The Man in a Case (Chekhov)
Short summary
A Russian village, late 19th century. Two sportsmen, Ivan Ivanovitch and Burkin, spend the night in a barn. Burkin tells a story about his colleague Byelikov who died two months earlier.
Byelikov lived in constant fear of breaking rules or causing trouble. He kept everything in cases, including his watch and penknife, and always wore protective clothing regardless of weather. For fifteen years, he terrorized the school and town with his caution and suspicion, making everyone afraid to live freely.
When a new history teacher named Kovalenko arrived with his sister Varinka, everyone thought Byelikov should marry her. Despite his fears, Byelikov began courting Varinka. While he hesitated to propose, someone drew a caricature of the couple that deeply upset him.
The final blow came when Byelikov saw Varinka and her brother riding bicycles, which he considered improper. He confronted Kovalenko, who angrily pushed him down the stairs. Varinka witnessed his humiliation.
When he got up, Varinka recognized him, and, looking at his ridiculous face... could not restrain herself, and laughed loud enough to be heard by all the flats: 'Ha-ha-ha!' And this pealing, ringing 'Ha-ha-ha!' was the last straw...
Byelikov took to his bed and died a month later. At his funeral, everyone felt relieved. However, Burkin concludes that though Byelikov was buried, many more people like him remain, living in self-imposed cases that isolate them from life.
Detailed summary
Division into chapters is editorial.
The frame narrative begins at Prokofys barn
At the far end of Mironositskoe village, two sportsmen spent the night in the elder Prokofy's barn. They were the veterinary surgeon Ivan Ivanovitch and the schoolmaster Burkin.
Unable to sleep, Ivan Ivanovitch sat outside smoking his pipe in the moonlight while Burkin lay on the hay inside. They discussed how Prokofy's wife Mavra had never left her village or seen a town in her life, spending the last ten years sitting behind her stove.
The concept of people living in cases
Burkin remarked that there was nothing unusual about Mavra's behavior. Many solitary people try to retreat from the world like hermit crabs or snails. He suggested this might be atavism or simply a diversity of human character. To illustrate his point, Burkin mentioned his recently deceased colleague, the Greek teacher Byelikov.
The man displayed a constant and insurmountable impulse to wrap himself in a covering, to make himself, so to speak, a case which would isolate him and protect him from external influences.
Byelikovs character and lifestyle
Byelikov was known for always wearing goloshes and a warm coat, carrying an umbrella even in fine weather. Everything he owned was kept in cases – his umbrella, watch, penknife. Even his face seemed hidden in his turned-up collar. He wore dark spectacles, flannel vests, and stuffed cotton wool in his ears.
Reality irritated him, frightened him, kept him in continual agitation, and, perhaps to justify his timidity, his aversion for the actual, he always praised the past and what had never existed.
Byelikov found clarity only in prohibitions and restrictions. He was disturbed by any breach of order or deviation from rules, even when it didn't concern him directly. At teachers' meetings, he oppressed his colleagues with his caution and concerns about student behavior. His influence was so strong that he could get students expelled based on his recommendations.
He had a strange habit of visiting his colleagues' homes, where he would sit in silence for hours before leaving. This made the other teachers uncomfortable, but they were all afraid of him. Even the headmaster feared him.
Under the influence of people like Byelikov we have got into the way of being afraid of everything in our town for the last ten or fifteen years. They are afraid to speak aloud, afraid to send letters, afraid to make acquaintances...
At home, Byelikov lived the same way – with restrictions and prohibitions. He had an old male cook named Afanasy instead of a female servant to avoid gossip. His bedroom was tiny, and he slept with the covers over his head despite the heat.
Byelikovs relationship with Varinka
Surprisingly, Byelikov almost got married. A new history and geography teacher named Mihail Savvitch Kovalenko arrived in town with his sister Varinka. Mihail was a tall, dark young man with a booming bass voice, while Varinka was about thirty, tall and well-made with black eyebrows and red cheeks.
The teachers first met the Kovalenkos at the headmaster's name-day party. Varinka captivated everyone with her singing and dancing. Byelikov sat beside her, complimenting the Little Russian language. She told him about her mother's farm in the Gadyatchsky district and the wonderful produce they grew there.
The headmaster's wife suggested that Byelikov and Varinka would make a good match. The idea caught on, and soon the town was conspiring to bring them together. The headmaster's wife would take a box at the theater with Varinka and Byelikov, and evening parties were arranged for them.
Varinka seemed open to marriage, as she had a difficult life with her brother. They constantly argued, and she likely wanted a home of her own. Byelikov began visiting the Kovalenkos regularly. Though he remained mostly silent during these visits, Varinka would sing for him or look at him pensively.
The caricature incident and confrontation
Despite everyone's encouragement, Byelikov hesitated to propose. He kept Varinka's portrait on his table and talked about marriage being a serious step, but he grew thinner and more withdrawn. He worried about his duties and responsibilities, afraid something might go wrong.
Meanwhile, Varinka's brother Kovalenko detested Byelikov from their first meeting, calling him a sneak and a nasty phiz. He gave Byelikov the nickname "The Spider" and was unhappy about the potential match with his sister.
The situation came to a head when someone drew a caricature of Byelikov walking with Varinka, labeled "Anthropos in love." Copies were distributed throughout the town, and Byelikov received one. He was deeply disturbed by this.
On May 1st, during a group walk, Byelikov and Burkin encountered Kovalenko and Varinka riding bicycles. Byelikov was shocked by this impropriety and went to confront Kovalenko that evening. He warned him that riding bicycles was unsuitable for educators and might lead to trouble with authorities.
Kovalenko became angry, telling Byelikov to mind his own business. When Byelikov threatened to report their conversation to the headmaster, Kovalenko grabbed him by the collar and pushed him down the stairs. As Byelikov tumbled down, Varinka entered with two ladies and, seeing his ridiculous figure, burst into laughter.
Byelikovs death and funeral
Humiliated by the incident, Byelikov went home, removed Varinka's portrait, and went to bed. He never got up again. Three days later, Afanasy suggested calling a doctor, but it was too late. Byelikov died a month after the confrontation.
Everyone from the high schools and seminary attended his funeral. It was a rainy day, and they all wore goloshes and carried umbrellas. Varinka also attended and cried when the coffin was lowered into the grave.
Now when he was lying in his coffin his expression was mild, agreeable, even cheerful, as though he were glad that he had at last been put into a case which he would never leave again. Yes, he had attained his ideal!
Return to the frame narrative and reflections
As they returned from the cemetery, Burkin noted that everyone felt a sense of relief at Byelikov's death. However, he observed that within a week, life in the town returned to its former gloomy, oppressive state. Despite burying Byelikov, many "men in cases" remained, and more would come.
After Burkin finished his story, the schoolmaster joined them. He was a short, stout man, completely bald with a black beard down to his waist. The three men observed the midnight moon and the peaceful village street.
And isn't our living in town, airless and crowded, our writing useless papers, our playing Vint—isn't that all a sort of case for us? And our spending our whole lives among trivial, fussy men and silly, idle women...
Ivan Ivanovitch offered to tell another edifying story, but Burkin suggested they sleep instead. As they were dozing off, they heard light footsteps outside the barn. The dogs began growling, and Burkin identified the walker as Mavra. Ivan Ivanovitch remarked that one cannot go on living surrounded by lies and pretense, but the schoolmaster urged him to sleep.