On Official Duty (Chekhov)
Short summary
Rural Russia, late 19th century. A young examining magistrate Lyzhin and a doctor arrived at a village called Syrnya to investigate a suicide. They were caught in a snowstorm and reached their destination in the evening instead of midday.
They stayed at the Zemstvo hut where the body of an insurance agent named Lesnitsky was lying. The agent had shot himself three days earlier, shortly after unpacking his food and ordering a samovar.
The doctor left to visit a neighbor, while Lyzhin remained at the hut. The village constable Ilya Loshadin kept him company, telling stories about his thirty years of service and the hardships of his life.
That night, Lyzhin had a dream where Lesnitsky and Loshadin walked together through the snow, singing. In this dream, he realized a profound connection between their lives.
We take from life what is hardest and bitterest in it, and we leave you what is easy and joyful; and sitting at supper, you can coldly and sensibly discuss why we suffer and perish, and why we are not as sound and as satisfied as you.
The next day, the snowstorm subsided. When Lyzhin was about to leave, Loshadin appeared, covered in snow, asking them to return to the village as the people were anxious. Lyzhin and the doctor departed for Syrnya to conduct the inquest.
Detailed summary
Division into chapters is editorial.
The arrival at the Zemstvo hut
A deputy examining magistrate and a district doctor were traveling to conduct an inquest in the village of Syrnya when they were caught in a snowstorm. After getting lost and arriving much later than planned, they decided to spend the night at the Zemstvo hut. Coincidentally, this was where the body of the deceased insurance agent, Lesnitsky, was being kept. Lesnitsky had arrived in Syrnya three days earlier and, after ordering a samovar, had shot himself. The unusual circumstances of his suicide raised suspicions of murder, necessitating an investigation.
Discoveries and initial reactions to the suicide
Upon entering the hut, Lyzhin and the doctor were greeted by the village constable, Ilya Loshadin, who held a small tin lamp. The constable informed them that the witnesses had gone to tea. Inside the parlor, they found Lesnitsky's body covered with white linen, lying on the floor near the table legs. In the dim lamplight, they could see his new rubber galoshes, and the scene was permeated with an eerie stillness. On the table stood a cold samovar surrounded by parcels of food.
Dr. Startchenko criticized the suicide's choice of location, declaring it inconsiderate to kill oneself in a public place like the Zemstvo hut. He launched into a critique of neurasthenic people, calling them selfish for disregarding others' comfort.
These hysterical, neurasthenic people are great egoists. If a neurasthenic sleeps in the same room with you, he rustles his newspaper; when he dines with you, he gets up a scene with his wife without troubling about your presence.
The constables story and rural life
Loshadin explained that the villagers were deeply disturbed by the suicide. For three nights, they had been unable to sleep. Women were afraid to milk the cows, fearing the dead man might appear to them in the darkness. Even some men were frightened, refusing to pass by the hut alone after dark. The witnesses, too, were unsettled by the situation.
Later, as Lyzhin drank tea in the kitchen, Loshadin stood at the door and shared his life story. He had been serving as a constable for thirty years, since shortly after the emancipation of the serfs. Unlike others who enjoyed holidays, he worked every day, delivering various documents, notices, and forms to government offices, gentry, and peasants.
For thirty years I have been going round according to regulation. In the summer it is all right, it is warm and dry; but in winter and autumn it's uncomfortable. At times I have been almost drowned and almost frozen.
The constable recounted how he had once been accused of fraud when a clerk sold boards belonging to someone else. Though the clerk was sent to prison, Loshadin was acquitted. Despite the difficulties of his job, he earned only eighty-four rubles a year and rarely received tips from the gentry, who often treated him with contempt. Peasants, he noted, were more kindhearted, sometimes offering food or drink.
The doctors departure and Lyzhins solitude
Dr. Startchenko, unwilling to spend the night in the hut, decided to visit Von Taunitz, who lived only a couple of miles from Syrnya. He left Lyzhin alone, who expected to go to sleep. After the doctor's departure, the constable offered to prepare a more comfortable place for Lyzhin to sleep in another room, promising to get a samovar from a peasant and heap up some hay for him.
Left alone in the hut with the dead body nearby, Lyzhin found himself contemplating the stark contrast between his current situation and the life he had once dreamed of. The howling blizzard, the uncomfortable surroundings, and the proximity of death made him yearn for the comforts of city life.
Oh, how much they would have given now only to stroll along the Nevsky Prospect, or along Petrovka in Moscow, to listen to decent singing, to sit for an hour or so in a restaurant!
Dreams and emerging insights
As Lyzhin tried to sleep, he was disturbed by the howling wind and creaking sounds from outside. The constable's stories about Lesnitsky's family history lingered in his mind. He learned that Lesnitsky came from a once-wealthy family that had lost everything due to his father's dishonesty. The young man had been reduced to working as an insurance agent, a position far below his former social standing.
In his half-sleep, Lyzhin suddenly felt frightened and sensed someone walking beside him with steps like Lesnitsky's. When he called out in alarm, it was only the constable returning to ask a question. After the constable left, Lyzhin heard coughing and subdued voices in the passage, suggesting the witnesses had returned.
Later, in his dreams, Lyzhin saw Lesnitsky and Loshadin walking together through the snow, supporting each other and singing about their burden of carrying the hardships of life while others enjoyed comfort and ease. This dream revealed to Lyzhin a profound connection between these seemingly different men - the suicide victim and the dutiful constable.
In this life, even in the remotest desert, nothing is accidental, everything is full of one common idea, everything has one soul, one aim, and to understand it it is not enough to think, it is not enough to reason...
The contrast of Von Taunitzs house
Early the next morning, Dr. Startchenko returned to fetch Lyzhin, insisting that he come to Von Taunitz's house where he could enjoy proper hospitality. Despite the continuing blizzard, they set out in a sledge driven by a white coachman. On their journey, they briefly spotted a figure in the snow that Lyzhin thought might be Loshadin.
Upon arriving at Von Taunitz's house, they were welcomed into a warm, comfortable environment that stood in stark contrast to the Zemstvo hut. Von Taunitz, a former deputy prosecutor who had retired to manage his estate, greeted them warmly. His four daughters, all young and pretty in identical gray dresses, along with his cousin and her children, created a lively atmosphere.
The evening at Von Taunitz's was filled with music, dancing, and laughter. Lyzhin participated in the festivities, yet found himself unable to fully enjoy them. Dreary thoughts intruded as he considered the stark divide between this comfortable life and the harsh realities faced by people like Lesnitsky and Loshadin.
Reflections on suffering and connection
That night, Lyzhin slept in a warm room with a soft bed, yet he felt uncomfortable. Through the wall, he could hear Von Taunitz speaking in a bereaved voice about his late wife, whom he still mourned deeply. Lyzhin wondered if he too might someday end up like Von Taunitz, unable to move past his grief.
In his dreams, Lyzhin again saw Lesnitsky and Loshadin walking through the snow, singing about their hardships while others lived in comfort. Upon waking, he experienced a profound realization about the interconnectedness of all human lives and the moral implications of seeking comfort while others suffer.
To resign himself to the fact that these people, submissive to their fate, should take up the burden of what was hardest and gloomiest in life—how awful it was!
Return to official duty
The snowstorm finally subsided by morning. When Lyzhin and the doctor prepared to leave, they found Loshadin waiting for them outside, covered in snow with his face red and wet from perspiration. The constable explained that the villagers were anxious, thinking the officials had returned to town without conducting the inquest.
Despite the philosophical insights Lyzhin had gained during the night, he and the doctor said nothing in response to the constable's concerns. They simply got into their sledge and drove back to Syrnya to fulfill their official duty - conducting the inquest on Lesnitsky's body, which had been the purpose of their journey all along.