Talent (Chekhov)
Short summary
Rural Russia, late 19th century. Artist Yegor Savvitch was spending his summer at an officer's widow's house, feeling depressed as autumn approached. He was preparing to move back to town the next day, relieved to be leaving.
The widow's daughter Katya had fallen in love with him and begged him to marry her. Yegor refused, claiming artists must remain free and unmarried. Katya feared her stern mother's reaction to this rejection. Yegor drank vodka and daydreamed about becoming famous, though he had little knowledge of art or literature.
His friend Ukleikin, a landscape painter, arrived from summer travels. Yegor showed him an unfinished painting of Katya at a window, which Ukleikin criticized. Later, another artist friend named Kostyliov joined them. The three drank vodka and talked excitedly about their artistic futures, convinced of their eventual fame and success despite having accomplished little.
A blissful smile was straying on her pale, exhausted face, and her eyes were beaming. "I am thinking of how you'll be famous," she said in a half-whisper. "I keep fancying how you'll become a famous man... I keep dreaming and dreaming..."
Late that night, Yegor went to the kitchen for water and found Katya sitting in the dark passage. Despite his rejection and her mother's anger, she remained devoted to his potential, reverently placing her hands on his shoulders.
Detailed summary
Division into chapters is editorial.
Yegor Savvitchs depression and imminent departure
On a gloomy autumn morning, artist Yegor Savvitch sat on his bed in a state of depression. Outside, heavy clouds covered the sky, a cold wind blew, and yellow leaves whirled through the air. His room was in disarray, with cushions, crumpled bedclothes, and boxes scattered everywhere. The floor remained unswept and the curtains had been removed from the windows. Yegor was moving to town the next day, and his only consolation amid his ennui was the thought of his imminent departure.
Katyas visit and Yegors rejection of marriage
His landlady, the widow, was out arranging horses and carts for the move. Taking advantage of her mother's absence, her daughter Katya had been sitting in Yegor's room for a long time. With tears in her eyes, she gazed at his shaggy head with both rapture and sadness. Yegor listened to her while yawning, tired from the conversation. When Katya began to whimper, he looked at her severely from under his overhanging eyebrows and declared in his deep bass voice that he could not marry.
An artist must be free... I am not speaking of myself, I am speaking in general... Famous authors and painters have never married... And you, too, will be famous—I understand that perfectly.
Katya asked how she would hinder him, but Yegor insisted he was speaking in general terms. She expressed fear of her stern mother's reaction when she discovered that Yegor wouldn't marry her. She also mentioned that he hadn't paid for his rooms. Yegor rose and began pacing, declaring that he ought to be abroad. He explained that going abroad required only painting a picture and selling it. When Katya asked why he hadn't painted one during the summer, he complained about the unsuitable barn-like conditions and lack of models.
Ukleikins arrival and criticism of Yegors painting
After hearing the widow loudly abusing Katya downstairs, Yegor drank a glass of vodka to dispel his dark mood. He began dreaming of future greatness, though he couldn't imagine his actual works. Instead, he pictured newspapers talking about him and shops selling his photographs. He envisioned himself surrounded by adoring women, though the image was vague since he knew no respectable girls besides Katya and had never seen a drawing room. Unlike those who picture life from books, Yegor knew no books either, having fallen asleep on the second page of Gogol.
It's a fine thing to be an artist! I can go just where I like, do what I like. One has not to work in an office or in the fields. I've no superiors or officers over me... I'm my own superior. And with all that I'm doing good to humanity!
After dinner, Yegor was awakened from his nap by his friend Ukleikin, a landscape painter who had spent the summer in the Kostroma district. Delighted to see him, Yegor asked if he had brought any sketches. When Ukleikin inquired about Yegor's work, Yegor retrieved a dust-covered canvas from behind the bed. It showed Katya sitting at a window after parting from her betrothed, but was unfinished. Ukleikin criticized the painting, saying that while it had air and expression, the bush in it was "screaming horribly." They then brought out the vodka decanter.
Kostyliov joins the artists discussions of future fame
In the evening, Kostyliov, a historical painter staying at the next villa, joined them. He was thirty-five, had long hair, wore a blouse with a Shakespeare collar, and maintained a dignified manner. Though he frowned at the vodka and complained about his chest, he yielded to his friends' entreaties and drank a glass. Kostyliov shared his idea for a painting contrasting Rome with Christianity, emphasizing that he wanted to represent "the spirit."
Like wolves in a cage, the three friends kept pacing to and fro... They talked without ceasing, talked, hotly and genuinely; all three were excited, carried away. To listen to them it would seem they had the future, fame, money, in their hands.
The three artists paced the room like caged wolves, talking excitedly and genuinely about their artistic futures. They appeared gay and happy, boldly facing the future, never considering that time was passing and that despite living at others' expense, they had accomplished nothing. At one in the morning, Kostyliov said goodbye and went home, while the landscape painter remained to sleep at Yegor's.
Katyas midnight dreams of Yegors future greatness
Before going to bed, Yegor took a candle and went to the kitchen for water. In the dark, narrow passage, he found Katya sitting on a box with her hands clasped on her knees, looking upward. A blissful smile played on her pale, exhausted face, and her eyes were beaming. When Yegor asked what she was thinking about, she replied that she was imagining his future fame. She had overheard all their talk and kept dreaming about it. Katya laughed happily, cried, and laid her hands reverently on her idol's shoulders, completely captivated by the vision of Yegor's imagined greatness.