The Letter (Chekhov)
Short summary
Russia, late 19th century. Father Fyodor Orlov was exhausted after a long day of services when Father Anastasy, a village priest, visited him on unpleasant business and stayed for three hours.
Anastasy had been prohibited from officiating due to numerous shortcomings, including intemperate habits and selling unlawful certificates. The deacon Liubimov arrived, distressed about his son Pyotr, who was living with another man's wife in Harkov.
Father Fyodor, who had always disliked Pyotr, dictated a stern letter to the deacon, condemning his son's heathen lifestyle. After finishing, the deacon happily added a cheerful postscript about local gossip.
And very well pleased, without the faintest idea that with this postscript he had completely spoiled the stern letter, the deacon addressed the envelope and laid it in the most conspicuous place on the table.
Meanwhile, Anastasy, who had been drinking vodka despite the Easter fast, advised the deacon not to send the letter but to forgive his son instead, speaking from his own experience as a sinner seeking forgiveness.
Detailed summary
Division into chapters is editorial.
Father Fyodors unwelcome visitor
Father Fyodor Orlov, the clerical superintendent of the district, paced his small drawing room in a state of exhaustion. He was preoccupied with one thought: when would his visitor leave? The visitor, Father Anastasy, a priest from a nearby village, had arrived three hours earlier on some unpleasant business and showed no signs of departing, despite it being nearly nine in the evening.
Not everyone knows when to be silent and when to go. It not infrequently happens that even diplomatic persons of good worldly breeding fail to observe that their presence is arousing a feeling akin to hatred in their exhausted or busy host.
Father Anastasy, however, clearly perceived that his presence was unwelcome. He was an old man of sixty-five who appeared prematurely aged, with a bent figure, sunken face, and dark skin. He wore an oversized lilac cassock that had been given to him by a young priest's widow. Despite his age and position, there was something pitiful and humiliated about him.
The old priest had come on serious business. He had been prohibited from officiating for two months while his case was under investigation. The charges against him included intemperate habits, conflicts with other clergy and his commune, and careless keeping of church records. There were also rumors that he performed unlawful marriages for money and sold certificates of fasting to officials. These accusations persisted because he was poor with nine unsuccessful children to support.
The deacons concern about his sons lifestyle
While Father Fyodor was trying to hint that it was time for Father Anastasy to leave, they were interrupted by the deacon Liubimov. The elderly deacon, with his big bald patch but still-black hair and thick eyebrows, entered and bowed to Father Anastasy before sitting down.
When Father Fyodor asked what news he had, the deacon shared troubling information about his son Pyotr. Nikolay Matveyitch had recently returned from Harkov where he had visited Pyotr twice. The deacon was initially pleased to hear that his son was living well, but became distressed upon learning that Pyotr had eaten turkey during Lent, a violation of religious fasting.
Even worse, the deacon discovered that his son was living with another man's wife, who acted as hostess in his flat. When Nikolay Matveyitch had asked about this woman, Pyotr had claimed they were married at a restaurant. This revelation deeply troubled the deacon, who felt responsible for his son's moral failings.
Father Fyodor agrees to dictate a letter
Father Fyodor was particularly displeased about Pyotr, whom he had never liked. He remembered Pyotr as a problematic student who had been ashamed to serve at the altar, had not crossed himself when entering rooms, and had been fond of excessive talking. As a university student, Pyotr had stopped attending church altogether and had developed a habit of raising provocative questions.
The deacon, feeling helpless about how to address his son's behavior, begged Father Fyodor to help him write a letter to Pyotr. Despite his fatigue, Father Fyodor agreed to dictate a letter that would properly admonish the young man. The deacon gratefully sat at the table, ready to write down Father Fyodor's words.
The stern letter to Pyotr
Father Fyodor dictated a stern letter that began with "Christ is risen, dear son" followed by a statement that rumors had reached the deacon about his son's lifestyle. The letter condemned Pyotr's unchristian way of life, stating that neither luxury, worldly splendor, nor culture could disguise his heathen manner of living. It declared that while Pyotr was a Christian in name, he was a heathen in nature, more wretched than those who had never known Christ.
His Reverence believed in people's reforming, but now when a feeling of pity had been kindled in him it seemed to him that this disgraced, worn-out old man, entangled in a network of sins and weaknesses, was hopelessly wrecked.
The letter identified the cause of Pyotr's ruin as his infidelity, criticizing him for imagining himself wise while refusing to see that science without faith degraded a man to the level of a lower animal. After finishing the letter, the deacon read it aloud and was deeply impressed by Father Fyodor's eloquence, calling it a gift. Father Anastasy was equally enthusiastic, praising the letter's rhetoric.
Having vented his wrath in a letter, his Reverence felt relieved; his fatigue and exhaustion came back to him. The deacon was an old friend, and his Reverence did not hesitate to say to him: 'Well deacon, go, and God bless you.'
Father Anastasys surprising advice
Father Fyodor, exhausted after venting his anger in the letter, asked the deacon to leave so he could rest. The deacon departed with Father Anastasy. Outside in the dark Easter Eve night, the deacon continued to praise Father Fyodor's intellect and education. He was pleased with the letter, believing it would make his son "scratch his head" and stop asking "why" about everything.
The deacon invited Father Anastasy to his small house, where his bedridden sister looked after his household. The old priest, seeing Easter cakes and red eggs already laid out on the table, began weeping but quickly turned his tears into a jest. He asked for a glass of vodka, which the deacon provided without a word.
As the deacon read the letter aloud again, Father Anastasy surprised him with unexpected advice. He urged the deacon not to send the letter and instead to forgive his son. Father Anastasy argued that if a father couldn't forgive his son, who would? He suggested that the deacon should be merciful, as there would be plenty of others to chastise Pyotr.
"Do you know, deacon, don't send it!" said Anastasy... "Forgive him, let him alone! I am telling you... what I really think. If his own father can't forgive him, who will forgive him? And so he'll live without forgiveness."
The deacons personal addition to the letter
Despite Father Anastasy's advice, the deacon felt he must send the letter to bring his son to his senses. However, before sealing the envelope, he sat down and added a personal postscript. He wrote about a new inspector who was friskier than the old one, fond of dancing and talking, and popular with the Govorovsky girls. He also mentioned that their military chief, Kostyrev, would soon be dismissed.
The deacon was pleased with his letter, completely unaware that his friendly, gossipy postscript had entirely undermined the stern tone of Father Fyodor's carefully crafted admonishment. He placed the letter in the most conspicuous place on his table, satisfied with having fulfilled his parental duty.
The deacon, still keeping the letter in his hand, was walking up and down the room. He was thinking of his son. Displeasure, distress and anxiety no longer troubled him; all that had gone into the letter.