The Cossack (Chekhov)
Short summary
Southern Russia, Easter morning. Maxim Tortchakov and his young wife were returning from church with a blessed Easter cake. They were happy and enjoying the holiday when they encountered a red-haired Cossack sitting by the roadside, looking ill.
The Cossack asked for a piece of Easter cake to break his fast. Maxim was willing to share, but his wife Lizaveta refused, saying it would be improper to cut the blessed cake before reaching home. They drove away, leaving the sick man without food.
At home, Maxim felt increasingly guilty. He sent a worker to find the Cossack with food, but the man had disappeared. Maxim's conscience continued to trouble him, leading to arguments with his wife. For the first time, he saw her as unkind. His guilt drove him to drink.
His horses, cows, sheep, and hives disappeared one by one from the yard; Maxim was more and more often drunk, debts mounted up, he felt an aversion for his wife... God was angry with him on account of the sick Cossack.
Maxim's life spiraled into ruin. He blamed his misfortunes on his unkind wife and, most of all, on God's anger over their treatment of the sick Cossack. Lizaveta witnessed their downfall but never understood the true cause of their misery.
Detailed summary
Division into chapters is editorial.
Maxims joyful Easter return
Maxim Tortchakov was driving home from church with his young wife after Easter service. They were bringing back a blessed Easter cake. The morning was beautiful, with the eastern sky tinged red and gold. Maxim felt exceptionally happy, believing there was no better holiday than Easter. He had recently married and was celebrating his first Easter with his wife. Everything around him seemed bright and joyful - his farm was doing well, his house was well-furnished, and his wife appeared lovely and gentle to him.
Tortchakov drove on and thought that there was no better nor happier holiday than the Feast of Christ's Resurrection. He had only lately been married, and was now keeping his first Easter with his wife.
The encounter with the sick Cossack
Halfway home, at the Crooked Ravine, Maxim and his wife noticed a saddled horse standing motionless by the roadside. Nearby sat a red-haired Cossack, doubled up and looking at his feet. Maxim greeted him with the Easter greeting, and the Cossack responded weakly. When asked why he was sitting there, the Cossack explained that he had fallen ill while traveling home on leave and lacked the strength to continue his journey.
The Cossack asked if they could spare some Easter cake to break his fast. Maxim was willing to help and began looking for a knife to cut the cake. Finding none, he asked the Cossack if he had one. As the Cossack rose painfully to get a knife from his saddle, Maxim's wife angrily intervened. She refused to let her husband cut the blessed Easter cake, insisting it would be improper to arrive home with a cut cake. She suggested the Cossack should seek food in the nearby village instead.
"I won't allow it! One must do things properly; it's not a loaf, but a holy Easter cake. And it's a sin to cut it just anyhow."
Maxim apologized to the Cossack, explaining that his wife forbade it. They said goodbye and continued their journey. For some time, Lizaveta continued grumbling about how cutting the Easter cake before reaching home would have been improper. After traveling some distance, Maxim looked back but could no longer see the Cossack. He felt regret for not helping the sick man who likely wanted to break his fast too.
Remorse and the search for redemption
When they arrived home, Maxim's holiday cheer had vanished. After saying the Easter greeting to his workers, he briefly regained his spirits, but upon taking a bite of the Easter cake, he expressed regret to his wife about not giving food to the Cossack. Lizaveta was surprised by his concern, saying she didn't mind if the Cossack ate the cake now that it was properly cut and on their table.
"It wasn't right of us, Lizaveta, not to give that Cossack something to eat... he was worse off than a beggar or an orphan. On the road, and far from home, and sick too."
Maxim couldn't eat or drink, feeling depressed about their treatment of the Cossack. After their meal, the couple lay down to sleep, but Maxim couldn't rest. He told his wife again that they had been unkind to the sick man. Unable to shake his guilt, Maxim went to the kitchen, wrapped a piece of cake and some eggs in a napkin, and asked one of his laborers to take it to the Cossack at the Crooked Ravine.
After waiting anxiously for Kuzma to return, Maxim saddled a horse and rode out to meet him. When they met at the Ravine, Kuzma reported that he couldn't find the Cossack anywhere. Determined, Maxim took the food bundle and continued searching, riding as far as Shustrovo village. There, the peasants told him they had seen no Cossack passing through, only a postman.
The long-term consequences of unkindness
When Maxim returned home at dinner time, he remained troubled by thoughts of the Cossack. He told his wife that he couldn't get the man out of his mind, wondering if perhaps God had sent a saint or angel in the form of a Cossack to test them. Lizaveta grew impatient with his persistent concern. Looking at his wife's face, Maxim realized for the first time since their marriage that she was not kind.
And for the first time since his marriage he perceived that his wife was not kind.
Their argument escalated, with Maxim reproaching his wife for her hard-heartedness while she defended herself with tears and threats to return to her father's home. This was their first marital quarrel. That evening, tormented by the memory of the Cossack and angry with his wife, Maxim got drunk. The next day, Easter Monday, he drank again to sober up but only became more intoxicated. This marked the beginning of his downfall. Over time, his livestock disappeared, his debts mounted, and he developed an aversion to his wife. Maxim blamed all his misfortunes on having an unkind wife and on God's anger over their treatment of the sick Cossack. Meanwhile, Lizaveta witnessed their ruin but could not understand who was truly to blame.