessive frivolity. Mercy on us, it is not life at all; it is hard labour, it is hell!
The man in ginger trousers agreed with Zaikin's assessment, lamenting the expenses of summer villa life and how every farthing had to be considered on his civil councillor's salary. After this exchange, the two men parted ways as they reached their destinations.
An empty house with only Petya at home
Upon entering his villa, Zaikin found the house eerily silent. The only sounds were buzzing gnats and a fly's desperate plea as it was about to become a spider's dinner. The windows were covered with muslin curtains, and flies slumbered on the unpainted wooden walls.
In the parlor, Zaikin discovered his six-year-old son Petya sitting at a table, breathing loudly with his lower lip stuck out as he cut out the figure of a knave of diamonds from a card. The boy greeted his father without looking up from his task.
When Zaikin inquired about his wife's whereabouts, Petya explained that she had gone with Olga Kirillovna to a theatrical rehearsal for an upcoming performance. The servant Natalya had accompanied her to help with costumes, while Akulina had gone to the woods to gather mushrooms. Petya was completely alone in the house, with no dinner prepared as his mother hadn't expected Zaikin to visit that day.
Mounting irritation and conflict with his son
Zaikin felt a heavy weight of vexation and bitterness. His doctor had forbidden all excitement, so he tried to control himself by whistling a tune from Les Huguenots. Petya, however, continued to pester him with questions about gnats, which only increased Zaikin's irritation.
Zaikin suddenly felt as though something heavy were rolling down on his liver and beginning to gnaw it. He felt so vexed, so aggrieved, and so bitter, that he was choking and tremulous; he wanted to jump up, to bang something on the floor...
Unable to contain his frustration, Zaikin scolded Petya for spoiling the cards. When the boy defended himself, saying Natalya had given them to him, Zaikin accused him of lying and threatened to pull his ears. Petya's face crumpled as he began to cry, asking why his father was attacking him when he hadn't done anything wrong.
"But why are you scolding?" squealed Petya. "Why do you attack me, you stupid? I am not interfering with anybody; I am not naughty; I do what I am told, and yet... you are cross! Why are you scolding me?"
The boy's sincere distress made Zaikin feel guilty. He apologized and told Petya he loved him. The child wiped his eyes, sat down with a sigh, and resumed cutting out the queen. Zaikin retreated to his study, where he lay on the sofa, feeling exhausted and hungry.
Later, Petya brought his collection of insects to show his father. The box contained butterflies, beetles, grasshoppers, and flies pinned to the bottom. Most were still alive and moving, which disgusted Zaikin. When Petya mentioned that Olga Kirillovna had taught him to pin them this way, Zaikin declared that she herself ought to be pinned down like that, and told his son it was shameful to torture animals.
Nadyezhdas return with unexpected theatrical guests
As evening fell, the door burst open with the sound of rapid footsteps, talk, and laughter. Zaikin's wife Nadyezhda Stepanovna had returned, looking healthy and rosy as ever. She was accompanied by Olga Kirillovna and two unknown men: a lanky young man with curly red hair and a big Adam's apple, and a short stubby man with a shaven face like an actor's and a bluish crooked chin.
Nadyezhda introduced the men as amateur actors: the taller one, Koromyslov, who sang splendidly, and the shorter one, Smerkalov, who recited magnificently. She excitedly explained they had just had a rehearsal for their upcoming performance of "The Lodger with the Trombone" and "Waiting for Him."
When Zaikin asked why she had brought them, Nadyezhda insisted they needed to rehearse their parts and sing after tea. She also requested that Zaikin send Natalya to buy vodka, cheese, and sardines for their guests, who would likely stay for supper. When he protested that he had no money, she pleaded with him not to embarrass her.
After tea, Zaikin retreated to the bedroom while the theatrical group rehearsed their parts with much noise and laughter. He heard Koromyslov's nasal reciting and Smerkalov's theatrical exclamations, followed by a duet between Koromyslov and Nadyezhda. Later, Smerkalov recited "The Woman who was a Sinner," hissing, beating his breast, weeping, and laughing in a husky bass. Zaikin scowled and hid his head under the quilt.
Displaced from his own bed and finding companionship outside
Around two in the morning, Nadyezhda entered the bedroom and asked Zaikin to move to his study and sleep on the sofa, as she wanted to put Olga Kirillovna in their bed. She explained that Olga was afraid to sleep alone in the study.
"Pavel, are you asleep?" she whispered. "No; why?" "Go into your study, darling, and lie on the sofa. I am going to put Olga Kirillovna here, in your bed. Do go, dear! I would put her to sleep in the study, but she is afraid to sleep alone..."
Wearily, Zaikin took his pillow and went to the study, only to find Petya already occupying the sofa. The boy was still awake and immediately asked his father why gnats don't sleep at night. Zaikin replied bitterly that it was because they, like himself and Petya, were "not wanted" and had nowhere to sleep.
Unable to sleep, Zaikin dressed and went outside for fresh air. As he contemplated the grey morning sky, he encountered the summer visitor in ginger trousers, who was also unable to sleep. The man explained that his mother-in-law had arrived unexpectedly with his nieces. The two men, both displaced from their beds and homes, found a moment of understanding in their shared predicament.
"You're not asleep?" he asked. "No, I can't sleep," sighed Ginger Trousers. "I am enjoying Nature... A welcome visitor, my wife's mother, arrived by the night train, you know. She brought with her our nieces... splendid girls!"