Shrove Tuesday (Chekhov)
Short summary
A Russian household, presumably late 19th century. On Shrove Tuesday, the last day before the Great Lenten fast, Pelageya Ivanovna woke her husband Pavel Vassilitch to help their son Styopa with his math homework.
Pavel Vassilitch attempted to explain division of fractions but quickly became distracted, telling stories about his school days instead of teaching. The family soon abandoned the lesson for tea with relatives, including a midwife and two elderly aunts.
After tea, Pavel Vassilitch and Styopa looked at illustrations in an old magazine while the household settled into drowsy contentment. When Styopa announced he wanted to go to bed, his parents became alarmed that he would miss the last supper before Lent.
"No one is hungry, everyone's stomach is overfull, but yet they must eat... Styopotchka is sleepy. Anna! Oh dear me, what is one to do? Make haste."
Despite their fullness from earlier meals, the family gathered for one final feast before the seven weeks of Lenten food would begin, continuing the cycle of excessive eating that characterized their Shrove Tuesday.
Detailed summary
Division into chapters is editorial.
Pavel Vassilitch wakes up to help his son with homework
Pelageya Ivanovna woke her husband Pavel Vassilitch, urging him to help their son Styopa with his mathematics homework. The boy was struggling and crying over his book. Pavel Vassilitch reluctantly got up, made the sign of the cross over his mouth as he yawned, and promised to help in a minute.
As Pavel Vassilitch put on his boots and dressing gown, he noticed a cat sniffing at a fish marinade in the window. He scolded the cat and covered the fish with a newspaper. He then entered the nursery where his son was sitting at a table, swaying back and forth with a peevish expression and tear-stained eyes.
Failed mathematics lesson and family history
Pavel Vassilitch asked his son what he didn't understand, and Styopa explained it was the division of fractions. His father attempted to explain the mathematical rule, but Styopa interrupted, saying he already knew the rule but wanted to understand the proof. Pavel Vassilitch tried to demonstrate with an example of dividing seven-eighths by two-fifths, but quickly became confused.
"We have enjoyed ourselves, slept, and eaten pancakes, and tomorrow comes Lenten fare, repentance, and going to work. Every period of time has its limits. Why are your eyes so red? Are you sick of learning your lessons?"
Instead of continuing with the math lesson, Pavel Vassilitch began reminiscing about his own school days. He told Styopa about his arithmetic teacher, Sigismund Urbanitch, a Pole who would get confused during lessons.
"He would begin explaining some theory, get in a tangle, and turn crimson all over and race up and down the classroom as though someone were sticking an awl in his back, then he would blow his nose half a dozen times and begin to cry."
Pavel Vassilitch continued his digression, telling stories about a classmate named Mamahin, an exceptionally tall and strong boy who intimidated both students and teachers. He described how Mamahin would jump out of windows to avoid punishment and how even five school porters couldn't match his strength.
When Pelageya Ivanovna's footsteps were heard approaching, Pavel Vassilitch quickly tried to return to the math lesson, but she interrupted them, calling everyone to tea.
The family gathers for tea
"Pavel Vassilitch and his son abandon arithmetic and go in to tea. Pelageya Ivanovna is already sitting at the table... The samovar is hissing and puffing out steam which throws flickering shadows on the ceiling."
At the table, several family members had gathered: Pelageya Ivanovna, an aunt who never spoke, another aunt who was deaf and dumb, and Granny Markovna, the midwife who had helped deliver Styopa. The cats came in from the entry with their tails in the air, looking sleepy and melancholy.
Pelageya Ivanovna encouraged Markovna to have some jam with her tea, reminding her that the great fast would begin the next day. Markovna took a spoonful hesitantly, ate it with a sidelong glance at Pavel Vassilitch, and then complimented Pelageya Ivanovna on the jam. Meanwhile, Pavel Vassilitch continued telling his son stories about his schoolmate Mamahin and his rebellious attitude toward the French master.
Evening activities and looking through magazines
After tea, the family remained at the table. The atmosphere was still and stifling from the stove, with faces and gestures betraying the sloth and repletion that comes from a full stomach. Pelageya Ivanovna kept jumping up to run to the kitchen and discuss supper with the cook. The two aunts sat immovably with their arms folded across their bosoms, dozing and staring at the lamp. Markovna hiccupped every minute, wondering aloud why she had the hiccups.
"The air is still and stifling from the stove... Faces and gestures betray the sloth and repletion that comes when the stomach is full, and yet one must go on eating. The samovar, the cups, and the tablecloth are cleared away..."
Pavel Vassilitch and Styopa sat side by side examining a volume of the Neva magazine from 1878. They looked at illustrations of Leonardo da Vinci's monument in Milan and a magnified image of a housefly's proboscis. Pavel Vassilitch wondered aloud what a bug would look like under a microscope.
The old-fashioned clock in the drawing room coughed ten times huskily. The cook, Anna, came into the dining room and plumped down at Pavel Vassilitch's feet, asking for forgiveness, as was the tradition before the fast. Pavel Vassilitch responded unconcernedly, and Anna went around to the other family members asking for forgiveness as well, except for Markovna, who was not considered one of the gentry.
"The cook, Anna, comes into the dining room, and plumps down at the master's feet. 'Forgive me, for Christ's sake, Pavel Vassilitch!' she says... 'You forgive me, too, for Christ's sake,' Pavel Vassilitch responds unconcernedly."
The final supper before Lenten fasting
Another half-hour passed in stillness and tranquility. Pavel Vassilitch recited Latin verses he had learned in his childhood while Styopa stared at his father's wedding ring finger and dozed. Eventually, Styopa announced that he was going to bed.
Pelageya Ivanovna was alarmed at the idea of Styopa going to bed without having supper before the fast. She reminded him that he would have nothing but Lenten food for the next seven weeks. Pavel Vassilitch also became concerned and insisted that Styopa couldn't miss the last supper before the fast.
"'Are you crazy?' says his mother in alarm. 'How can you go without your supper before the fast? You'll have nothing but Lenten food all through the fast!' Pavel Vassilitch is scared too."
Despite Styopa's protests that he was sleepy, Pelageya Ivanovna rushed to the kitchen, clasping her hands and exclaiming that they must hurry. She instructed Anna to make haste and lay the table. Within five minutes, the table was laid. The cats once again came into the dining room, arching their spines and stretching with their tails in the air. Though no one was hungry and everyone's stomach was already full, the family sat down to eat their final supper before the beginning of the great fast.