The Marshal's Widow (Chekhov)
Short summary
Rural Russia, early 20th century. Every February 1st, St. Trifon's day, Lyubov Petrovna Zavzyatov held a memorial service for her late husband, the district marshal. The entire district's elite gathered at her estate for the solemn requiem followed by a thanksgiving service.
After the service, guests proceeded to a magnificent luncheon, notable for its complete absence of alcoholic beverages. Lyubov Petrovna had vowed never to have spirits in her house after her husband died from excessive drinking. The guests, all fond of drinking, found ways to secretly consume alcohol during the event by sneaking to the vestibule where they had hidden bottles in their coats.
That evening, Lyubov Petrovna wrote to her friend in Petersburg, proudly describing her temperance campaign and how deeply moved her guests had been by the memorial. She misinterpreted their drunken behavior as emotional responses to her late husband's memory.
The police captain, the handsome man of whom I wrote to you, went down on his knees to me, tried to read me some verses of his own composition (he is a poet), but... his feelings were too much for him, he lurched and fell over...
She also mentioned how the president of the judges' assembly had fallen unconscious, which she attributed to emotion rather than intoxication, and thanked the doctor for reviving him with what she believed was medicinal brandy.
Detailed summary
Division into chapters is editorial.
Annual memorial service at the Zavzyatov estate
Every year on February first, St. Trifon's day, an extraordinary commotion took place at the estate of Madame Zavzyatov. This was the name-day of her late husband, Trifon Lvovitch, the former district marshal. On this occasion, the widow Lyubov Petrovna held a requiem service in his memory, followed by a thanksgiving to the Lord. The entire district assembled for this service, including the current marshal Hrumov, the president of the Zemstvo Marfutkin, various officials, landowners, and other dignitaries. In total, about fifty people gathered for this solemn occasion.
The whole district assembles for the service... There are about fifty people assembled in all. Precisely at twelve o'clock, the visitors, with long faces, make their way from all the rooms to the big hall.
Preparations and beginning of the requiem service
At precisely twelve o'clock, the visitors with solemn expressions made their way to the big hall. Despite the carpets that muffled their footsteps, they instinctively walked on tiptoe due to the solemnity of the occasion. In the hall, everything was prepared for the service. Father Yevmeny, a small elderly man in a faded cap, put on his black vestments while the deacon Konkordiev, already dressed and red as a crab, quietly arranged his missal.
At the door to the vestibule, Luka the sacristan puffed out his cheeks and blew up the censer, filling the hall with bluish smoke and the scent of incense. Gelikonsky, the elementary schoolmaster with a frightened face covered in pimples, carried wax candles on a silver-plated tray. The hostess stood at the front by a small table with funeral rice, handkerchief ready for her tears. A profound stillness settled over the gathering, broken occasionally by sighs.
Guests emotional responses during the service
The requiem service began with blue smoke curling up from the censer and playing in the slanting sunbeams. The singing, initially harsh and deafening, gradually became quiet and musical as the choir adapted to the room's acoustics. The mournful, sad tunes brought the guests to a melancholy mood, making them pensive. They recalled the deceased Zavzyatov, a thickset, red-cheeked man known for drinking a bottle of champagne in one gulp and smashing mirrors with his forehead.
The tunes are all mournful and sad... Thoughts of the brevity of human life, of mutability, of worldly vanity stray through their brains... They recall the deceased Zavzyatov, a thickset, red-cheeked man who used to drink off a bottle of champagne.
When the choir sang "With Thy Saints, O Lord," and the hostess's sobs became audible, the guests grew uncomfortable, shifting from one foot to another. The more emotional attendees felt a tickling in their throats and around their eyelids. Marfutkin, the president of the Zemstvo, tried to stifle his unpleasant feelings by whispering to the police captain about a card game from the previous day. Eventually, the choir sang the "Eternal Memory," Gelikonsky respectfully collected the candles, and the memorial service concluded.
Transition from requiem to thanksgiving and lunch
After the memorial service, a momentary commotion ensued as vestments were changed for the thanksgiving service. When Father Yevmeny finished disrobing after the thanksgiving, the visitors rubbed their hands and coughed while the hostess shared anecdotes about her late husband's good-heartedness. She then invited everyone to lunch, and the guests hastened to the dining room, careful not to push or step on each other's feet.
The lunch awaiting them was magnificent, prompting Deacon Konkordiev to exclaim annually that it was "supernatural" and more like "offerings to the gods" than human fare. Indeed, the table featured everything the local flora and fauna could provide. However, there was one notable absence: alcoholic beverages. In their place stood only bottles of oil and vinegar, a mockery to the guests who were all fond of drinking.
The widows temperance policy and guests reactions
Lyubov Petrovna had taken a vow never to have cards or spirituous liquors in her house, as these were the two sources of her husband's ruin. She pressed her guests to help themselves to the food while apologizing for the absence of vodka, explaining that she had none in the house. The guests approached the table hesitantly and attacked the pie, but their eating progress was slow and apathetic. Clearly, something was missing.
Lyubov Petrovna has taken a vow never to have in her house cards or spirituous liquors—the two sources of her husband's ruin. And the only bottles contain oil and vinegar, as though in mockery and chastisement of the guests.
One justice of the peace whispered to another that he felt as though he had lost something, comparing the feeling to when his wife ran away with an engineer. Marfutkin, before beginning to eat, pretended to look for his handkerchief in his greatcoat. He returned from the vestibule with glistening eyes and immediately attacked the pie with relish. He then whispered to Father Yevmeny about a bottle hidden in his fur coat, cautioning him to be careful not to make noise with it.
Father Yevmeny remembered he needed to give directions to Luka and went to the vestibule. Doctor Dvornyagin followed, wanting a word in confidence. Hrumov began boasting about his new fur coat, claiming he paid only two hundred and fifty for something worth a thousand. The guests, unusually interested, all trooped out to examine the coat, continuing their inspection until the doctor's servant Mikeshka secretly carried out five empty bottles.
When steamed sturgeon was served, Marfutkin suddenly remembered leaving his cigar case in his sledge and went to the stable, taking the deacon with him so he wouldn't be lonely on the expedition.
The widows letter revealing the truth
That evening, Lyubov Petrovna sat in her study writing a letter to an old friend in Petersburg. She described the memorial service for her husband, noting that all her neighbors had attended. She characterized them as simple and rough, but with good hearts. She mentioned providing a splendid lunch without alcoholic beverages, explaining that since her husband died from excessive drinking, she had vowed to establish temperance in the district to expiate his sins.
'Ever since he died from excessive drinking I have vowed to establish temperance in this district and thereby to expiate his sins. I have begun the campaign for temperance at my own house. Father Yevmeny is delighted with my efforts.'
In her letter, the widow described how her guests had been overcome with emotion. Marfutkin had kissed her hand and burst into tears, Father Yevmeny had sat beside her babbling tearfully, and the handsome police captain had gone down on his knees trying to read his poetry before falling over in hysterics. She also mentioned that poor Alalykin, the stout and apoplectic president of the judges' assembly, had fallen unconscious for two hours.
She expressed gratitude to Doctor Dvornyagin, who had brought brandy from his dispensary to moisten Alalykin's temples, which quickly revived him. The widow remained completely unaware that her guests had been secretly drinking throughout the day, and that their emotional displays were the result of intoxication rather than genuine sentiment about her late husband.