The Princess (Chekhov)
Short summary
At a monastery in N—, Princess Vera Gavrilovna arrived for her monthly visit. She greeted the monks warmly and expressed delight at seeing the Father Superior. The princess enjoyed the monastery's atmosphere, which made her feel modest and peaceful.
While walking in the evening, she encountered Doctor Mihail Ivanovitch, who had once worked on her estate. When she greeted him cordially, he responded coldly. The princess invited him to share what he thought of her.
The doctor launched into a harsh critique of her charitable works, calling them farces that humiliated the recipients. He condemned her treatment of servants and her visits to the monastery as self-serving.
"There was nothing but the desire to amuse yourself with living puppets, nothing else... A person who does not feel the difference between a human being and a lapdog ought not to go in for philanthropy."
The princess burst into tears. The doctor apologized and left. That night, she fantasized about becoming a martyr misunderstood by everyone. The next morning, as she prepared to leave, the doctor apologized again. She graciously accepted, feeling joyful about bringing warmth and light wherever she went, completely unchanged by his criticism.
Detailed summary
Division into chapters is editorial.
The princess arrives at the monastery
A carriage drawn by four horses arrived at the Red Gate of the N― Monastery. The priests and monks recognized the visitor as Princess Vera Gavrilovna, a frequent guest at the monastery. An elderly servant helped her out of the carriage. After raising her veil, she greeted the priests to receive their blessing and nodded pleasantly to the other monks before entering the hostel.
The princess enthusiastically greeted the monk who brought in her belongings, asking about the Father Superior whom she was eager to see. When the elderly Father Superior arrived, she expressed great delight, insisting on kissing his hand. She spoke fervently about how much she had missed the monastery, while the Father Superior remained mostly silent, responding with brief phrases.
The princesss illusions about herself and her philanthropy
The N― Monastery had been a favorite retreat for the princess over the past two years. She visited almost monthly in summer, staying for several days at a time. The modest surroundings of the monastery – the shy novices, stillness, low ceilings, smell of cypress, and simple furnishings – touched her deeply and inspired contemplative thoughts.
The princess liked being at the monastery... The shy novices, the stillness, the low ceilings, the smell of cypress, the modest fare, the cheap curtains on the windows—all this touched her, softened her...
In this environment, the princess imagined herself transformed – becoming modest and timid like the monks, created not for wealth and earthly grandeur but for a peaceful, secluded life. She believed she brought joy and comfort to the austere monastery inhabitants with her presence, like a ray of light or a singing bird bringing comfort to an anchorite.
Her gay, friendly smile, her gentle eyes, her voice, her jests... must arouse in simple, austere people a feeling of tenderness and joy. Everyone, looking at her, must think: "God has sent us an angel..."
After tea and rest, the princess went for a walk. The sun was setting, and from the church came the soft singing of men's voices at evening service. She was moved by the peaceful atmosphere – the dark windows with glowing lamps, the shadows, and the old monk sitting at the church door with a collection box.
The doctor confronts the princess with harsh truths
Outside the monastery gate, the princess sat on a bench between the wall and birch trees. She contemplated how wonderful it would be to live in the monastery forever, forgetting her ungrateful husband, her estates, creditors, and daily troubles. She watched two novices – one riding a piebald horse, another on foot – driving horses out for the night.
An old woman with a wallet on her back passed by. The princess thought it would be nice to say something kind to her, but the woman walked on without looking back. Shortly after, a tall man with a grey beard and straw hat approached. He was Mihail Ivanovitch, a doctor who had previously worked at her estate in Dubovki. The princess greeted him warmly, mentioning she had heard about his wife's death and offering condolences.
The doctor responded coldly to her sympathies. When the princess asked what mistakes he thought she had made, the doctor began a harsh critique of her life. He condemned the general spirit that prevailed on her estates – a fundamental aversion to people that permeated everything.
"Your whole system of life was built upon that aversion. Aversion for the human voice, for faces, for heads, steps... in fact, for everything that makes up a human being."
The doctor continued his criticism, describing how she treated servants as the lowest scoundrels rather than human beings. He mentioned her philanthropic efforts, such as the home for homeless old women, calling them a farce – a mere playing at loving one's neighbor. He described how the old women were not allowed to use the beds or walk on the polished floors, while the princess would visit for show, causing the entire staff to prepare anxiously for her arrival.
"It was a farce from beginning to end; it was playing at loving your neighbour, the most open farce which even children and stupid peasant women saw through!"
The princesss emotional reaction to criticism
The doctor's criticism continued as he mentioned her failed attempts to teach peasant children and feed infants whose mothers worked in the fields. He claimed the villagers ran from her supposed benevolence because there was no genuine love or kindness in her actions – only a desire to amuse herself with "living puppets."
Finally, he criticized her visits to the monastery as another farce, pointing out that she didn't believe in the monks' God and didn't attend services, yet her visits caused great disruption as the monks scrambled to prepare for her arrival.
Whenever people worried the princess, misunderstood her, or mortified her, and when she did not know what to say or do, she usually began to cry. And on this occasion, too, she ended by hiding her face...
The doctors apology and the princesss forgiveness
The doctor suddenly stopped his tirade when he saw the princess crying. His face darkened and grew stern as he apologized for giving way to malicious feelings and forgetting himself. He walked away quickly without putting on his hat.
Stars were twinkling in the sky as the princess walked slowly back to the gate. She felt wounded and continued crying, imagining that even the trees, stars, and bats pitied her. She thought about how nice it would be to enter a monastery for the rest of her life, where only God and the starry heavens would witness her suffering.
She cried and thought how nice it would be to go into a monastery... On still summer evenings she would walk alone through the avenues, insulted, injured, misunderstood by people, and only God and the starry heavens would see...
The princess departs unchanged, maintaining her self-deception
Returning to her rooms, the princess looked at her tear-stained face in the mirror and powdered it before sitting down to supper. The monks had prepared her favorite foods – pickled sturgeon, mushrooms, Malaga wine, and honey-cakes. As she ate, she dreamed of being ruined and deserted, renouncing her title and luxury to enter a convent without reproaching anyone. In her fantasy, people would eventually understand her and beg forgiveness, but it would be too late.
The next morning, the princess woke at half-past nine. Stretching in bed, she recalled her encounter with the doctor and remembered feeling unhappy. Then she thought of her husband in Petersburg, her stewards, doctors, neighbors, and officials she knew, smiling at the thought that if they could see into her heart, they would all be at her feet.
At quarter past eleven, she called her maid Dasha and asked her to prepare for departure to visit Klavdia Nikolaevna. As she was leaving, she found the doctor waiting by the steps to apologize again for his behavior the previous day. The princess smiled graciously, extending her hand for him to kiss, which he did while turning red.
As her carriage rolled away from the monastery, the princess maintained her self-deception, believing herself to be bringing joy and warmth wherever she went. She felt as though she were floating on clouds rather than carriage cushions, completely unchanged by the doctor's harsh truths.
She was thinking there was no higher bliss than to bring warmth, light, and joy wherever one went, to forgive injuries, to smile graciously on one's enemies... "How happy I am!" she murmured, shutting her eyes.